The Black Amps brings experience to its sound

The band’s members have played in various regional acts.

By JOHN BENSON

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

There’s a relatively new band coming from Cleveland that has all the momentum of a steam engine heading downhill.

The group is The Black Amps, which features former members of regional acts Jericho Turnpike, Paranoid Lovesick, The Waynes, and national recording artist Alien Fashion Show: Mike Allen (vocals/guitar), Todd Thurman (vocals/guitar), Nick Perry (drums) and Derek Poindexter (bassist).

“Todd was in a band called Alien Fashion Show, which was signed to Hollywood Records,” said Perry, a former member of Paranoid Lovesick. “Todd and I had been recording and playing together when we found Mike Allen from Jericho Turnpike. He just got done recording a CD called ‘Pale Hollow.’ Then Derek Poindexter, who was in The Waynes, joined and he’s been in many bands.”

Led by the songwriting and musical vision of Thurman and Allen, the band is exploring the edge of power pop with reckless abandon by playing material from Allen’s “Pale Hollow” and Thurman’s latest album “Last Perfect Summer.”

“We’re not recording an album, but we have new material we’d like to record in the very near future,” Perry said. “What we’re doing is we want to play as many shows, create a buzz and get us as a band, as a unit, jelling perfectly. So we’re just working on that right now.”

Part of that work brings The Black Amps to Youngstown on Saturday for its debut performance at Cedars Lounge. It’ll be a fun return for Perry, who over his years has had a few memorable Paranoid Lovesick shows in Youngstown.

“Cedars is a pretty interesting scene because these shows start so late,” said Perry, who stressed power pop fans attending his band’s upcoming show can expect plenty of raucous fun, including a few choice covers — The Replacements’ “Can’t Hardly Wait” and Teenage Fanclub’s “Star Sign.”

Perry acknowledges The Black Amps aren’t reinventing the wheel as much as adding more spokes to the sound.

“It’s different in that we’re all veterans,” Perry said. “We’re all, I’d say, on a pro level playing three kinds of music — power pop, Americana and psychedelic rock. That’s what makes it unique. So it’s working. It works fine.”