The Explorers Club takes music on the road

The psychedelic pop band The Explorers Club is one of the Lowcountry's more successful musical exports.

With Jason Brewer, James William Faust, Neil Thomas, Stefan Rogenmoser, Wally Reddington, Chris Mondia, Dave Ellis and recent addition Trey Cooper, the band has performed gigs across the country, including two stops at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas.

The band is working on a follow-up to its debut full-length album "Freedom Wind," released by Dead Oceans Records in March 2008. With the help of producer Matt Goldman, co-producer and writer Troy "Gold Record" Stain and co-writer and arranger Mike Williamson, the band hopes to release the new record within the next year.

Preview chatted with Ellis and asked a few questions.

Q: How did you guys get your start?

A: Back in our days at Charleston Southern University, Jason, Neil and Jim were all in a band called 1984. They were more of a jam/rock band. Jason decided that he wanted to do something different, so he re-vamped the whole thing: changed the name, changed the sound. I joined the band back in 2005 and it kind of went from there.

Q: How would you describe your sound?

A: Our first album got panned as basically a Beach Boys rip-off. It kind of was, but it was more of a tribute to their sound. Our newer stuff has a more grassroots influence, more Carpenters, more big band. It's really just based around catchy melodies and poppy tunes.

Q: How did you get involved with Dead Oceans Records?

A: We played at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, back in 2006 and in 2007. They came out and saw us and were really interested, so we decided to go with them.

Q: What's it like performing at a huge festival like South by Southwest?

A: It's a blast! A whirlwind week of music and fun. Great atmosphere, everyone's really cool. It benefits the artists a lot. We were able to go around with artist wristbands and had access to lots of amenities that people who weren't performing didn't have access to. It's just an awesome weeklong party on the street.

Q: Any crazy stories from the road?

A: In the middle of Montana, 30 miles away from the nearest town and with no cell phone reception, we ran headlong into a deer at 11 p.m. I had to walk a mile uphill to get cell phone service to call the police to get out there and pick us up. We ended up missing our show the next night in Seattle.

Between having flats on our trailers and our doors coming loose in the middle of Manhattan downtown traffic and losing our gear and busting our van with no AC, it's been quite an experience with The Explorers Club.

Q: What would you explore if you could explore anything in the world?

A: I would explore the Russian archives and find out what the Cold War was really all about.

The Explorers Club

Members: Jason Brewer (guitar, piano, vocals), James William Faust (guitar, piano, vocals), Neil Thomas (drums), Stefan Rogenmoser (organ, keys, piano), Wally Reddington (bass, vocals), Chris Mondia (bass, vocals), Dave Ellis (percussion, accordion, guitar, mandolin, vocals), Trey Cooper (keys).

Originally from: Charleston (Brewer, Faust, Reddington); Asheville (Mondia); Mount Pleasant (Cooper); Monck Corner (Thomas); Texas (Ellis); Switzerland (Rogenmoser).

Web site: www.myspace.com/explorersclub.

Hear them at: 9 p.m. Oct. 30 at the Coastal Carolina Fair at Exchange Park, 9850 Highway 78, Ladson.