The band Mayday's approach is to lean toward classic blues, country and rock, according to singer/songwriter Ted Stevens.
"I don't know if we're getting there yet," Stevens said by phone from Orlando, Fla., "but that's what's been sounding good to us.
"When I was growing up, U2 and R.E.M. and the Cure were the big bands I listened to. As I grew older, I got into all types of genres and styles. And, to this day, I hate big orchestrations and new country. But the rest is where I get my influences."
Stevens and his Mayday comrades, violinist Tiffany Kowalski, multi-instrumentalist Dan McCarthy and drummer Pat Oaks, recently released a third full-length album, "Bushido Karaoke," which was a "long time in the making."
"We made this album in two segments," said Stevens. "For the first batch of songs, we recorded them in our house and recorded them in our own production space. But we sent them to our first mixer (A.J. Mogis) in Nebraska. Then we sent the album off to be released, but then stopped it because we had more songs we wanted to put on it.
"So we recorded those songs in our house and production space and then sent those off to another mixer (Andy LeMaster) in Georgia. Then we got those back and put the two halves together and released it that way."
While that method took some time, the hardest part was sequencing the songs so they sounded good together, said Stevens. In order to do that, he discussed ideas with a member of one of his former bands, Tim Kasher of Cursive. "Tim has had a lot of experience putting songs together. I learned a lot and found a way to put the songs in order. And I'm happy with the album. It's about time we took it on the road and gave it the attention it needs."
Although the band is touring on "Bushido Karaoke," it hasn't forgotten its roots. "We play a lot from all three albums and do a couple of cover tunes each night," said Stevens. "We have 16 original songs we choose from and then do the covers. We usually play a total of 13 songs in 45 minutes. And the next night we drop songs and add others."
But touring during the summer does take its toll. "It's hot and sometimes it gets tiring," said Stevens. "But playing for kids and having them come up and sincerely telling us they liked the set makes it all worth it.
"While I don't see record sales as a means of validation, it would be nice to have more of our records sold, so more people have a chance to hear us. I'm happy with where we are now as a band. And I know there are more things in store for us down the road."
If you go . . .
What: Mayday, Neva Dinova
Where: Kilby Court, 738 Kilby Court (330 West)
When: Thursday, 7 p.m.
How much: $6
Phone: 320-9887
Web: www.kilbycourt.com
E-mail: scott@desnews.com