In an era of instant critical backlash and musical snobbery, Brice fills the niche for the music lover who simply enjoys a good time. Their songs are anthems for the funny life-of-the-party types, the witty proud-to-be dorks, and the groups of friends who never joined the fraternities of the Greeks or the hipsters but whose bonds you always suspected were tighter.

For nearly five years Brice has been climbing the Twin Cities’ rock ’n’ roll ladder rung by rung, amassing a dedicated following during the course of playing over 150 shows. The band’s consistent love of life channeled through music culminated in last winter’s release, What Happens in Space Camp Stays in Spacecamp, a collection of their live staple songs. For Brice, it was an appropriate nod to their past as they ready themselves for the future.

“We don’t take things too seriously,” said drummer Sam Hoolihan. “But we take that very seriously.”

“Being fun and positive is something people can really relate to,” said singer/trumpeter John Drankwalter. “It’s all about an escape; an excuse to have a great time.”

The members of Brice all grew up together in the suburbs south of the river. After spending the ’90s separately honing their skills in a variety of grunge-inspired high school bands, guitarists Andy Gustafson, Brad Thompson and Bill Blaszczak ended up living in the same house as Hoolihan and Drankwalter while attending the University of Minnesota. After pooling their musical resources for a thrown-together performance at Spring Jam, the longtime friends thought it might be worth playing together in their basement on a regular basis.

“We all wanted the chance to play together,” said Blaszczak. “We were all living together, and we started having a lot of fun pushing each other musically.”

The band soon began tirelessly playing the coffee shop/Eclipse Records circuit as they took the attitude of playing every show and any show—once even playing for Best Buy’s Corporate Headquarters’ janitor party where, after the show, the attendees had to clean up their own party.

As the years unfolded, Brice managed to keep up their rigorous local gig schedule while juggling school, work and touring (mostly around the Midwest and as far out as Los Angeles). They also entered a studio to begin recording the songs that would make up their first full-length release.

As the recording process dragged, Brice continued to play around the Twin Cities. Their live shows became increasingly festive as the band grew tighter. Slowly making its way onto the bills of the more reputable local rock venues, Brice began to attract an ever more loyal group of fans outside their friends’ six-degrees-of-separation. As the recording for their full-length dragged on, the band released a self-titled EP in late 2002. Soon, the attendance at the shows they played began to reflect an even wider audience.

“It was nice to get to the point where we didn’t know everyone,” said Thompson. “[We didn’t know any of the crowd personally] Yet they were lip-synching our songs,” said Drankwalter. “It was incredible.”

Though they were eager to put out the finalized versions of the songs they’d been playing for years, the members of Brice refused to deviate from their “take it to the max” approach to recording in the studio. All the members wanted to ensure that the versions of the songs they ended up putting to tape were the best possible —a situation that resulted in intense interband struggles that eventually helped the band’s music grow.

“It got to the point where I’d actually come up with guitar parts in an attempt to wreck a song,” said Thompson. “But the more I’d play a part that didn’t make sense, the more perfectly it fit.”

While putting the finishing touches on Space Camp, their EP garnered the band a little notoriety on college radio around the country. In January of 2003, CMJ listed Brice as a Top 10 add to college radio play lists. By the time Brice finally released What Happens in Space Camp Stays in Space Camp CMJ named Brice as one of the top 50 unsigned bands in the Nation. The single “White Socks” also began receiving 70 spins a week between the two radio stations in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The songs on Space Camp reflect the growth of a band whose members have matured from college kids playing nearby coffee houses to a collective of young adults hitting their indie rock stride. The set opens with the blistering guitar picking of “I’m the Boy,” a high-energy anthem of eternal youth which juxtaposes lighthearted, yet spot-on rapping with soaring multi-part harmonies, which sets the tone for the following collection. These are fun songs sung with the kind of reverence anyone can relate to.

Songs like “White Socks” (about having a crush on a girl who, oddly enough, doesn’t wear them) and “Ten Guys” (an ode to the revolving door atmosphere of life in a large college house) could easily be written off as shallow if it weren’t for Brice’s ability to build them on such a strong foundation of sincerity about their meaningfulness. Perhaps more impressive is the way they manage to seamlessly segue from the introspection of “Alright With Me” (a song about self-doubt during a budding relationship) to the goofy party rap of “Ninja #9” (a song about a ninja) without throwing integrity aside.

Now that the definitive recording of their early years is complete and released, the members of Brice contend that they are more focused on the future than ever. The band is already eagerly recording the new material they’d put off during the recording sessions for Space Camp. They plan on having a new full-length recording of new material ready by the end of the year. In the meantime, Brice continues to play around town and plans to tour more extensively around the Midwest. As they begin to commemorate five years of fun, Brice suggests that the one thing that rock ‘n’ roll can always be is a good time.

Brice plays on Sat., May 15, at the Uptown Bar. With TBA. 9 p.m. TBA. 21+. 3018 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls. 612-823-4719.

You can find out more about Brice on their official website.

Click to download an mp3 of Brices’ song White Socks.