Jackson Free Press

If you aren't going to see this band, I don't want to speak with you. This is the kind of music that moshpit-inducing, sweaty-energy recordings can only hint at. Every song sounds like it belongs on the opening sequence to a heartfelt teenage misfit movie: loud garage punk with soaring melodies that can take a sprawling '80s metal-turn before taking a dive in the beer-soaked gutter.

Welcome to the music of the Nashville-based band Diarrhea Planet.

It all started in Nashville at Belmont University, a liberal arts school with an emphasis on the music business. The six guys met through attending classes and exploring Nashville's thriving music scene. Frontman and guitarist Jordan Smith, 25, was a music business major, and drummer Casey Weissbuch, 25, was a percussion major. Guitarist Emmett Miller, 23, majored in classical guitar. Guitarist Evan Bird, 22, bassist Mike Boyle, 25, and guitarist Brent Toler, 25, had more conventional majors, but everyone played in bands.

"We were all playing in serious bands—the bands that we were like, "Oh, this is the band that we're going to try and make a living playing in,'" Smith says.

Diarrhea Planet started as a joke, as the name might suggest. "We started this band a goofy, fun, party thing, but then it became more popular than our real bands," Smith says.

The name proved troublesome, however, making it hard for them to land a booking agent. "I had our manager contact (hardcore punk band) F*cked Up's booking agent, and (the booking agent) said no because of our name," Smith recalls.

The band has managed to transcend the moniker with its second album, "I'm Rich Beyond Your Wildest Dreams," which Infinity Cat Recordings released in August. The record shows real growth, and finds the band slowing down tempos, focusing on hooks, and eschewing bathroom humor for sentimentality. The shift reflects the members' listening habits while on the road, which has changed from obscure punk bands to more popular acts. "(During) this last tour, we listened to Haim and Gary Glitter the whole tour," Smith says.

A rowdy concert at this year's SXSW led Spin to dub Diarrhea Planet as "Best Band With Most Repulsive Name," and a huge amount of attention both off and online followed.

"In the past six months we've all quit our day jobs," Smith says. He estimates that the band is already booking shows into September 2014. "We've been on the road pretty much nonstop, except for small breaks, since July 1."

Shows are as wild as one might expect from a band with four guitarists and members in their mid-20s. Smith has a scar on his head from when he head-butted Boyle's bass in a moment of passion, and Weissbuch has to bring an electric fan onstage to keep from overheating. The band frequently crowd surfs, climbs on bars and plays their guitars behind their heads or even with their teeth.

Underneath the wild exterior, however, is a band with heart.

"All of our records are about being super lonely and isolated, but trying to find hope," Smith says.

The band's plans for 2014 include touring, writing a new album, working on an EP and several 7-inch records, including one with self-described "best friend band" The Lovely Bad Things. The band also has some tentative summer plans.

"We might be doing the whole Warped Tour," Jordan says.

Diarrhea Planet performs at 10 p.m. Dec. 7 at Martin's Restaurant and Bar (214 S. State St., 601-354-9712). Visit diarrheaplanet.com for more information.