A capsule look at Pittsburgh bands making news.

CHAIBABA

Members: Ketan Bakrania, bass, vocals, percussion; Vijay Bakrania, guitar; Dino Lopreiato, drums.

Style: Progressive rock, from jazzy to metal.

Listed influences: Phish, Pink Floyd, Rush, many metal bands, Zappa, Yes, classical Indian music, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Michael Hedges, Jane's Addiction.

Background: Lopreiato and Ketan played together for years in the Pitt African Drumming Ensemble, Blindsight and SYT. They formed the band shortly after Vijay moved to Pittsburgh in late 1998.

Debut: "Slow Brewed" is a nine-song instrumental powerhouse that was three years in the making and, surprisingly, recorded in a basement room the size of an office cubicle.

Creative process: "Sometimes we don't even talk," Lopreiato says. "We walk down into the practice spot, plug in and start playing. Sometimes that will go on for a half-hour, 45 minutes, then, we'll say, 'What do we want to do?' "

The songs: Most are instrumental, but there are vocals on a few including Ketan's growling tribute to peanut butter on "PB&J" and horror-core style vocal on "Take Control." "We don't say, 'We're doing vocals to this song.' If they come out, we embrace them," Lopreiato says. "But the music is how we express ourselves. It transcends all generational boundaries and makes it more timeless and also more international."

What kind of band do they think they are? "That's one of the hardest questions," Lopreiato says. "We are a rock band, but we're more like an old progressive rock band. The songs are really long. We didn't say, 'We have to have a 3¹/₂-minute long song to get played on the radio.' Our album just embraces a lot of different areas. It's like life: the mellow part, the heavy part, the aggressive part, the chai."

Playing out: "We're not overly concerned with playing shows. When we go out there, people are amazed, like 'Where have you guys been?' "

CD Release show: 7 to 11 p.m. Saturday. Schenley Park Ice Rink, inside. There will be homemade Italian and Indian food, beer (with ID), coffee, etc., included and ice skating (fee for skates if you don't have your own). $15; $13 in advance; kids 12 and under $6. All ages, no smoking inside. Guests include The African Drumming Ensemble and Jason Jouver of Creta Bourzia.

JIMMY ADLER

Claim to fame: Pittsburgh blues guitarist made the rounds -- playing in the Mohicans, Eugene and the Nightcrawlers, The Mojo's, Wil E. Tri and the Bluescasters, and Gary Belloma and the Blues Bombers -- before forming his own band in 2003.

His hardware: Gibson ES-335, Fender Strat, Fender Tele and "a cheap guitar" that he uses for slide.

Influences: Early Clapton, from whom he learned to play guitar at age 15. It led him to Jimmy Reed, B.B. King and Elmore James.

Debut CD: "Absolutely Blues! Live at the Boneyard."

Band: Adler, guitar and vocals; John Burgh, piano; Harry "Alley Cat" McCorkle, bass; Randy Roth, drums.

Style: A blend of Chicago blues and West Coast jazzy jump with plenty of barrelhouse piano, dirty slide guitar and growling vocals.

Boneyard session: The 13 songs were recorded live at the McKeesport studio one Sunday in April when the band played 15 songs straight through. There are eight originals and five covers, including Robert Johnson's "Stop Breakin' Down" and "Kind Hearted Woman" and T-Bone Walker's "T-Bone Jumps Again."

Killer cover: Ronnie Earl's instrumental "Baby Doll Blues" that features some of Adler's most scorching and fluid guitar work.

Killer original: "Elmore's Blues," a spirited and rocking tribute to James that lets all the band members cut loose.

Release show: Natili's, 104 W. Wayne St., Butler at 9:30 p.m. Friday. 724-287-5053.

-- Scott Mervis