If you love live music and are looking to satisfy a concert craving, head over to Binghamton University’s Undergrounds tonight. Based out of New York City, alternative and hard rock band Soundspeak is heading up to Binghamton to jam and will be playing a show at 10 p.m. Comprised of frontman Nick Sumner, drummer Salchi and bassist Chops, the guys of Soundspeak are ready to put on a high-energy performance. Release had a phone interview with the band before its trek to Bing.

When did the band form and how did it happen?

We officially formed in April 2010. In November 2009 Salchi came to NYC and answered some ads for drummers on Craigslist. He found Nick through Craigslist and then they started jamming and working on material. After making some music, we tried out some bass players, and then found Chops who immediately meshed with us really well.

How many albums have you put out and is there anything new in the works?

We’re in the process of making some demos. We’re a fresh new band and are really just starting out. We’re looking forward to playing gigs for now and getting our music out to the people. Our main focus is to acquire a fan base and get as much exposure as possible. We’ve been experimenting with acoustic shows as well to bring in a wide variety of fans and it’s been working out really well.

Have you played any shows?

We just played a show at Angels & Kings in NYC. We had a great crowd and really just had a lot of fun. Our first show was in September at Ace of Clubs in Manhattan. We’ve been touring locally, a lot of NYC gigs and some in Jersey.

What should concert-goers expect when seeing one of your live shows?

Our performances are definitely pretty unique, we try to go beyond our limits and our own expectations and that really makes the music a lot more powerful and passionate. We like to have fun and want people to enjoy it as much as possible. We just like to have a good time and go out there and rock. Our lyrics are pretty relatable; we’ve got some pretty interesting messages in our songs. The lyrics span everywhere from relationships to politics.

How would you describe your sound? What is it comparable to?

A lot of people have compared us to Tool, Stone Temple Pilots, Porcupine Tree, Kings X. We fit an alternative and hard rock genre.

Who are some musical influences?

We have a lot of different influences including Jeff Buckley, Tom Waits and Stone Temple Pilots. We have a lot of rock and power-pop influences like Spock’s Beard and Bleu. A lot of our influence also came from Salchi’s grandfather. Salchi grew up with him in Puerto Rico, and he played a lot of trio music, which is country-style music with three guitars. His brother was also listening to a lot of metal and rock in the 80’s so a lot of our influence comes from a mixture of rock and Latin in my upbringing.

What do you see Soundspeak doing in the future? Is making music something you guys always want to do?

We would be very privileged to live off of music, to just wake up and play, the getting-paid-for-it aspect is just being able to live off your passion. It’s a self-fulfillment kind of thing; I don’t care what the pay is as long as I can make it on my own and play my instruments.

Do you have any upcoming tour dates planned, besides Binghamton?

We have a few more dates scheduled on the Lower East Side [in Manhattan]. We’re looking to expand toward the New England area and play shows in Connecticut, Boston and Vermont. We’re looking to really just hit college towns, that’s the type of crowd we’re looking for, fans that are going to go out and support music; those are really the type of fans that can relate.

To hear some of Soundspeak’s tunes, make sure to take a look at its Facebook page, and don’t forget to check them out at the Undergrounds tonight!