Playing from the heart: Band Lullwater to play at Pitter's

Whether it's hard-driving rock 'n' roll with a Southern twang, a souped-up folk number, or the feel of '90s grunge, whatever rockers Lullwater bring to Pitter's on Thursday will be from the heart.

"We will be playing music from 'Silhouette' of course, and we are excited to let the people hear our new music, which is going to be on the [next] album," lead singer John Strickland said in a telephone interview from the band's tour bus as they were leaving a Chicago snowstorm.

Lullwater, originally from Athens, Ga., released its first album, "Silhouette," in 2011 and is working on its second CD.

"We've got a different breath of air in the new music," Strickland said. "Our music before had a bit of a twang to it because of our Southern heritage I guess, but this record is going to have the '90s rock sound that we all grew up on."

Strickland said the entire band took this new approach seriously. The new material was recorded in Seattle, the scene of a dozen grunge success stories in the 1990s.

"We were serious about getting that particular sound, so we all packed up and went to Seattle to do our recording to get that whole vibe thing going on," Strickland said. "So we wanted to live it at the same time, to be able to emulate it, and not imitate it."

Strickland said he and the other members of the band are big fans of groups like Foo Fighters and especially Pearl Jam.

"They are definitely one of our favorites. I guess it's because of our age, it's what we listened to out in the garage and trying to put our own bands together," Strickland said. "Of course, we also have that southern rock influence of [Lynyrd] Skynyrd."

On some levels, Strickland always dreamed of being a rock and roll star and standing in the glow of the spotlight.

"Well, I suppose that we all had those big dreams as we were jamming out to 'Free Bird' or something like that," Strickland said. "It's fun being a touring musician sure, but it's a lot of work."

Strickland said many people feel the audience believes the band only works for about and hour or two a day, which is certainly not the case.

"I found that out really quick," Strickland said. "For instance I am doing this interview this morning on the bus waiting to head to Iowa from Chicago. It's a six-hour drive. During that time I will be doing other interviews, talking with management, listening to remixes, getting ready for sound check, lots of things. Next thing you know, it's time for dinner and then the show. Rock 'n' roll is a lot harder work than people think it is. But it's still the best job in the world. I wouldn't trade it for anything."

Although the new album isn't yet released, Strickland is hoping for mid-April.

"It's that close, but there are a few things left to do yet," Strickland said. "We want to put out the best music we can for the fans."

Strickland, who also plays guitar, said the band -- lead guitarist and vocalist Brett Strickland (no relation), bassist Roy Beatty and drummer Nick Thomas -- is excited about the return to Pitter's.

"We were there in the fall," Strickland said. "It was like the first day back to classes or something like that, so I don't think the college was at full capacity yet, but we rocked out down there. We're happy to be back and bring the new material we have with us."