Typically, bands that establish themselves as regular fixtures at a specific venue in the Classic City tend to be cover bands.

But Crumbling Arches is doing away with this supposition. Tonight, the progressive rock quartet will perform its own material almost exclusively at American Tavern.

University junior Alex McKelvey, one of Crumbling Arches’ two vocalists/guitarists, said tonight’s show is but one in a planned series of monthly appearances at the venue.

“We will perform at the American Tavern the last Thursday of every month,” he said. “I thought it would be cool to play somewhere regularly so we’d have shows to barter off to out-of-town bands.”

And, each show – tonight notwithstanding – is completely free.

“We wanted to be able to play shows that are free for the viewers so it’s easier to attract new audiences, where we have complete control of the bill and where we can play our own music,” said junior and fellow singer/guitarist Brian McGaw.

McGaw added that, despite being a bar, American Tavern is an all-ages venue.

“The carding for alcohol is done at the bar, so anyone can come in and watch,” he said.

A brief history: McGaw and McKelvey, alongside Emory-based rhythm section Ian and Zachary Hennessee, have together been evolving Crumbling Arches’ sound for about eight years – a process that culminated in the band’s first full-length release, 2008′s ambitious concept album “The Somnambulist.”

But in the year that has since elapsed, the foursome parted ways with longtime producer John Holmes in favor of a “do-it-yourself” philosophy.

“We’re producing ourselves now,” McGaw said. “I think it’s been a really good thing for our sound and our style to be doing things on our own.”

McGaw, who recently began recording electronic music under the name Aman Amun, mentioned that his side project helped to inform the decision.

“[It] was my first attempt at playing the role of engineer and producer,” he said. “It developed my ear and my recording skills to a level where it would be possible for us to record and produce our new songs ourselves.”

As such a drastic change would suggest, the new material displays Crumbling Arches in a more confident, genuine light and can be witnessed firsthand at each of the American Tavern shows.

An official release date for the new music has not yet been determined. However, McKelvey and McGaw, the group’s central songwriters, have decided on a new structural approach, akin to OutKast’s “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below” and System of a Down’s “Mezmerize/Hypnotize.”

“All of my songs are going to be on this EP and all of [Brian's] songs will be on the next EP,” McKelvey said. “They will be released separately, but you’ll see some continuity there.”

Crumbling Arches already is known around Athens for its bizarre, theatrical live performances (occasional costumes, frequent on-stage antics, left-field reinterpretations of “Phantom of the Opera” and “Mulan”), but McGaw said the live show is still developing.

“We still throw in some weird acrobatics, and we still say weird things and make the audience do funny stuff,” he said. “But musically, we’re much tighter than we’ve even been before. We have more care for tone and our voices sound stronger.”

At the first American Tavern show, described by Flagpole as an “alternative frat party,” the band heavily encouraged the crowd to display “debaucherous behavior,” such as dancing on the bar.

McGaw and McKelvey hope to continue the anything-goes party atmosphere at all future American Tavern shows.

“In order to spice up our Thursday nights, we just wanted to implement a show where there’s extremely liberal activity, where people are [suggestive onomatopoeia],” McKelvey said.