Gothic Theatre

Neon Culpa

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Not many rock bands can say they’ve performed at a Jiffy Lube parking lot and a top Los Angeles nightclub in the same year.

But the Sandy-based rock group Blacklist 40 has had no problem paying its dues at the small venues in order to get to the big ones. And their work, it appears, is paying off.

Now, after being together for just four years, the band is set to embark on a national tour with Everclear, has a lineup of performances at some legendary venues and is in talks with a major record label.

Blacklist 40 â€" made up of lead singer/lead guitarist Charlie Barker, drummer/backup vocalist Eric Bodreau, rhythm guitarist Hank DeMars and bassist Benji Kirkwood â€" has been a hit with Sandy High School students and in the local music scene for years. But, as de facto manager Chuck Barker says, the band is about to take a “quantum leap.”

And as the band makes a go at a professional career, it wants to have a name that will be remembered. That memorable name, they say, won’t be Blacklist 40.

“There are so many bands named Blacklist and Blacklisted,” Bodreau said. “We’re wanting more of an original name.”

After sorting through almost 300 names, the band settled on “Neon Culpa” as its new moniker, which commuicates “vision and social responsibility,” Chuck Barker said.