Bright Giant performs rock and roll songs that have been shaking the foundations of venues across the country since January 2009.

The band will perform at the Blue Moose Tap House, 211 Iowa Ave., with opener Aulos at 7 p.m. Friday. Admission is free but open only to patrons more than 19.

"We’re not there to rally the troops and high-five everybody," said Bright Giant singer Josh Davis. "That’s college rock. We’re there to perform our music, period. We’re a rowdy rock and roll band; we’re not there to be party facilitators, we’re there to play our songs."

Davis and drummer Will Locker were looking for a new project to start after their previous band, the Josh Davis Band, broke apart. The pair was joined by guitarist Noah Mass and bassist Justin Goes, and Bright Giant was born. The band unveiled its new name while performing in Des Moines for 80/35 Festival in 2009.

"We went through a long list of band names," Davis said. "I had iPhone notes that went on for pages full of band names. I was on Wikipedia looking at different solar phenomenon, pretty much because I like the pictures."

Bright Giant is determined to get its music into the ears of the masses. The band’s single "Jake and the Gunslinger" earned positive responses from fans and a considerable amount of airplay on the radio.

"We have this love of music and a pride of playing our own songs," Locker said. "We have a twanginiess that adds a hint of country to our rock-and-roll sound. But what really motivates us is that it feels great to play our own songs and have a positive response to it."

The hint of country may be a result of where the songs are conceived. Davis, who writes the songs, often leaves Des Moines and heads to Arkansas for inspiration.

"I like guns; I like shooting; I’m kind of a dirt bag in that way," he said. "I am an outdoorsy person. So a lot of my ideas come when I’m out on camping trips about two or three times a year down South. It seems every time I go down there, a ton of ideas hit me."

From those trips come the roots of noisy, in-your-face rock songs. And the band has been impressed people with what it has created.

"In my opinion, we’re one of the only full-on original rock-and-roll bands from around here," Locker said. "I’m quite a big music fan, maybe even a music snob, and I think we’re pretty awesome. We have a lot to offer."