Rock ‘n’ roll is dead? Not according to The Krinkles.

The Krinkles combine energy with emotion to bring personality back to the stage.

“There are a lot of bands out there who just stand on stage and stare at their shoes while they play,” bassist/vocalist Jerry Overmyer said.

“When we’re on the stage, we like to really get into it. I guess you could say that we wear our hearts on our sleeves. Some people think it’s shameless, but to us, it’s what we’re all about. When people go to see a band, they always say, ‘I’m going to see a band.’ You never hear them say ‘I’m going to hear a band.'”

Drawing from influences such as The Beatles, Cheap Trick, The Romantics and Weezer, The Krinkles emulate the glam-nerd, high-energy rock the band grew up with.

“We’re extremely melodic pop rock,” Overmyer said. “I guess you could say we’ve got a hyper rock edge. We’re high energy in a power pop way, not in a punk way.”

Based out of Detroit, The Krinkles relocated three years ago to Chicago after the release of the group’s first CD, “Three Ringos.” The album was recorded roughly and consisted of demo songs from the band in addition to unreleased tracks.

Playing the Chicago scene has been a rewarding experience for The Krinkles.

“Chicago is always strange,” Overmyer said. “The city is so huge and the music scene there is so extensive it’s easy to get lost in it. It’s really impossible to just sit back and survey the whole scene. But we’ve had great responses both in Chicago and across the Midwest.”

Three years later, The Krinkles are leaving the Chicago scene on a tour to promote their latest CD, “The Revenge of The Krinkles.”

The album captures the personality of the band better than “Three Ringos” both musically and lyrically. “Revenge of The Krinkles” pays closer attention to melody and song structure.

“The first album was more of a garage rock album,” Overmyer said. “It was a lot campier. ‘Revenge of The Krinkles’ is a lot more clean. We had time to go in and record it at a higher quality than the first one.”

Also with the new album comes the addition of the newest Krinkle, Dan “The Fox” Edwards on guitars and vocals, attributing to the albums fullness.

The rest of the band met working in a soup kitchen in Detroit. It was there that Overmyer, drummer Matt Favazza, and guitarist Henry Klotkowski washed dishes and talked of becoming rock stars.

Memories of washing dishes are replaced by the reality that The Krinkles are step by step getting closer to their dream.

“We keep slugging it out and getting better and better,” Overmyer said. “We’re now playing clubs that we dreamed about when we first started playing. But it’s not time to sit back and be satisfied. We’re always looking forward and hoping for more. We always want more.

“Being a musician is the ultimate hobby for us because it allows all of us to live out our dreams,” Overmyer said. “And it gives me something to do on the weekends.”

The Krinkles will visit the Maintenance Shop Friday with The Little Blue Crunchy Things. The show starts at 9 p.m. and is $4 for students and $5 general admission.