Searchlight seeks to save alternative rock

Alt-rock saviors? Hey, at least the dudes in Searchlight are tryin'. Read on, as bassist Kevin Abdon and singer/guitarist Adam Michaels explain how:

What does Searchlight sound like?

Abdon: "The best thing you have ever heard covered in diamonds. Kidding. We've been related to bands such as My Chemical Romance, Foo Fighters and The Used. We're trying to save the alternative rock genre."

You guys named yourself after Searchlight, Nev., a city more suggestive of rest stops than rock 'n' roll. What gives?

Abdon: "Well, that was actually not the real origin of the name, but after we stopped and thought about it, it did make sense. The name actually came up when we were stressing over a band name because we had set up a show and didn't have a name at the time. Adam and I were driving home from a band practice shouting out names, and a helicopter flew over us with its spotlight shining on the ground and I just said, 'How about Searchlight?' And that was it. But after being asked numerous times if we named it after the town, it kind of made sense. Adam and I were from Lake Havasu City, Ariz., and Matt (Hopkins, guitarist) and Ricky (Torres, drummer) were from Las Vegas, and what's in the middle of those two towns? Searchlight. So I guess it's our medium."

You guys opened for Kiss at a biker fest once. So, what's scarier? A bunch of Hells Angels or Gene Simmons sans makeup?

Michaels: "We were much more worried about the bikers! Especially when we started seeing thousands and thousands of bikers wandering the field in front of the stage irritated that Kiss wasn't hitting the stage at 8 p.m., even though the show poster stated it. Instead, they were going to have to watch some band from Vegas that they weren't there to see. Bikers were approaching our merch booth unaware that we were the band members and asking: "Why isn't Kiss going on at 8 p.m.? It's what the poster says. Who the hell is this Searchlight band?' Yeah, we were pretty scared. We walked out onstage in front of 30,000 or so people and after our first song the crowd was going wild for us. It's safe to say that we won that crowd over and then some. I remember getting offstage and a security guard said to me: 'Hey man, you guys were great! I gotta be honest, I was getting ready for them to eat you alive, seen it before, but they didn't. They loved you.' Gene is a great guy, though. With and without makeup."

On your MySpace page, you do a pretty funny parody of Lady GaGa's "Bad Romance." What are some of your other guilty pleasures, musical or otherwise?

Abdon: "We're all gamers. 'Dead Space,' 'Resident Evil' and 'Dante's Inferno' are some of my personal favorites. Matt is an online gamer. Ricky is a jock. He loves college sports and, of course, soccer. Adam has a love for musical theater and occasionally plays a badass in film productions. Matt and I are addicted to Starbucks and pumping iron. We're all animal lovers, which is shown by our three cats and two dogs. Oh, and did I mention Starbucks addicts?"

Hear Searchlight at myspace.com/searchlightmusic.

Contact reporter Jason Bracelin at jbracelin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0476.