During my freshman year in college, my friends and I visited The Caterie on a humid Saturday night. When we arrived, we saw a line stretching from the neighboring drugstore to The Caterie's door, which was illuminated by a large marquee that read "TONIGHT ñ MERIWETHER - $10."

That night, I experienced the wildest performance from one of Louisiana's best homegrown acts.

Meriwether includes Drew Reilley (vocals and guitar), Steve Bergeron (guitar), Josh Barbier (bass) and Brett Schexnayder (drums). When the band started out, the Baton Rouge music scene looked much different than it does today. Believe it or not, cover bands ruled the club stages. Meriwether, as with many of the other bands of the time, had to pay their dues as an opening act before they could headline.

As a credit to the band's success, they are now acknowledged as one of the local acts that helped to turn the public's attention to original music.

One of the things that has kept the band in the spotlight is its grueling touring schedule. Meriwether already has 23 shows booked in the next month and a half.

"We try to have good live shows where people have a lot of fun," Bergeron said. "You can go to any show, any night, any city and see the same live band. We try not to sound like every other band. We like to put a strange stamp on our sound."

Meriwether is currently on tour to promote its sophomore album, "Sons of Our Fathers." with Sam Anderson as the touring drummer and Skip as the touring keyboardist. Yep, the guy's name is simply Skip.

Bergeron described the meaning behind their new album's title.

"I think it has to do with the way we all feel about father figures," he said. "Each of our fathers helped shape us in some strange way. My father was a musician."

Bergeron, who initially turned down Reilley's offer to join the band, had a change of heart after he heard a demo recording of Meriwether.

"I can remember his old band, and that band had broken up. He was always mentioning about making another band and whether or not I would want to be in it. I always said, ëNo,'" Bergeron said.

Bergeron said Reilley was working at The Caterie and met Barbier. The pair began auditioning drummers and they formed a three-piece group, which they called Meriwether. Bergeron decided to join the group after hearing the demo in 2003.

In 2005, Meriwether produced its first album, "Make Your Move." Soon, the band was touring the country living the ultimate rock ën roll dream. They played in some of the biggest venues, opened up for some of the hottest bands, and headlined some of the rowdiest shows.

Meriwether has seen and done some incredible and crazy things.

"The craziest thing that I have personally done at a show was right before we got signed --- and we had been turned down by a lot of people," Bergeron recalled. "We played a show in New York City, and it was just wild, just a little too much drinking. We were three years younger, pretty much knew that we were a bar band, and we were cool with that. Got really drunk, and I got thrown out of my own show. I don't know. It was very hazy."

Shortly after this incident, Meriwether signed with Interscope Records.

With their second album on the horizon, the band wants to do more touring and songwriting until the expected release date in late October, early November.

Once the album drops, Meriwether's plans are quite simple.

"Try to make another record," Bergeron said. "And, of course, try to live through it."

You can find more information about the band and their tour on MySpace.