Pleasure my ears with the sounds of Nick Meyer & the Meyer Straights playing live several times this summer, and I'll be a happy SkookOwl.

On Saturday, May 16 I was on hand to ingest the music and lyrics of the five-piece based in Pottsville while seeing a three-band show at Hucklebucks.

The atmosphere couldn't be more perfect as the band itself is a bit quirky like the venue, drawing influence from the indie, rock and pop genres that combines to make a solid sound that moved the fairly diverse audience on hand.

The band introduced us to nine of their original works, such as "Sour" and "Away from Here," and provided a few interpretations for songs by Elvis Costello, Nuetral Milk Hotel, Paul Simon, and Lagwagon.

Nick Meyer, the guitar-playing frontman who writes all lyrics for the band's original work, uses a full range of tools vocally, from whining to melodically screaming into the mic in order to cast a spell on listeners.

Josh Iverson adds a unique element for the band, switching from your typical guitar player role to adding depth to the songs by playing the lapsteel guitar.  This may have been the most impressive element of the band's composition and performance for several audience members.

Steve Leipensberger adds crisp, clean beat as the drummer while Dan Zyk thumps through the rhythm on bass.

Drew Pavlick, the seemingly painfully amused keyboardist provides a simple and sincere direction During the recent performance, Pavlick was celebrating his 24th birthday Saturday, but it seemed that he and the rest of the band gave more of a present to the audience than we may have given to him.

Nick Meyer & the Meyer Straights have performed at Hucklebucks previously and at the Pat Garrett Amphitheatre, as well as out-of-the-area venues such as the Northstar Bar in Philadelphia and the Appalachian Brewing Co. in Harrisburg.

Having been together for just under a year, this band should classify as up-and-coming.

While it would be this SkookOwl's recommendation for any upbeat yet thoughtful rock fans to make time to see Nick Meyer & the Meyer Straights this summer, Unfortunately, the band only has one tentative show slated for Aug. 1 at the Northstar Bar in Philadelphia where they will be first-time headliners.

Until the band books more shows, I will quench my thirst for their music in recorded fashion - by listening to their CD, produced by Blind Pigeon Records, and available through iTunes, Amazon and physical purchase through CDBaby.com/nickmeyer entitled "Second Son". 

For your first taste, or to satisfy a momentary itch, you can sample their entire CD at their MySpace page (LINK: www.myspace.com/themeyerstraights) and message the band to purchase a physical copy through that mechanism as well.