By DOUG GILLETT
Staff Writer

The last time Jimmie’s Chicken Shack came to Athens, the band was called Ten Times Big and played a show at the Downstairs. Now, years later, it has a new album and a video on MTV and is playing a free concert at the 40 Watt Club that will feature – ta-dah! – a Playboy bunny.

One could say that Jimmie’s Chicken Shack has arrived.

"It kind of feels like, wow, it’s been a long time," singer and guitarist Jimi HaHa said, of the band’s explosive success. "It feels right. It feels like it should be happening."

Tonight’s 40 Watt performance is the third in a series of free concerts sponsored by Playboy magazine and Bacardi. The audience will experience the Shack’s eclectic blend of styles, which the band has dubbed "mutt rock."

"It’s just a giant mutt. We really couldn’t pinpoint anything. Sometimes it gets funky, sometimes it gets loud and silly," HaHa said. "’Passionate,’ I would say, would be the most common theme. It’s pretty passionate and high-energy."

Jimmie’s Chicken Shack is coming off the success of its Rocket Records debut album, "Pushing the Salmanilla Envelope," and the band’s first single, "High," whose video has been a frequent sight on MTV. HaHa said he could remember only one instance in which he actually caught the video while he was watching TV.

"We were out at Tampa, and actually, the guys from Sevendust were on their bus – and (they) jumped off and said, ‘You guys are on MTV now!’" he said.

"I like MTV a lot – I think it’s great that they decided to do another channel (M2) that was focusing on the older stuff, and some of the people that weren’t platinum artists," HaHa said. "Anything that involves music can’t be a bad thing."

The Annapolis, Md., band recently has spent time touring with rock band Everclear.

"We’ve been playing with Everclear for the past month, and it was a great tour, but we’d only get to do a 40-minute set," HaHa said. "So we’re excited about doing our own set."

With free admission and Playboy Playmate Kelly Monaco signing autographs, the 40 Watt is expecting a big turnout for tonight’s show. "We definitely have been getting calls, and people have been excited about it," said Velena Vego, 40 Watt’s booking agent.

"The person that’s putting the money up for the whole tour called us and said they’d heard about our club."

"We’d never done (the New Music series) before, and it sounded like a good idea," she said. Other college towns slated for the Playboy/Bacardi New Music series venues include Tallahassee and Gainesville, Fla., State College, Pa., and East Lansing, Mich.

Vego cited the band’s increasing popularity and the spring weather as two more reasons a big turnout was expected. This is the club’s first free show of the year. Vego said the 40 Watt’s 800-person capacity likely will be filled, with concertgoers admitted on a "first come, first-served" basis.

What does Jimi HaHa think about having a Playmate present?

"I’m sure there’ll be people who are coming out just to see the Playmate," he said. "The coolest thing about it is that there’ll be free shows on college campuses, and that’s kind of what got us into this in the first place."