That moment in the eye of a Mojave Desert dust storm was one of the strangest of Justin Tricomi’s life.

There he was, sitting in a rowboat on a dried-up lake with his fellow Republic Tigers, squinting and glaring and doing his damn best to look cool in the band’s music video for their first single, “Buildings and Mountains.” To be sure, the Kansas City boys were out of their element.

That was a month ago. Feeling out of place has become the norm for the Republic Tigers, a band with a major deal with Chop Shop Records, songs on hit TV shows “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Gossip Girl,” a May 22 gig on the “Late Show with David Letterman” and a June tour with indie-rock heroes Nada Surf.

All this started in July, when Chop Shop execs first discovered the band on MySpace.

Lead singer Kenn Jankowski said the explosion of success hadn’t hit him full force.

“Hopefully it never does,” he said.

The band was the first signed to Chop Shop, an imprint on Atlantic Records owned by Alexandra Patsavas, the much-lauded music scout responsible for the tunes on ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy,” the CW’s “Gossip Girl” and AMC’s “Mad Men.”

John Rubeli, Chop Shop label manager, caught a packed Republic Tigers show last July at the Record Bar. What convinced him to sign the band, Rubeli said, was meeting the Tigers after the show.

“We knew that they had the types of personalities that would grow with us,” Rubeli said. “For us, it’s the experience of building a career and not just putting out music.”

The band’s debut full-length, “Keep Color,” was released Tuesday and is available nationwide at such stores as Best Buy and Borders.

The record meticulously mixes the organic — acoustic guitars, lush vocal layers — with the synthetic — vague electronic bleeps and programmed strings.

The single, “Buildings and Mountains,” begins with a simple formula: bass drum and acoustic guitar. The chorus blossoms with colorful synth sounds and soaring vocal harmonies. (See Page 40 for a full review.)

Each of the band’s members — Tricomi (drums), Jankowski, Adam McGill (guitar, vocals), Ryan Pinkston (guitar, keys, vocals) and Marc Pepperman (bass, keys, accordion) — are key players in the writing process.

“It’s kind of like a dream band,” Jankowski said. “Usually there’s one real creative guy ... but it’s like there’s five of them. No dead weight.”

Previously, Jankowski played guitar for Kansas City band The People, which later became known as The Golden Republic. When that band split in 2006, Jankowski struck up a new band with McGill and named it the Republic Tigers after the mascot at Jankowski’s Republic, Mo., high school.

The Tigers seem to be hitting the honeymoon phase of their relationship. Whereas some bands crumble and split at the first inkling of success — The Brian Jonestown Massacre and, um, Creed come to mind — the Republic Tigers’ big breaks are bringing them closer, Tricomi said.

Over the course of the band’s recent East Coast tour with Michigan band Tally Hall — which is signed to Atlantic Records — the members began to accept each other’s quirky habits, Tricomi said. You could say they bonded over set lists, an XBox 360 and that Mojave Desert dust storm.

Despite the gusts and the grit endured on the shoot, Tricomi and Jankowski agree the video turned out swimmingly.

“It’s a decently intimate video with a lot to question,” Tricomi said. “Which, to be honest with you, is our career right now. There’s so much ahead of us. But who knows what.”

Upcoming Republic Tigers appearances

Listen for the Tigers’ “Fight Song” during the CW show “Gossip Girl” at 7 p.m. Monday.

On May 16, the band performs at the VooDoo Lounge at Harrah’s Casino, 1 Riverboat Drive in North Kansas City. Other acts performing are Roman Numerals, The ACBs, Cordelia and DJ Robert Moore.

And on May 22, tune in to CBS’s “Late Show with David Letterman” — which begins at 10:30 p.m. — to watch the Tigers rock the Big Apple.

I will be watching David Cook on Jay Leno. However I will hear the tigers music in their UMKC commerical during the commercials. That is no slam on the Tigers but you have to hand it to David Cook. He has a great voice and Kansas City ignored his talent minus a handful of folks here in Kansas City. However I expect the Tigers to blow up for sure on the nation wide by summers end.

Posted 15 weeks ago by DONTUBOBAFRET