Heard Around Town: Popular Genius

Like many successful Nashville bands, Popular Genius grew out of a group of friends in the recording program at MTSU. Over the years the lineup has changed several times, with the current configuration heavily featuring flute and saxophones layered over airy guitar arrangements. Fresh off a Midwestern and mid-Atlantic tour, singer and guitarist Andrew Bissell spoke with us recently about the band.

Band members, ages, instruments and day jobs Scott Van Dusen, 23, guitar, works at Corky's; Christi Matuszak, 25, saxophone and flute, works at Portland Brew; Andrew Bissell, 25, vocals, guitar, works at Starbucks; Luke Easterling, 21, bass, works at Boscos; Ryan Stout, 21, drums, booking manager.

Speaking: Andrew Bissell

How do you describe your music? I usually tell people that if they like these certain bands they'll like it. I hate doing that, but it makes it easier for people to be interested. I usually say people who like Ben Folds Five and that kind of old school sound but with a modern twist would like it. People have compared us to Jump Little Children and Guster and that's fine, but I'm under the delusion, I guess, that we're doing something original and that it's hard to describe.
Getting there

What: Popular Genius

When: 9:30 p.m. Friday, March 11

Where: International Pop Overthrow, The End, 2219 Elliston Place, 321-4457

Cost: $8

Info: www.populargenius.com

How did the band come to use flutes and saxophones so much? On the third album we were recording we got really bored with guitar, bass and drums. We asked this well-known jazz player named Dennis Solee to come in and lay down some tracks and we said 'Wow, this sounds great. Why doesn't everybody do this?' We said, 'Why can't there just be a flute solo out of nowhere and it not be Jethro Tull?'

How was the band named? When I was in high school I drummed for this heavy metal band and for some reason someone in the band was collecting these Sailor Moon (a Japanese cartoon) trading cards. It's popular in America because the Japanese-to-English translation is kinda funny. There was this card and on the back I was reading it, and it had her 'vital statistics.' It said, 'Characteristics: popular genius.' I thought, 'That's hilarious; that would be a funny band name.'

Do people ever misinterpret it? Very few people take it the wrong way, but some do. They think we're applying it to ourselves, but that might be a good thing too because you're getting attention.

You play more college shows than most bands. Any particular reason? They're a good demographic; it's our crowd. Colleges have an amount of certainty as to when you do the gig. They'll feed you dinner or let you go in the cafeteria, and the starting time is usually consistent.

You put out a new DVD on Feb. 24. How did you put it together? We're all Mac people. Apple has put out these programs recently that make it really easy to make DVDs. We've been filming the last four years and keeping all the footage on this big hard drive, and now that we're a final solidified five-piece, we said, 'What do we do with all this footage?' It's like a big home movie. It's a lot of clips that we've accumulated. It's not a great, well shot live DVD. It was just kind of a 'why not' DVD.

Will it appeal to anyone or just loyal fans?

We didn't just throw it on there. It actually looks really nice. It's got a lot of extras and deleted scenes - stuff like that. It's definitely a for-the-fans kind of thing, not that it's all inside jokes, but you kind of have to know the band. It's only going to be available at shows and our Web site.

Bands and performers interested in appearing in Heard Around Town may e-mail Will Ayers at wayers@nashvillecitypaper.com