Who knew Politicks could be this much fun?

By Josh Eiserike

Published: February 28, 2008

The last time northern Virginia-based rock-reggae band Politicks was at The State Theatre in Falls Church the group was opening for the recently reformed Blind Melon.

That was in November.

“Some people were asking me ‘Where are you guys from?‘ assuming we were touring with Blind Melon,“ Guitarist and backup vocalist Brian Chafin, 24, of

Annandale said. “I was like ‘I live 10 minutes from here, man, and have my entire life.‘ I love new faces.“

Friday the group headlines its own show with northern Virginia alternative powerpop band Everyone But Pete and Square Trio.

The band formed in 2001, when some of its members were students at Radford University, though some of the guys knew each other before college.

Politicks named itself after Timothy Leary book, “Politicks of Ecstasy,“ but later shortened to its current version.

Politicks (which Manassas singer Matthew Green, 27, said “One record

label guy” compared to “Maroon 5 with balls”) has already built an impressive resume.

The guys have shared the stage with Al Green, The Roots, Lauryn Hill and India Arie at the West Palm Beach

Amphitheatre in 2006. The group also opened for Raphael Saddiq and Raheem DeVaughn in New York City in 2005.

“At (the New York City concert) the emcees hyped us like ‘Coming outta D.C.‘ ‘Chocolate City y’aaalllll,‘ ‘It’s Politicks,‘“ Politicks guitarist Mike Trella said. “Then a bunch of skinny white dudes come out on stage. A serious hush fell over the crowd. Then we heard ‘Timberlake’ and laughed nervously. But the crowd soon warmed up to us.“

And like countless bands across the country, Politicks took a chance on Fox’s “The Next Great American Band” television show—essentially an “American Idol” for rock bands.

Though at the time, the group was short a bass player.

“I saw an advertisement on MySpace and sort of entered the band on a whim,“ said Politicks drummer Brendan McCourt, 26, of Falls Church. “Then we got a call from one of the producers. Our original bass player quit the band and we scrambled to find a guy who could drop everything and fly with us to Los Angeles for the first audition.“

Luckily, New York City-based bassist Robert McCullough, 24, was game.

“The first time I ever spoke with these guys was over the phone, four days before they were flying to L.A. to do this contest,“ McCullough said. “They needed a bassist.“

And, although Politicks, which didn’t become “The Next Great American Band,“ is legally barred from discussing much of what happened at the audition, they almost all agree that it’s an experience they’d never want to repeat.

“I would never do it again, but I think we all took our own little lesson away from the experience,“ McCourt said. “There was a friendly, supportive vibe among the contestants as the judges tore everyone apart… We were on the first episode briefly. Thanks to DVR, I got to fast forward to our little five seconds of fame which consisted of a montage where a judge called me ‘Disco Stu’.“

(McCourt’s hair resembles that of Disco Stu, a Simpsons character known for his trademark rhinestone suit and his orangish puff of hair.)

The band looking forward to its Friday concert, where it will perform some new songs.

“People come to Politicks shows for a high-energy good time, but I hope some people also recognize the depth and creativity of the songwriting,“ Trella said.

Josh Eiserike can be reached at 703-878-8072.