After 2011, bright future beckons for Bright Light

Scott Melcer

The Bright Light Social Hour includes Curtis Roush, Jack O'Brien, Joseph Mirasole and A.J. Vincent.

On New Year's Eve 2010, the rock band The Bright Light Social Hour was hard at work -- at least as close to work as the notoriously hard-partying quartet gets -- recording their year-end show at The Parish Theater in their home base of Austin, Texas, for an EP and video project.

So when New Year's Eve rolled back around last weekend, the band took a well-earned break. The group had just capped a breakout year during which it was crowned the best band in the hypercompetitive Austin music scene, got its first national press, and made its first touring forays outside of Texas.

"We partied pretty hard," says bassist and vocalist Jack O'Brien. "It was a good time."

Looking ahead, The Bright Light Social Hour plans to build on their phenomenal 2011 with extensive touring, including their first appearance in Memphis Tuesday at the Hi-Tone.

"I think the biggest change in 2011 for us was just getting out on the road so much and so far out," says singer-guitarist Curtis Roush, pointing to videos on the band's website documenting the antics on their first U.S tour. "The year previously we had just started playing shows around our state. We hadn't had much experience touring. This year we've been able to hit most of the country and Canada, and it's been really exciting."

The Bright Light Social Hour began in 2005 at historic Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas.

"It was a really different sound than what we're doing now," says O'Brien of the early days. "It was kind of hardcore, all-screaming, experimental, skronky rock."

Despite O'Brien's stint studying abroad and the departure of some early members, the band stayed together, adding Joseph Mirasole on drums and A.J. Vincent on vocals and keyboards. They also evolved their sound, developing a unique hybrid of psychedelic funk and postpunk rock that summons to mind an unimaginable jam between the Talking Heads and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

"We mix a lot of stuff together," says O'Brien of the band's high-energy sound. "I'd say it's primarily Southern, psychedelic rock but with a lot of deep funk and soul and electro influence. Joe is a deejay so he brings a lot of that electro, dance arrangements to what we do."

The Bright Light Social Hour's first big break came in 2009 when they won the Austin City Limits Music Festival's Sound & the Jury competition, in which fans voted them to open that year's event.

The next year the band released its self-titled full-length. The group raised money for the record through a humor-filled website, jacksmoustache.com, named for O'Brien's distinctive facial hair. Produced by Danny Reisch, the record received a 4.5-star review from Austin Monthly, who called it "one of the most exciting records to come out of Austin in a long time."

Last March, The Bright Light Social Hour followed up with the New Year's Live EP.

That same month came the news that catapulted the band to the top of the Austin music heap. At the 29th annual Austin Music Awards, held during the city's annual SXSW festival, the band won a record six trophies, including, best bass and keyboard honors for O'Brien and Vincent, best producer for Reisch, Album of the Year, Song of the Year ("Detroit"), and Band of the Year.

"We heard we'd be winning something, but we had no idea it would be six awards," says O'Brien. "They kept calling our names, and it was incredible. We were really excited and happy. We'd just had a great SXSW and it was A.J.'s birthday, so we were riding high that day."

In August, their newfound prominence resulted in the band being featured in Paste magazine's "Best of What's Next" column.

"It's really hard (to stand out in Austin) because there are so many bands, so many musicians and so much going on and only a limited amount of outlets," says O'Brien of how the band has risen so far so quickly. "It's really important to developing a live show that is something unique and really honed in. It's really made us better musicians and better performers."

With all the accolades under their belts, The Bright Light Social Hour plans to focus on their live show for the foreseeable future.

"We're starting to write the next record, but our priority right now is definitely touring," says O'Brien. "We hope to make it into the studio but probably not until the very end of the year. We want to get out there and get our music out there and our name out there and build some buzz so we can put out a second record to a bigger fan base."

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The Bright Light Social Hour with Vanishing Islands

8 p.m. Tuesday at the Hi-Tone Café, 1913 Poplar Ave. Cover: $8; advance tickets available at hitonememphis.com. For more information, call (901) 278-8663.

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