Whether you like it or not, more than sound goes into making a successful rock band. It starts with the riffs, typically, but there’s a lot more to it. Image. Dreamy eyes. Politics. All of these can play a part in a band’s popularity or lack thereof.



Plenty of rock bands are full of good musicians who write good rock songs. Rock and roll isn’t rocket science. Usually, it takes something more than a perfected sound to lift a band out of the middle of mediocrity. There’s no exact formula, but creating a successful rock band is almost always a multiple variable equation.



The wRight Brothers, who will play Club Vertigo in Tacoma Friday, Jan. 25, have spent some time thinking about this, it seems. The band’s sound is time tested and tight, crunchy early ’90s guitars chugging along with a thumping bass and pounding drums. There’s not much to dislike. You can see for yourself at www.myspace.com/rightbrothers.

The persona the wRight Brothers have cultivated, however, is what seals the deal for most — one way or another.



According to the band’s writing, also available on MySpace, and especially the band’s costumed antics on stage, the wRight Brothers were formed in 2006 by four dead pilots, all shot down by the Red Baron during World War I. “Not liking their prospects in hell, their ghosts escaped to roam earth for nearly a century. Finally, in 2006, the brothers formed a new mission: to shake the world to its rock-loving roots,” according to MySpace.

On stage, the shtick is perpetuated by all four members donning World War I era pilot’s garb and aviation headgear. While the band’s music is foolproof, their image is usually what people remember.



I’m not a fan of concocted personalities and false identities when it comes to rock bands. The wRight Brothers haven’t done anything to change this. Whether you bite on the band’s crafted image or not is up to you. I’ll stay out of that one. But whatever your take is, the wRight Brothers deserve props for trying, and not just staring at their shoes. By that alone they’re doing better than most. — Matt Driscoll



[Club Vertigo, wRight Brothers, Halcion Halo, Saving Arcada, Friday, Jan. 25, 9 p.m., $5, 5240 South Tacoma Way, Tacoma, 253.678.3593]