Sorry About Dresden

With their guitar-centered, lo-fi sound, Sorry About Dresden has become a Triangle indie mainstay and will surely be one of the highlights of this year's Troika Festival. Since entering the national scene with their 2003 release, Let it Rest, the Chapel Hill band has made a living touring the Southeast while staying true to their Tar Heel state roots.

Matt Oberst (brother of Bright Eyes' Conor), Eric Roehrig, Matt Tomich and James Hepler became a band when most undergrads were still in elementary school.

"We love playing together. We had taken some time off around 2004, playing shows maybe once or twice a year," Hepler, the band's drummer, wrote in an e-mail. "It was when we reconvened for practice and writing the songs for our new record that we realized how much we missed doing this. And that's where I think the staying power comes from. We're a family."

And as with most families, friends play an integral part. On recent tours, Sorry About Dresden has had a sort of revolving door of sit-ins, especially since bassist Tomich left the band.

"Everyone brings a little something different, but we've been lucky that everyone has fit," Hepler explained. "This band feels like family, and has never really felt a drop-off as musicians have come and gone."

As long-time Triangle residents, the band has a history of involvement with Troika. Hepler joined the festival's planning committee in 2006 after, as he puts it, "having spent two years b-ing about the flaws of earlier permutations."

He found the experience rewarding, describing the festival as something that belongs to the musicians and the fans.

So what does an old-hand Triangle indie rocker listen to these days? Hepler is the first to admit that he's not one to hunt for the latest sensation.