It's almost hard to describe - that sound, as much the shiny pop sound of the early Beatles as it is the dark bad-boy rock of the Rolling stones, strong hooky songs that grab you in that certain way that Americana and folk rock do. Emotion-filled, heart-on-your-sleeve rock with a healthy dose of jangly guitar. And all the while it's full steam in its urgency to get into your ear. Alex Chilton and Big Star had that sound in the early 70's as well as Paul Westerberg and the Replacements throughout the 80's. Like a cherry-picking of influences that produces something you can only define as rock. That's what I hear in the songs of Rik Cribb and The Problems.

Local musician, singer and songwriter Rik Cribb's musical journey has taken him across the country and back, but his new job takes him across the world and into the war zone of Afghanistan. Cribb told me, " I work for a company called SAIC. What we do is repair and install all of the radios and communications equipment in all of the new armored vehicles in theatre right now. My job specifically right now is to support our warfighter. If they have any problems with their communications equipment on the battlefield, we fix it. I've been overseas in Afghanistan for six months, I was in Kuwait in 2008 for six months as well. I have a two week R&R, and then I go back for another six months."

I asked him about working so far away from his family. "Being away from the family is extremely difficult as you can imagine," Cribb said. "We talk on skype every chance we get and I call as much as possible. It's a total mindset, I knew what I was getting involved in when I took this job and so did my wife, Becca. You have to stay focused and believe all this is for a greater good. The soldiers I work with are adjusted to this as well and have been deployed over there up to three times. How do they do it? These are the guys on the front lines. What I do, I do for my family, the soldiers and my country."

When I asked about what he does in his spare time he said, "Unfortunately lately I haven't had a whole lot of spare time. I've been recently promoted and my workload and responsibilities have increased dramatically with the war effort. I have not had the privilege of seeing a lot of music over there except for a Toby Keith show at Camp Leatherneck. I'm not a big fan, but it was good to see the troops get fired up because they deserve it, and to see a little live music. I've been writing a lot. It's hard to play in a tent full of people in the middle of the night. I've been finding little places on base to go to when I feel inspired. Most of the time it's an empty shipping container. I bring my laptop, a mic and throw an idea down while it's fresh in my brain. I hope to record a lot more during the next deployment, being back home, and the memories of this trip will stick with me for awhile."

As for future recordings, "Another record is in the works. Definitely spring of 2011." So he's here for a visit and is sharing his "R&R" this weekend, Friday and Saturday nights, at Iacofano's Italian Bar & Grill, 626 Coleman Blvd in Mount Pleasant. Joining Rik and The Problems are special guests which could be a great number of the best players in the local music scene as this very talented local artist knows them all.

"I want everyone to keep all of our men and women in all branches of services in their prayers. I've been there. I see what they do, day in and day out. They love and need our support.", says Cribb.

(Email Johnson at sjohnson@allnightkungfu.com.)