Of all the bands I’ve seen take to the awkward stage inside Bob’s Java Jive, Waves and Radiation have looked most at home. Maybe it’s the fact the moody, drawn-out and brooding rock band isn’t weighed down by a cog piece frontman strung out on his own ego. Nope. Fuck that noise. Waves and Radiation doesn’t have time for it. On stage, they look like the group of guys you were just drinking PBR with outside, smoking cigarettes and trading stories about shittty jobs.



Because they probably were.



Waves and Radiation have chosen the much less glamorous, instrumental route when crafting their epic rock — and it fits them. They don’t need no stinkin’ frontman because what they have is a crushing swell of atmospheric sound that they’re able to harness like wizards and pummel a crowd with — especially 20-30 drunks inside a giant coffee pot. When the band is on stage, they hold the room’s attention — even without front and center eye candy — or words. Waves and Radiation needs none of it.



This Saturday, Feb. 28 Waves and Radiation will be back at Bob’s Java Jive, playing a show with Levator and The Variety Hour. Those familiar with the band or the Jive should know what to expect.



But they don’t. Not for certain, anyway. There is one, teeny, tiny difference …

You see, the image burned in my mind of Waves and Radiation — the image that inspired the 200 words of gushing that came before this point — includes drummer Brad Edwards in the W&R mix. It’s his scruffy beard behind the kit in my mind, and his long armed thunder providing the beat.



This Saturday at Bob’s Java Jive, however, Waves and Radiation will be christening a new era. Edwards has moved on, to pursue other interests — including spending more time with his dog.



Waves and Radiation have found a new maniac to man the skins. The band’s show at the Jive will be its first with drummer Austin Iverson in the fold, and outside of friends and family, no one in the world can tell you what exactly to expect from the new look Waves and Radiation.



“Brad was and still is an important part of the Waves and Radiation story. His playing style really allowed Phil and me to be very exploratory with our songwriting without losing the central beat. It’s safe to say that without Brad, we wouldn’t have lasted as long as we have. We were disappointed in his decision to leave, but we’re very excited at the chance to work with someone new and infuse the music we already have with another dimension,” says guitarist Tristan McNabb. “A new drummer can completely change the sound and feel of a band. I don’t think Austin’s work is changing the music drastically but he certainly adds a new savagery and intensity.”



While it would be just as impossible for outsiders to speculate how Waves and Radiation will sound with a new drummer as it would be for them to say what direction the songwriting is taking as of late, we do have a clear understanding of the starting point. With the release of Whom the Gods Notice They Destroy, the band’s debut full-length that saw the light of day last year, Waves and Radiation staked their claim on a plot of bigger than life, epic, visionary rock. Who knows where creative evolution will take them?



“I don’t think the band has changed as much as we have grown into our own style,” says McNabb. “The early songs still follow a kind of verse/chorus/verse format. As we all grew more comfortable with the material it became a more collective process. We became more confident in the style of music and as a result the songs were able to stretch and become more complex. The way we work and the songs we write are really what we envisioned when we formed the band — it just took about a year to get up to speed.”



This Saturday, the band will attempt to stay at that speed with a new drummer — but they don’t seem all that worried about it. And if they’re not worried, you shouldn’t worry either. Let Waves and Radiation cover the rock, you just worry about showing up.



“The Jive is a really special place. It has a real history and a character that I don’t think you see in lot of venues,” says McNabb. “So much of what we do is meant to be visceral footstomping rock. 30 people in the Jive can feel like three times that anywhere else. When we look out and see that it affects us and helps us reach a higher energy level.” 



[Bob’s Java Jive, with Levator, the Variety Hour, Saturday, Feb. 28, 8 p.m., $5, 2102 S. Tacoma Way, Tacoma, 253.475.9843]