Having relocated to the South Sound, Jake Frye, an English teacher, found a bassist in one of his former students, Derek Reed. Suddenly, the prospect of sharing Jesus on the Moon became a reality. The two of them, along with a drum machine, began showing Jesus on the Moon to audiences. But, while Jesus on the Moon tends toward a sort of jumpy, Devo-ish vibe, Frye was simultaneously playing in a band with a rather different sound: Le Lo/Fi.

"I ended up playing in Le Lo/Fi for a while, which kind of taught me how to play guitar live," says Frye. "It made me figure out my setup - you know, guitar pedals and all that stuff that I had never thought about because I had always just recorded guitar; I didn't perform it live."

But where Le Lo/Fi is all about this big sound and shoegaze-y textures, Jesus on the Moon is a much more modest venture. Simple drum machine patterns run under fairly unadorned electric guitars, creating a gently driving momentum, on some songs. Other songs up the spaced-out moodiness, like "Divide" and "In a Spell." Still, songs like "Proletariat Rock" could pass for Dave Edmunds outtakes.

Read Rev. Adam McKinney's full feature on Jesus on the Moon in Northwest Military's Music & Culture section.

JESUS ON THE MOON, w/ Tortilla Flat, 9 p.m., Saturday, July 20, The New Frontier Lounge, 301 E. 25th St., Tacoma, cover tba, 253.572.4020