Las Vegas music veterans channel punk energy

"Is the heater on?" asks the always-animated bassist, his forehead beginning to show signs of perspiration, as if he was somehow being scorched by the flames painted on his instrument.

No, the heater isn't on, but it's a fair question, as the room is getting real warm, real quick, thanks to the six musicians, and two dogs, who are all chasing one another around -- the former figuratively, in song, the latter literally.

It's around 8:30 p.m. on a recent Wednesday evening, and the members of Vegas' Big Like Texas, along with guest vocalist Emma Rhodes, are rehearsing in a storefront shop in a west-side strip mall.

The session begins with drummer Joe Perv tapping out a rhythm with his sticks on Jimmy Decker's upright bass, then hopping to his kit as guitarist Willie Farris lays down some lightning-bolt blues licks. Soon, singer/guitarist Guy Griebel joins in, leaning hard into his instrument, along with keyboardist/guitarist Gary Wright. Only Farris has ever even heard the song before, fiery standard "Mean Old Frisco Blues," but almost instantly, the rest of the band lock in like they've played it for years.

Over the course of the next hour or so, the group veers from fleet-fingered surf jams, hard-driving, harder-drinking honky-tonk, an ace Drive-By Truckers cover, a swaggering take on the Stray Cats' "Stray Cat Strut" and even a cheeky detour through the "Love Boat" theme.

Rockabilly, country, blues, punk, surf -- they're all branches extending from the same family tree, and this bunch is all about excavating the roots of said tree. It's a new project, but none of these guys is new to this: They're Vegas music veterans who have been playing in various bands, often with each other, since the early '80s.

The seeds for the group were sown at the memorial for Vegas punk forebear Todd Sampson, best known for his time in influential bands M.I.A., Self Abuse and Sampson's Army, which was organized by Griebel at the Hard Rock in July 2010.

"Everybody here has played with Todd," Perv notes.

"He brought us together," Griebel adds.

The band, which performs Friday night at the Bunkhouse, played its first show this past Halloween, following Decker's return to town after living in Texas for more than a decade.

They're all about harnessing a punk energy and then channeling it in new directions.

"When we were punk rock, there were a lot of power chords and yelling and screaming," Griebel says. "It was all fun and games, but as I've gotten older, I've realized how sweet the roots music is. I eat, breathe and sleep it every day."

You hear and see as much when Griebel and his bandmates get together -- they have as much fun playing as we do listening to it.

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