They’ve lived with a Dominatrix and shaken hands with “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan. Played more house shows than they care to remember, and covered Prince’s “Purple Rain” to disastrous effect on a Cocoa Beach catwalk. They went through some shit, broke up, but then got back together. They tour in a van, and sleep on couches. And have a strange affinity for both cats and Pokémon.

They’re called Flashlights, a rather spectacular band from decidedly un-spectacular Brevard County, Florida. They started as the solo acoustic project of twenty-four year old, singer/guitarist Terry Caudill in 2007, then added and subtracted members from various local punk outfits before settling on their current lineup: Tony Oriza on guitar, Will Powell on bass, and Melissa Hopkins on drums.

Carefully crafting a sound more befitting a band born in the mid-90’s melodic punk scene and calling on Archers of Loaf and Superchunk as influences, the band has honed their superior sound and stage presence in the clubs of Florida the past few years. With the announcement of their signing to Hard Rock Records and release of their digital EP, Don’t Take Me Seriously, the band is poised to breakout in 2013.