Sat. Dec. 12

Bang Camaro – up to 20 singers, two guitarists, a drummer and bassist – have made a big noise since their 2007 inception. It started around Boston, where they’re from, but it spread nationally in large part to “Push Push (Lady Lightning),” which was featured on “Guitar Hero 2.” It seems an improbable way to build an audience but guitarist and co-leader Alex Neochea says with MTV not playing videos and with radio and print having less and less impact, this is part of the new wave of getting noticed. More on that later. First, a bit about the band, which headlines the Paradise Saturday Dec. 12.  

Bang Camaro is a hard rock group (not metal says Neochea) with a style culled from the ‘70s-‘80s rock of Def Leppard, Motley Crue, Skid Row and the like. Without the spandex and without the pomp. (And a backing corps of singers that looks like a grungier version of Polyphonic Spree.) Also, if you look at the credits on Bang Camaro’s second CD, “Bang Camaro II,” without the names. There are no musician credits all. “We went overboard on the first record,” says Neochea, “thanking our mothers and everyone. As to the musicians  [this time], we figured if you wanna know who we are the information is widely available on the Internet. We wanted the info to be real simple. Maybe there was something a little mysterious, in the darker CD cover and something more serious subject matter in lyrics.” Serious? Is he joking? Sort of.
      “I think this time around we were in a position to write about real experiences we had in the band,” says Neochea. “ ‘She’s Gone Critical,’ was originally titled ‘Girlfriend in Space.’ It’s tongue-in-cheek but with kinda serious subject matter - the crazy drunk girlfriend you kinda wanna launch her into space. And at the end, there’s a tribute to the Tesla influence in ‘80s on hard rock. ‘Life is Hard on the Road’  is about our own experiences on the road. Every line is true except the one about somebody getting a STD. It’s all honest; it comes from a place of love. There is this tongue in cheek element, but we’re not setting out to joke around. I think we get that across in our numbers and presentation. Yes we have six to 20 guys singing together all the time, and that is in and of itself over the top, some might call it ridiculous, but it’s true for us, we’re not trying to take the piss.”
    On the road, they generally travel with six singers – all band members in a van – and nearer Boston there’s more. (At Showcase Live it looks like 12.) “There’s the visual spectacle,” says Neochea. “There’s a lot to be said for having 10-20 people on stage. On the aural side, there’s that big vocal sound. It’s not something we can recreate with two or three guys.”
    And for the second album, all contribute to the writing process. In the beginning, says Neochea, “For the most part it was us two’ – he and guitarist-partner Bryn Bennet – “and we weren’t sure we were going to make a band out of it. When we started this we didn’t see a shelf life more than a couple of gigs. Things continued to snowball for us and Guitar Hero II and Rock Band changed the playing field for us. We were a local band in Boston and didn’t have a record available across the country.” The games exposed the band, fans found more of the band on their website, www.bangcamaro.com and realized they were, indeed, for real.” Also, says Neochea, “It’s cool to be side-by-side with seminal acts like Deep Purple.”
     Early on, says Neochea, “A lot came out of Bryn and myself writing. When we started getting offers, it all grew from there. Having been with the same guys for three years, a lot of those guys are talented vocalists and songwriters this time around.” Bang Camaro also respects the let’s-get-the-party-started ethos of Andrew W.K. the musician and club owner, whose club they will play later on this tour. (Andrew, like Bang, likes a lot of men shouting and singing together.)
    It is interesting that the two co-leaders are not the focal point. “We wanted to put the emphasis on three things,” says Neochea. “1) We wanted great guitar playing - we love playing ridiculous guitar solos and we can pull that off, 2) great big vocal hooks and sound, and 3) good pop songwriting. We get pegged as a metal band and we’re really not a metal band. The groups we end up quoting are bands like Judas Priest, Skid Row, Ozzy, Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Iron Maiden, a lot of those bands were good pop songwriters.”

Show starts at 9 with Violent Soho and Powherglove. Tix: $16.50.

 967 Commonwealth Ave., 617-562-8800 www.thedise.com