Get this: To Basemint, or at this point half of Basemint, Tacoma is the green grass on the other side of the fence.

That's right. Originally, all four members of the "garage rockin' surfy thang" known as Basemint came from ... wait for it ... wait for it ... wait for it ...

Fucking Auburn!

"We started in Auburn. Two members live in Tacoma now and the other two have plans of moving here. I would say we are an adopted child of Tacoma," says Spencer Kelley, who plays guitar and sings in Basemint. "And maybe you could say we're technically a Tacoma band. We practice and write here. (But) We do hail from the s***-hole that is Auburn."

Oh yeah, bitches! Tacoma: Better than Auburn to impressive young indie bands since (at least) 2010.

But seriously, folks.

Like most great things in this town, I was led to Basemint by the tongue of another. A friend, or perhaps a regular barista, or maybe just that guy that always mumbles to himself on the bus, told me Basemint was a band to see: kind of a Warhol-y, Girl Trouble-y, chaotic Steven Malkmus-y thing, only not as lame as that list of made up adjectives makes it sound. Or something like that. I can't remember exactly how it went. I do remember recalling Kelley's name from the K Records band Wallpaper, but that was the only connection initially made.

Needless to say, I was intrigued.

So I went looking for the band - and, as it turns out, they're not hard to find. Eat a few slices at Puget Sound Pizza and chances are you'll see a flyer for one of Basemint's many shows, perhaps one at The Den, or maybe - like this Saturday's gig - a fresh-faced bill at Bob's Java Jive.

By the time I finally - officially - tracked down Kelley, I was late - beaten to the punch by, perhaps, one of the hippest dudes of all time. To find out, all I had to do was ask if album-less Basemint had any plans to record.

"We plan on having a full length out by summer. So hold on to your socks," says Kelley. "Calvin Johnson said he would record a seven-inch for us. If he wants to put it out on K Records, I don't know. That's up to him. But I think it will turn out pretty neat either way."

Given Basemint's throwback surf sound, deliberately picked guitar lines and ability to fuzz out and turn on the garage rock snarl at the drop of a vintage hat, my guess is "pretty neat" is a little on the conservative side. Plus, Kelley and the band have a connection to K Records, so it makes sense. In their short lifespan, Basemint has done nothing but demonstrate an artistic, yet messily approachable mélange of everything one should hold near and dear about the possibilities of sweaty rock music played by sweaty kids in sweaty, dank holes around T-town.

It's rock. It's art. It's attitude. It even tiptoes on the verge of an emerging lifestyle here in Tacoma.

It's Basemint, and while Kelley and crew are probably more comfortable digging the toes of their Chuck Taylors into the dirt than snatching any sort of spotlight, this is a band to watch.

Starting - if you're still in the dark - this Saturday at Bob's Java Jive.

"To tell you the truth, I don't know how (the upcoming Java Jive show) came to be. Tarek Wagner from the Drug Purse, Nightbeats, Paris Spleen infamy asked me to play it. And I, loving the hell out of Tarek, jumped at the chance," says Kelley of this Saturday's show. "We've been meaning to play with Red Hex and Apache Chief, but for some reason it hasn't seemed to work out yet.

"Since we're so close, we have quite a chemistry and we know where each other are going to go. So I think we all contribute equally. The music is truly a blend of all of our personalities," says Kelley of Basemint's chemistry. Gilbert Clapp, formerly of Shadow People, Scott Ricketts, and Steve Potter - who also played in Wallpaper, joins Kelley in the band.

"We write as a band. I think that way all members are equally emotionally invested in the music," he says.

That musical, emotional investment shows up on stage. And it's pretty awesome.

Trust me, or see for yourself Saturday. It's your call.

Basemint

With Apache Chief, Night Beats, Red Hex
Saturday, May 22, 9 p.m.
Bob's Java Jive, 2102 S. Tacoma Way, Tacoma
253.475.9843