Hailing from Bridgeport, Connecticut, the Alternate Routes will be bringing its mellow, lyric-driven rock to the Tasty World tonight.

However, the road to Athens from Bridgeport has been a long one – full of exhaustive touring and highlighted by one fateful detour.

After touring with their first EP for about a year, the band had gathered enough songs for a second album. However, they did not have the $1,200 to cover the CD’s production.

That’s when Lady Luck stepped in.

“I’ve always been a bit of a card player,” said Eric Donnelly, the band’s guitarist. “That particular night I just had a good feeling.”

The band had just finished a show in Boston that had netted them $200. Ironically, on an alternate route home that morning, the band passed by a casino.

“I made a bet with Tim, our lead singer, that I could turn the $200 into enough money to press the new CD,” Donnelly said.
Despite reservations and lack of faith from members of the band, Donnelly convinced them to pull over.

“I just nagged,” he said.
Through rounds of blackjack and poker, Donnelly turned the band’s $200 payday to $2,000 – scoring enough to make copies of the CD, manage the rent that month and cover breakfast at McDonald’s.

For Donnelly, the win was equal parts luck and skill.

“When I’m gambling, I’m very much in the zone,” he said. “It’s like playing guitar. When you’re good at it, you can do it without thinking.”

Following a recording deal with Vanguard Records, the band didn’t have to resort to rolling the dice for their latest album, “Good and Reckless and True.”

The album’s sound is laidback and mellow, complemented with heartfelt lyrics.

From poignant personal reflections in songs such as “Ordinary” to a disillusioned social commentary in “Hollywood,” Donnelly credits personal revelations and experiences as inspiration for their lyrics.

That being said, one couldn’t help noticing the gambling references imbedded in a song or two.

“Singing luck be a lady, this is where I belong, but I know that you’re somewhere, singing along,” croons Tim Warren in the song “The Black and The White.”

The album’s pace intensifies on certain tracks, adding variety and balance. With driving guitars and drums in songs like “Are you Lonely,” their sound begins to resemble more classic rock.

The overall appeal of their music has earned the Alternate Routes a spot on popular TV. Their songs have been featured on shows like “The Hills,” “Laguna Beach,” and “Army Wives.”

For Donnelly, who professes to have never seen the shows, he finds it funny when male friends text message him to say that they just heard the band on “The Hills.”
“I say, ‘Why are you watching the Hills?’” said Donnelly. “I never seem to get a straight answer.”