Drive By Alibi

Despite its catalog of three-minute (if we're lucky) songs, punchy power chords and swift lyric delivery, not all punk rock is impatient.

In a genre that seems obsessed with instant gratification, Milwaukee's Drive By Alibi is taking its sweet time polishing the details of its songs to a sonic sheen. And whether or not the band prefers to be filed as punk, or any other category of music for that matter, depends on which member you ask.

Bassist Brain Behrens says it's impossible -- for him, anyway -- to classify his band as fitting into a specific genre.

"It seems there's so much music coming out in the pop/emo/punk/alternative genre and I really have no idea what to label our music as anymore," says Behrens.

And really, it's not what you're called; it's what you play, right? As a band, the fiercely poppy five-piece might be relatively new to the game, but it's got a strategy and plays with careful insight into how the record spins locally.

While Behrens insists that the fans here are "great, diverse and vast," he's got some growing concerns about the overall state of industry-related affairs in Milwaukee.

"It seems most successful musicians I know have migrated to Chicago," he says. "I think the governing bodies are limiting the growth of music in the community."

What he's referring to is the vetoing of bigger music venue ideas such as the House of Blues and, more recently, a Hard Rock Café, as well as last year's rejection of the Cactus Club's expansion.

But the way he sees it, Milwaukee is what you make of it, and, basically, it's his job as a local musician to help the remedy the situation -- not by funding a new venue, per se, but by something as simple as amping up the community by helping to set a standard for quality among local talent.

The first step, then, was obvious. Summoning singer Kyle Anderson, guitarists Mike Esser and Kevin Lucas, and brand new drummer Ryan Bollis, Behrens and the boys formed the band that is now on the brink of its first birthday.

The next step was ensuring it didn't disappear into the vast abyss of bands, musicians and songwriters, each jockeying for prime position among Milwaukee's rock audiences.

"We decided to postpone the recording of our current EP," says Behrens. "We got into the studio for a six-song demo and we realized we just weren't ready. This decision (allowed) us to spend more time on the writing process and put out our best possible effort into it."

The patience, it seems, has paid off, both for the band and its fans. New '06 tracks like "Pressure" is a tightly executed powerpop anthem with melodic energy and attitude, while "State of the Artist" is a smooth charmer that is nothing if not an infectious sing-a-long.

Behrens says the band's goal is to have its new release ready for the masses in early 2007, although fresh tracks are available for the downloading on the band's Myspace page (see link below).

"With an addition of a new drummer we really have a chance to refine our music and really do something we're happy and confident about," he says. "We'll be writing tons of music through the new year, so I guess in some sense we hope to come out with a 'bigger' and 'better' sound. I would really like this band to go above and beyond something in the Midwest."

But for now, we here in the Midwest are getting the best of 'em. Drive By Alibi rocks an all ages show at the Shorewood Legion Hall on Sunday, July 23 at 5 p.m. with The Actual, Attention (ex-The Stereo), and Milwaukee bands Molitor and Big Green Sofa. The showcase of rock will set you back $7. - By Julie Lawrence of onMilwaukee.com