Rolling Blackouts

10 p.m. Friday

Hairy Mary’s, 2307 University Ave., Des Moines

$TBA

After the mysterious age of the boy band and the teenie-bopper fad that had every man in America counting the days until girls turned 18, there has been a revival of rock.

The members of the Rolling Blackouts attribute this resurgence, led by bands like the Hives, the Vines, the White Stripes, the Shins, the Von Bondies and other “the” bands, to one thing — rock’s absence.

“Whenever it’s gone for a while, people start to miss it,” says drummer Gabe Garnica. “When it’s there all the time, people just don’t miss it. They’re just looking for something different.”

The Rolling Blackouts, whose homage to the Rolling Stones moniker was conceived during the California energy crisis (hence the blackouts), have been touring their native Southern California relentlessly, riding the newest wave of rock ‘n’ roll by incorporating a veritable quagmire of rock genres.

“We’re definitely influenced by everything from classic rock to ’70s punk to psychedelic rock, with a little contemporary twist,” says lead singer Danny Holden.

The album, produced by Dave Cooley (no, not the guy that played Joey Gladstone on “Full House”) and released on Record Collection, has many similarities with classic rock, the least of which is that the Rolling Blackouts seem to like black as much as the late Johnny Cash. On the album “Black is Beautiful,” the Rolling Blackouts have a song entitled “Black Cake.”

“It’s slightly intentional,” Holden says. “I’m not dwelling on the color black, it’s just rock ‘n’ roll is usually co-related with the color black just because it’s darker. A lot of the songs are about things that I’ve gone through that weren’t exactly the happiest of times, but I think I’m through my ‘black phase’ now.”

Embarking on their first nationwide tour, the Blackouts are trying to focus on the live show, just as the classic bands did before them.

“The live show is what it’s all about,” Garnica says. “That’s why people are in bands. Playing is No. 1. That’s what I live for; that’s what I think about all day. It’s always been about playing my music.”

Not only are the Rolling Blackouts performing like a true rock band, they’re partying like their rock star counterparts of yesteryear.

“When we’re out and about, out on the town, we definitely try to live it up as much as possible, but it depends on what drugs you give us,” Garnica says.

While the Rolling Blackouts perpetuate the romanticized image of the hard-partying, hard-rocking band on tour, there is one thing their cross-country trek is lacking – groupies.

“We have some people that latch on, but there hasn’t really been any groupies,” Garnica says. “We just need to play more. We need to get out there more and tour so more people will be exposed to us. That opens that door to groupie-dom.”