As the sun was beginning to set during Dotfest 2, Everclear was rocking hard through their set, and backstage, the Urge’s Steve Ewing was preparing for sound check with the rest of his band.

Decked out in blue jean overalls and covering his long braided hair with a black knit hat, Ewing sat on the side of a trailer to talk about his band, his music, and the Urge’s latest CD “Master Of Styles.”

The Urge are known for being one of the hardest hitting bands around the Midwest. The St. Louis septet plays a very tight show, never stopping to rest or even wipe sweat from their brows. From the time the band’s show starts, there’s no stopping them until the last perfect note is played.

But becoming the best live band wasn’t something the Urge did overnight. The band formed 10 years ago in St. Louis. Bassist Karl Grable and guitarist Jerry Jost were still in high school along with drummer John Pessoni when they joined up with Ewing. The horn section was added later through auditions.

There were no certain expectations among bandmembers at first.

“We didn’t necessarily have any goals when we began — we just wanted to play. I spent some long hours in my bedroom grooving. We tried to get as many gigs as we could. We finally got to the point where we could put a few people in a room,” Ewing said, battling to be heard over Everclear’s powerful amps.

Ewing never dreamed of the Urge becoming a headlining band. He was just happy being able to play with his friends.

“Back then we had no true expectations. Now we’ve gone through some hard touring, and I’m proud that we were able to put out four indie records on our own before getting signed to a label,” Ewing said.

The Urge signed to Immortal records three years ago. Upon signing, the band went on to make the highly acclaimed “Receiving The Gift Of Flavor” and the follow-up “Master Of Styles.”

With a busy touring schedule and a lot of help from local radio stations, including Des Moines’ 107.5 KKDM and D.J. Sophia John, the Urge were able to build up a wealth of support.

“Sophia became a great friend of ours. We built a great relationship in more than just a radio context. She was playing us when a lot radio stations weren’t,” Ewing said.

Ewing’s advice for local bands trying to get out of their hometown rut: “Build your local scene. Then move on and move out, and save your money. You won’t make money for awhile, but when it starts coming in, put it back into making records, and do a lot of touring.”

Ewing never knew it would be paying his bills back then, but is thankful for his success now.

“I’m paying my bills, I’m paying my bills,” Ewing laughed. “I’m not in it for the money, though. I’m in it for my personal satisfaction of playing in front of people.”

Ewing sings with all the flair of James Brown with a ’90s twist. While he can scream out a lung-crushing yowl one moment, he doesn’t hesitate to show off his amazing singing talents as well. He does it quite well for someone who was never involved in music before.

“I played the sax for like a day,” Ewing mused. “But I sang along with the radio a lot.”

The Urge had a great deal of influences on their style, ranging from the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Fishbone and Bad Brains.

“I also listened to a lot of R & B and soul, Sly and the Family Stone, (the Artist Formerly Known As) Prince, and the Police were my biggest influence,” Ewing said.

“On any given song I can break it down and see that it’s totally Police how it turned out. Our new song “Closer” has an English beat, and the vocals are very much like the Police,” Ewing continued.

The only way to describe an Urge show: They are simply the greatest band to see live. An Urge show is a very heated, very energized experience. Ewing appreciates that statement very much.

“That’s cool. We pride ourselves on giving good music live. In our shows the energy just comes to us, and we don’t know any other way to do it. We really work on playing well. Even though there’s a lot of jumping around, we always make sure the music is flawless,” Ewing explained.

Though many have tried to classify the Urge as a ska-core band, Ewing disagrees.

“We are the ‘new school of rock,’ including reggae, ska and hip-hop,” he said.

As far as writing songs goes, Ewing gets his ideas from “things that happen and things I’m thinking about.”

“When I write about myself it’s a little bit different. To characterize your life on a record is very sincere. I don’t have any particular messages, though. ‘Jump Right In’ is about a time when I had unprotected sex. It was really scary because I knew the dangers, but I did it anyway,” Ewing said.

Ewing is happy about the outcome of his band’s latest album, in which “Jump Right In” is the first single.

“The production was much better. We put our hearts into it. It wasn’t just ‘let’s make a record.’ For the first time, I’m happy about an album,” Ewing said.

“Master Of Styles” is a multi-media CD that includes a video game called “Bumrush.” Ewing hopes that people will enjoy it along with the rest of the album, and that they will come to the shows.

The Urge will continue to tour this summer, and their schedule will take them out of the United States for the first time, as they will visit Canada and parts of Europe.