Acoustic Nukes

The Acoustic Nukes, playing Wednesday, Aug. 16, at Beach Road Grill in Nags Head, fashion original music that owes much to such classic-rock titans as Led Zeppelin, Traffic and Jimi Hendrix.
It's an eclectic combination of rock, jazz, blues and folk, played with the intesity associated with modern alternative bands such as Radio head and Incubus.
"Charging acoustic dynmamics," says Brian Lee, 24, of Kill Devil Hills, who's the group's lead vocalist, guitarist and spiritual leader, "is sort of our sound."
The 2-year-old band also includes bassist Stephan Carbocci, vocalist/percussionist Matt Calhoun and drummer Dave Ferrara.
Lee writes most of the quartet's material, but points our that, "I just put the ideas out there and lete the other guys put them together."
The Nukes range of songs is impressive, stretching from the reflective, open-chord, bluegrassy " Flytrap" to the dancey ode to Las Vegas called "New Shoes" to the groovy but moody "The Drain" which address the ssubject of co-dependant relationships, the the guitar driven, what happend-to-my-girlfriend "Lost in Tranzlation."
For club shows, the group pays homage to their musical heroes by playing " covers that are intenionally obsure but not unknown," Lee says.
Falling into that category are the Who's "Behind Blue Eyes," The Beatles' "Something," Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here," Radio Head's "High and Dry," Traffic's "John Barleycorn" and Led Zeppelin's Ocean."
Lee says the bands is working on a full-legnth album -which they hope to release this year- at Scott Franson's The Ranch Studio in Kill Devil Hills.
Also on the agenda is a fall tour that takes the Nukes off the Outer Banks and into clubs in New York, Long Island, Philadelphia and Boston.
"We're not into the rock star thing," says Lee, "But we all want to be full-time musicians and spread the word."
- John Harper @ The Coast