Mute Math made a stop in Memphis on Sunday after the success of their album helped to sell out shows all over the U.S.
The New Daisy on Beale Street was packed full of fans ready to dance to their "keytarlicious" music, as MTV has described.
Paul Meany, the band's frontman, plays the keytar, a Rhodes keyboard, an Atari and sings vocals, as well. He started the band in 2001 when he met Darren King.
"We didn't really have any high ambitions when we first started," Meany said. "We just wanted to get back in touch with that original love - why you make music in the first place."
They began sending samples back and forth between New Orleans, La., and Springfield, Mo., to each other.
"Darren was a fan of an old band of mine when I met him," he said. "He was just a 14-year-old bright-eyed kid."
Meany said King's audition lasted only five minutes because, not only did King bust all of the drumheads, he broke all of his sticks and blew the PA system.
"I was just floored and thought, 'Oh my God! I want to be in a band with that guy,'" he said. "Since then we've had to navigate through Darren's 'Tasmanian Devil' ways."
They released their demo EP, Reset, on Teleprompt Records, an indie label they started in Nashville, in the hopes of having artistic freedom.
The band was able to sell 30,000 copies of their album while touring for the last year and a half before they got Warner Brothers' attention, and the label finally chose to release it nationally.
"Simply put, Warner Brothers was really confused with us," Meany said. "Essentially I think we started talking with them a little too prematurely, so we ended up taking the scenic route with them."
While Spin magazine has described Mute Math as "Coldplay washing down steroids with Red Bull and vodka," and others don't know exactly what genre to place them in, Meany has a simplistic view of the band and its goals.
"In my mind we are just a band," he said. "We never really defined what type of band we wanted to be, and I don't think I really want to because we just have so much fun without putting limits on things.
"We are just creating and just seeing what happens. We just make the music we like. We can go wherever and do whatever we want, and kind of redefine, in our minds at least, what a rock band should be.
"I don't know what kind of band that makes us, but I hope that just makes us a good band. And that is the only category that I am concerned with."
The band played the New Daisy the day after their gig at VooDoo Fest in New Orleans.
"We weren't even sure if they were going to be able to get the show back together after (Hurricane) Katrina, but when we got the call earlier this year, we felt so honored," Meany said. "Getting things back to normal (in New Orleans) has taken a while but things are beginning to settle down."
Mute Math is well on its way to stardom, but they are taking things one step at a time.
"Our next step is music videos," he said. "Other than that, we are ready to start writing new songs."
Meany has some advice for local bands looking for their big break.
"I've played in tons of bands in the last 15 years, and I've always been in the mindset to just write the best song I could and just go out and play it for whoever would listen," he said. "I've played in a lot of crappy bands and a lot of crappy gigs, but you just gotta keep going."
