The first time Apex Theory played in Salt Lake City was this past summer for the Van's Warped Tour.
"That was amazing," said bassist David Hakopyan during a telephone interview from Las Vegas. "We didn't think Salt Lake City would have that kind of energy. But it ranks past New York and Los Angeles."
Apex Theory will open for Linkin Park in the E Center on Monday, Dec. 3. The show will begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale at all Smith'sTix outlets and the E Center box office.
Although the Apex Theory went on tour this year, the band doesn't officially have a full-length album on the shelves. "No, that will come out in the spring," said Hakopyan, who cited everything from Armenian wedding music to Abba as his musical influences. "It's all done, and we're looking forward to it."
In the meantime, the band has an extended-play CD on the shelves that was released in October. "That was just a little thing to introduce people to our music," Hakopyan explained. "We wanted to get some sounds out there to let people know what was coming soon."
The band officially formed in 1999. And the bassist says the hardest part of the deal was finding a drummer who could keep up with the other guys — guitarist Art Karamian and vocalist Andy Khachaturian — and their tendency to play odd-timed, progressive grooves. "We literally had one drummer pick his sticks up and, after about 30 seconds of playing our music, stood up and said, 'This is too much work,' and left," Hakopyan said with a laugh. "We found our drummer Sammy (J. Watson) after Andy heard him playing in another band. We asked him to sit in with us, and he was perfect."
With the lineup intact, Hakopyan said the next goal is to rule the world. "Then we're going to head for Mars. Actually, our goals are more simple than that. We want to play music that sounds good and make records that sound good."
In fact, that's been the major reward since signing to Dreamworks Records last year. "We're making music and recording it for people to listen to," Hakopyan said. "And we're very lucky to be touring this wonderful country."
E-mail: scott@desnews.com