When Mike Vivas gathered up some cousins and a few fellow Fat City Reprise alums for a new band, he didn’t expect it to sound like a cross between Roxy Music and the Zombies. It just happened. “Once we figured which instrument everyone would play, we simply started trying out songs,” says Vivas. “The first 11 tunes that felt right became the first album.” The debut from South Philly’s Southwork, Arise, is their interpretation of psilocybin-pop and indie-glam, something Vivas claims has a curious, childlike joy with adult psychedelic themes thrown in. “Plus, we like old-time Vegas love songs and don’t take ourselves too seriously,” he laughs, which is obvious, judging by their stage outfits, a cross between Sgt. Pepper’s band and “Jocko Homo”-era Devo. “We want to be able to look around the stage and feel like we’re in some type of wonderland.”
Thu., Dec. 13, 9 p.m., $10, Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 215-739-9684, johnnybrendas.com.
