When your band has two lead guitarists, it's a safe bet you're gonna attract more metalheads than mopers. When the members of Irradio were asked to describe their music, singer/guitarist Dan Dasher said "blues-punk," drummer Collin Tuthill claimed "angular art-rock," keyboardist/percussionist Edgar Alminar dubbed it "uplifting rock," bassist Chad Tuthill declared "dance-punk," and guitarist/singer Paulo Zuniga called it "indie rock for those who don't know what indie rock is."

"I usually try to avoid being too specific when asked that question," adds Collin. "I want them to come to our music with open ears, open minds, and with as few preconceived notions as possible." Formed in 1999, Irradio has recorded two homegrown albums: 2002's Semantic Noise, recorded at Sweet Sound Studios, and 2004's Make-up for the Inaugurated, recorded by Ben Moore (Hot Snakes, Rocket from the Crypt) at Signature Sound. Their music has appeared on the Discovery Channel's Urban Explorers and on compilation CDs (Insound, Magnet, Amp). And if the San Diego Music Awards still carry any street cred (despite having devolved into a live-action commercial for host Troy Johnson's weekly newspaper), Irradio was nominated for two this year. They play the Casbah on Saturday, December 17.

WHAT'S IN YOUR CD PLAYER?

Paulo:

1. Jaguares, El Equilibrio

2. Led Zeppelin IV

3. John Frusciante, The Will to Death

4. Queens of the Stone Age, Lullabies to Paralyze

Collin:

1. Pretty Girls Make Graves, The New Romance

2. James Brown, Sex Machine (live, 1970)

3. Kool Keith, Black Elvis/Lost in Space

4. Sleater-Kinney, The Woods

Edgar:

1. Lindsey Yung, Fusion

2. The Mars Volta, Frances the Mute

Dan:

1. Ted Leo, RX/Pharmacists

2. Iron and Wine, The Creek Drank the Cradle

3. Explosions in the Sky, How Strange, Innocence

Chad:

1. Gorillaz, Demon Days

2. Coldplay, X & Y

3. Garbage, Bleed Like Me

4. Waking Life (soundtrack)

ANOTHER LOCAL PERFORMER DESTINED FOR FAME?

Collin: "Goodbye Blue Monday -- they write great songs, they are hardworking, they're really good live."

Dan: "Yovee is destined for fame. They write music everyone can chill to."

WORST TV SHOWS?

Paulo:

1. The Real World: "Nothing worse than watching a bunch of meatheads trying to hook up with their brainless female roommates while talking about how they are unique and misunderstood."

2. Celebrity Fit Club: "Who wants to spend their evenings watching burnt-out, overweight celebrities have contests to try and lose four pounds? Are they aware that they will probably gain twice the weight back after they go home?"

Edgar:

1. "All music-related reality shows: Newlyweds, Britney's Chaotic, Being Bobby Brown, etc."

2. Date My Mom

BEST BAND NAMES?

Paulo:

1. Destroy Miranda

2. The Locust

3. Minor Threat

Collin:

1. Run for Your Fucking Life

2. ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead

3. They Might Be Giants

4. Fugazi

5. Electric Eel Shock

Edgar:

1. Radiohead

2. Nirvana

3. Curse of the Carousel Pony

4. Blackalicious

5. The Kite-Eating Tree

Chad:

1. Talking Heads

2. Primus

3. Pretty Girls Make Graves

4. Hot Like a Robot

DESERT ISLAND DVDS?

Paulo:

1. Almost Famous: "I would have been in a band like that had I grown up in the '70s."

2. Instrument -- Ten Years With the Band Fugazi: "Great documentary which takes you into the life of a band that wants to stay under the radar."

3. The Royal Tenenbaums: "Great movie with a great soundtrack."

4. City of God: "Why not go to Brazil?"

Collin:

1. Stop Making Sense: "It's a live Talking Heads performance. Enough said."

2. Rushmore: "It's a great film, and the DVD has lots of extras."

3. The Lord of the Rings trilogy: "They have eleventy kadillion hours of extras."

4. Anchorman: "Watch and listen to the commentary. You will not be sorry!"

5. Riding in Vans with Boys: "Billie Joe Armstrong [Green Day] brands Chris Cote's [Kut U Up] ass. Wow."

Edgar:

1. Dancer in the Dark: "Bjork gives an unprecedented performance."

2. Chappelle's Show (Season One and Two): "I always laugh, no matter how many times I've seen the episode."

3. Amélie: "Great music, great cinematography."

4. Memento: "The DVD allows me to watch the movie backwards as well -- try it out."

Dan:

1. Team America: World Police: "Makes fun of radicals and liberals, Star Wars trilogies...an awesome spiritual experience."

2. The Crow: "I love the underdog."

3. Anchorman: "Will Farrell is hilarious."

WORST GIG STORY?

Paulo: "Arriving to the show and being told that we were actually supposed to play on some rocks under a bridge over the Mississippi River, and the only way to get the equipment across the river was on a little raft that was literally falling apart. We were out of there pretty quick."

Chad: "In Minnesota, Dan hit Paulo in the head with his guitar, making him bleed -- while I thought my house was burning down in the San Diego firestorm of 2003."

ADVICE YOU'D GIVE PRESIDENT BUSH?

Paulo: "Leave! Before the rest of America catches on to what everyone else in the world already knows."

Collin: "We need renewable energy sources if our current mode of existence is to continue. It's clear that no one source of energy can replace oil, so we need more efficient battery technology, more efficient solar panel technology, more efficient wind-power generators, and probably a bunch of stuff that I don't even know about."

Edgar: "Stop trying to take over the world. Think before you act. Quit making those damn faces."

Dan: "Take everything that you own and get the fuck out of here!"