Five regional bands Spellbound from Johnston City, Thunder Bay out of Anna, Drivin’ Rain from Cape Girardeau, Mo., Everything’s Green from Murphysboro and Odd Man Out from various locations throughout Southern Illinois will showcase their individual brands of rock n’ roll.

Tommy Stritzel, lead singer for Spellbound, said this is an opportunity for the people of Carbondale to get a taste of music they usually have to go out of town for.

We thought we would bring together everything these bands are doing from St. Louis to Cape Girardeau and bring it back to Carbondale, he said. This is music we consider rock n’ roll.

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Influences for the bands range from Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots and Pantera to Kiss, AC/DC and Metallica.

Rock n’ roll won’t be the only thing fans will hear at Metal Fest ’96, said Timexx Nasty, lead vocalist for Drivin’ Rain.

We play raunch n’ roll, Nasty said. It’s ’90s music with an ’80s attitude. The ultimate raunch n’ roll band was Jim Dandy’s Black Oak Arkansas band. David Lee Roth, when he was in Van Halen, stole every last thing from those guys.

Nasty said each of the bands will put on a performance the crowd will remember.

If I go out there in leather pants and someone sees me, I don’t care because it’s all in the fun of the show, he said. Sometimes, people take the music and the looks too seriously. Our music is about disagreeing, and we go out and scream about it.

Thunder Bay, which will celebrate its two-year anniversary at the Fest, also has a new CD, tentatively titled Doppleganger, coming out in April.

Although drugs always have been a part of the metal image and rock n’ roll lifestyle, Thunder Bay drummer Wade said he has seen the dangers of going the route of the rock star, and he lives his life accordingly.

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I tried to be a rock star in my own mind once, and it cost me a band and a lifetime of friends, he said.

Wade said the band does not need to get wasted as a pre-gig ritual.

My thing is taking a shower before and after the show; I just do that every time, Wade said. We have a rule:no getting fucked up before practice or a show.

Tommy DeWolf, guitarist for Thunder Bay, said he already is clumsy and does not need drugs to get him off balance while performing.

Stritzel said this show is for people who have a bit of the old Carbondale spirit left in them.

People who remember the way Gatsby’s used to be will love this, he said, referring to the former incarnation of Gatsby’s, 610 S. Illinois Ave., which used to host metal acts in the ’80s. If they don’t remember, then it will be a nice introduction.

Black Dragon and Dreamscape Productions present Metal Fest ’96 Sunday at Detours, 760 E. Grand Ave. Doors open at 6 p.m., and the cover charge is $5.