Fans of local band Salt Creek might be a little surprised by the group's roots. While the band, packed with seasoned veteran musicians, plays bluegrass-inspired music, banjo player Colin O'Brien was plucking strings on classical guitar before starting the band and Guy Fiorentini was playing guitar in punk and jazz bands before strumming bass. Guitarist Jim Eanelli brings a rock and roll pedigree to the mix, having played with the Violent Femmes, Rick Derringer and Sammy Llamas of the BoDeans. Add John Seydewitz on drums (an instrument not typical of a bluegrass band) and Lisa Church on fiddle and you have a varied group of musicians playing bluegrass.

But whatever you do, don't call Salt Creek a bluegrass band.

"It's not exactly a bluegrass band," says O'Brien, "I think live we're getting more of a rock-and-roll attitude. We use drums for most of our gigs which is something your typical bluegrass band won't do. I basically consider us 'bluegrass rock.'"

Throw in some Celtic and Middle-Eastern influences for good measure and you can see that Salt Creek comes from a lot of different angles, which keeps things fun and engaging for the band. But as fun and fast-paced as Salt Creek's shows are, it's hard to believe that O'Brien started the band because he was bored with the guitar.

"The band is all my fault. I did a solo acoustic thing for a few years," he explains, "I had a great time doing that. A couple of years after that I played all over the place doing solo gigs primarily. I had a good thing going and I found myself getting a little bored. Then the banjo came along and perked me up again."

"Basically it started with me and Guy. He picked up an old American Standard upright bass for about $50 and I got the banjo. The first year it was pretty much just me and him and a revolving cast of other players."

Two years later, Salt Creek can now begin to boast a little. In addition to playing some major festivals in Wisconsin this summer, including Summerfest and Farmapalooza, they also played alongside heroes Dan Tyminski (who worked on the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack) and Alison Krauss.

"That is pretty close to the top," O'Brien says.

This year also marked the completion of "Rollin' Forward," a collection of original songs and covers that showcase the band's unique sound. Nine months in the making, O'Brien considers the album one of the band's greatest achievements, calling it a "blast to make."

But "Rollin' Forward" cannot contain the frenetic energy that Salt Creek brings to the stage, displaying a lot of skill with their instruments by using improvisation.

O'Brien says, "There is sort of a jazz approach to what we do. You're responding to the moment and if you have the tools, you're able to respond to the moment musically. After a good gig I could play forever."

These good gigs are what keep Salt Creek going, and allow them to pick up new fans along the way. After a very hectic summer, the band will begin promoting "Rollin' Forward" around town this fall and converting new followers to the fold.

O'Brien beams with pride with all his band has accomplished.

"There is a real niche for us," he says, "With the world getting noisier and louder and busier, I think people appreciate the honesty of what we're doing. We're just playing instruments to sound like instruments. It's music that comes from a much simpler time and place. I think what we got is really unique and a natural result of what we brought to the table."

Salt Creek performs at Linnemann's in Riverwest on Fri., Sept. 26.