Scroll to the bottom to hear some music from The Dimes

With gas prices still up, travel expenses can usually impede a band, especially an independent local band, from touring out of state. Not so with The Dimes, an indie pop band from Portland, Ore. They will play on campus for a free noon show today at Serna Plaza, provided by UNIQUE Programs.

Today’s show will be The Dimes’ first at Sacramento State.

“We’re hoping Arnold’s gonna be there,” said lead singer and guitarist Johnny Clay during the band’s telephone interview. If it had played earlier when the conversational debate took place on campus it might have caught a glimpse of the “Governator.”

The Dimes started touring in Seattle on Oct. 6 and will end with a gig in Portland, aka “P-town,” on Oct. 26. Traveling via a 15-passenger van and trailer, the tour will cover areas in Washington, Oregon and California.

“We’ve been watching a lot of Ali G videos,” said lead guitarist, Pierre Kaiser, on how the band overcomes boredom on the road. With the Beatles on regular rotation and the van rife with jam sessions, life on the highway has yet to lull The Dimes -especially when each night ends with a lively show.

Bassist Ryan Johnston said the band doesn’t really have a pre-show ritual. “We just try to keep the ambience and stress levels down (so that) we’re well relaxed.”

Chatting with friends and fans, along with drinking, is usual. “We always get a little excited before the first show of our tour. We want to make sure we don’t have too many beers,” Kaiser said with a laugh.

The band members were satisfied with their first show in Seattle.

“(It) was definitely one of the shows where everyone was having fun and moving around a lot,” drummer Jake Rahner said.

The band will play songs from its 2005 EP (extended play album), “Atlanta,” as well as new material for an EP that is scheduled to be released in December. The new material has been well-received. The new song, “Comet,” is posted on the band’s MySpace page and has more than 1,700 plays.

“We’re like kids in a candy store. Now we get to finally release this stuff to our fans,” Rahner said. “We’re all super excited to get on the road and share it with more people.” The new album has yet to be titled.

The band’s style of indie pop is heavily influenced by its love of Nada Surf, Death Cab for Cutie, Jeff Buckley, U2 and Radiohead. Kaiser said the band is leaning toward a sound that creates “small songs with atmosphere.” The song,”Till I’m Broken,” from “Atlanta,” evokes this essence, giving the listener an almost metallic ambience mixed with hints of cello, before launching into an uplifting chorus. The album is available online at www.cdbaby.com and on iTunes.

Clay is responsible for the lyrics.

“I’m trying to tap into my quirky side,” he said, often writing about the interesting details in his life experiences. One song was inspired by a friend’s eccentric moving behavior.

“He didn’t want to pay for a U-Haul (so he) had a garage sale to sell all of his stuff,” Clay said.

Most of the time, a song begins with Clay recording onto a demo and bringing it back to the other members, who then add to or change the piece.

“That’s why I love being in a band – I can put together my own demos, (but) with a band-we make each other better,” Clay said.

Starting with Kaiser and Rahner, who were both in a band together and decided to split off and record on their own, The Dimes was formed with Clay. Clay had moved to Portland from Austin and met Kaiser through a friend. Johnston later joined after answering an ad online and auditioning. All of the band members have played together for nearly four years.

“We’re just all really good friends. These guys are like my brothers,” Rahner said.

The choice of a band name was a difficult decision.

“We wanted a name that we felt was recognizable, something kind of non-descriptive,” Rahner said. “We didn’t want to call ourselves ‘Blood Death Murder.'”

The band had previously come up with the name “Edison,” but canned it when they found out that it was already taken by another band signed to a record label. “The Dimes” was suggested by a friend and was adopted immediately.

The Dimes has booked many tour dates scheduled outside Oregon, a feat that is impressive given that all four members have day jobs. Clay recalled the problems with previous tours that were longer and covered more territory.

“One guy actually lost his job because of our tour schedule before, where we toured in Texas,” Clay said.

Clay also had to find another job that would allow him the ability to work as a musician. “I had to tell my job that I couldn’t work five days a week,” Clay said. “I needed at least one day to work on songs.”

Along with jobs, a musician’s social and familial life may be at risk when it comes to performing regularly. “Music takes a lot of time away from those other things. If you’re not careful, you can lose in those parts of your life,” Johnston said.

Being in a band has more or less taught the members how to balance everything. “It’s really made me better at time management,” Johnston said. Before the band hired a manager, it was responsible for its own promotion and booking. Now it has been able to concentrate on its music without worrying about business matters.

The band will play another show in Sacramento at 9 p.m. on Friday at Old Ironsides downtown. The show will also be the first time The Dimes play at a Sacramento club. Hopefully these guys from “P-town” will like playing in “Sac town”- without Schwarzenegger.

Click on the name of a song below to hear some of The Dimes’ music.Catch Me Jumping

Comet

Karen Balmes can be reached at [email protected]