Rockin’ to the stars

By Kelly Mcclure

Alien Crime Syndicate would like for you to, “please raise up your hands if you like Ozzy or the Motley Crue.”

Any fan of hard rock music will have the opportunity to do just that tonight at Otto’s Niteclub, 118 E. Lincoln Highway, when the band performs in the flesh, minus the big hair. Well, maybe with smoke machines, if you’re lucky.

Currently promoting their new album “XL From Coast to Coast,” vocalist/guitarists Joe Reineke and Mike Squires, vocalist/bassist Jeff Rouse and drummer Nabil Ayers make up the Seattle-based Alien Crime Syndicate. The band has two albums under its belt, “Dust to Dirt” and “From the Word Go,” and hopes for more to come.

Guitarist Mike Squires prefers to describe the new album as “a churning hot tub full of Jell-O with marshmallows – and a couple other people.”

What it sounds like to the listener’s ear is a raunchy throwback to ’80s dirt rock bands of old, with a pinch of modern mixing skills thrown on top.

Enjoying growing success with its new single “Ozzy,” Alien Crime Syndicate has toured with bands as big as the radio-friendly Sugar Ray, Weezer and Harvey Danger before turning its sights on Otto’s.

Locals attending tonight’s show can expect energy and plenty of heartfelt lyrics.

“When people watch us play, they can tell we’re having just as good a time as they are,” Rouse said. “And sometimes more – a lot more.”

Alien Crime Syndicate is the product of its members’ childhoods consisting of AC/DC, Van Halen and Lynyrd Skynyrd. The band enjoys the feeling that playing live gives them and hopes its rock background will cause a little money to float its way, as well.

“We will not rest until we’ve reached the apex of rockdom,” Squires said. “I want to make so much money that one day I can respond to personal ads that say ‘Must be secure’ with a little dollar sign for an ‘s’ in secure.”