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In this week’s Morning After column, I detail my totally fun evening with Tucson alt psychedelic rock (they call it “desert space rock”) trio, Mostly Bears – which, mark my humble words, you’ll be hearing about soon enough. The super nice, talented guys redefine energetic. Their set was smokin’, and it was a genuine thrill to witness some budding musicians not yet jaded by the Big Bad Biz.

For a bit of background , I’m excerpting an email received a few days ago from lead singer/guitarist Brian Lopez. (The Sideshow Bob coif-sporting frontman is actually 25 and not an early-twentysomething, as per the column. Like I wrote, they’re nothing if not youthful — in the best possible way.)

“[Bassist] Geoff [Hidalgo] and I were in a band called Gorilla Behind Bars (2001-2004). We quit the band in 2004, and I moved to Barcelona, Spain to study Spanish and art for 6 months (Jan.-June 2005). When I returned, Geoff and I began writing music while searching for a drummer. We found Nick [Wantland] at a Guitar Center drum competition where he was not competing, but spectating. We knew him through mutual friends and clicked with him instantly. We made Nick quit his current band at the time to [be] a full time drummer with us. We started writing and practicing at his parents’ house. It was about 6 months until we played any live shows. We worked the underground circuit in Tucson playing at house parties and house-type venues that catered to an all-age crowd (this was around Sept ‘06). We got our first real gig at Plush in Tucson in November of ‘06 and really killed the show. That was our big arrival onto the scene. Shortly after that a record deal and booking agent deal was signed. “

And there you have it. Visit the band’s MySpace page for audio clips from their debut disc on Funzalo, The Ed Mitchell Clinic (named after the desert-space-rocking Apollo 14 astronaut/moonwalker). Floridians game for a road trip should check out upcoming shows in Pensacola (July 29) and Jacksonville (Aug. 2). In the meantime, if you wanna have your head nearly blown off by percolating sonic greatness, give a listen to “The Digital Divide,” “Melancholyism,” “Leda Atomica,” “The Pharmacist”…

See? I said their enthusiasm was catching.

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