Nottingham, a hamlet of 200,000 people in central England, is famous for the legend of Robin Hood, Sherwood Forest and its notorious sheriff.

In reality, besides being the site of Britain’s oldest pub, the town is gaining notoriety for a new reason it is home to Bivouac, England’s newest addition to the lore of music.

Bivouac, which headlines Friday night’s Rolling Stone New Music Tour in the Student Center Ballrooms, brought its hard-driven sound to the Roman Room during a lunch hour in April 1994. The gig, which slotted the group as the opener for Seaweed, was one that bassist Granville Marsden said he will not forget.

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It was supposed to be outdoors, but it pissed it down all day, he said, using the British vernacular for rain. I was half asleep, and people were out there studying and trying to eat and they’d look up with a bemused look on their face.

Marsden said he will also never forget the elderly Marketplace employee who stood several feet in front of the stage yelling for the band members to turn down their amplifiers.

The irate Student Center employee did not react as most did upon hearing the band. Bivouac put together a demo tape, played a gig and got signed immediately to Elemental Records, a label that was just starting up at the time. The instant recognition was good, Marsden admits, but he said he is glad the band was not an overnight sensation.

We never expected or wanted that, he said. You go from one level to the next and feel good about it, instead of missing out on a middle level and playing fucking stadium gigs without having a clue.

Bivouac did not quite reach the arena rock level, but it grew too big for Elemental’s britches. Label owner Nick Evans advised the group to shop around for a bigger label because he could not meet the increased demand for distribution.

We got to the point where he said he couldn’t do anything else for us, he said. So we began to look for a major label. There were four or five companies interested in us.

Bivouac ended up on Geffen’s expanding roster of young artists with potential, joining the likes of Loud Lucy, Jawbreaker and Skiploader.

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Although it is very easy to dump just about any band with guitars, bass and drums into the alternative category, Marsden refuses to categorize Bivouac’s music. He said the creative process writes the songs instead of a marked path following in the footsteps of proven success.

We just do what we do and at the end of the day, if there’s something listenable, we pick what we think is the best and hope people will get on with it, he said.

Carbondale will have the chance to get on with Bivouac Friday at 7 p.m. in the Student Center Ballrooms. The Bogmen and Rusty will open. There is no charge for admission.