Southern rock returns to its roots.

Dash Rip Rock — comprised of guitarist and lead singer Bill Davis, bassist Patrick Johnson and drummer Kyle Melancon — will take stage at The Melting Point.

“I love Athens because it’s, to me, it was always sort of ground zero for Southern pop music,” Davis said. “And not just because of R.E.M., but a lot of other bands that were there around the same time, like The B-52’s and Guadalcanal Diary. We always felt like it was sort of the birth place of the kind of music that we mostly unify with, which is poetic, Southern pop music.”

Playing in such a monumental town, directly connected with the band’s style, adds some pressure.

Dash Rip Rock was recently inducted in the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame, but the group still gets excited to return to Athens, which it sees as the ‘ground zero for Southern pop music.’ Courtesy Dash Rip Rock

“The first time we ever played in Athens it felt like we were going to some sort of historical landmark,” Davis said. “It has this kind of small town feel to it, but so much great music has come out of there and the music has gone worldwide. So Athens is pretty much recognized as being the birthplace of new Southern music. So when we’re there, we feel like we have to behave accordingly.”

And on top of birthing Southern pop music, Athens also provided Davis with some memorable nights.

One such performance took place back when the band first entered the spotlight, with its 1995 song “Lets Go Smoke Some Pot.”

“One of my favorite shows was at the Georgia Theatre and it was a completely sold-out audience,” Davis said. “The fire marshal came in and made everyone leave right before we went on stage … And so we were sitting there going, ‘Oh my God, our entire audience just got kicked out of the door.’”

After a heartbreaking exit, Davis said, the band’s fans’ perseverance saved the day.

“We were talking to the club owner trying to figure out what to do, and he said, ‘Well let’s just let everybody back in after the fire marshal leaves,’” Davis said. “‘And we’ll count and make sure we don’t go over the capacity.’”

Another Athens show at the 40 Watt stuck with Davis — where the presence of R.E.M.’s Mike Mills graced the audience.

“Eventually he came up and talked to us and for us that was kind of our first contact with a rock star,” Davis said. “So it was very heady.”

Although now Davis might not be so star-struck — Dash Rip Rock was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in January — the band’s modest beginnings explain its nerves.

“We were students at LSU, and I was working at the college radio station, and we saw some cool bands come through town and we wanted to be just like them,” Davis said.

With Davis’ passion for music a constant factor in his life, in college he made sure to surround himself with as much of it as possible.

The inspiration for the band’s name also came about early on, from Davis’ childhood neighbor.

“I grew up in Baton Rouge and there was an old television show called ‘The Beverly Hillbillies’ on TV and one of the actresses lived in my neighborhood,” Davis said. “It was the actress that played Elly May Clampett, and she lived in my neighborhood. I used to see her out working in her garden. And on the television show, her boyfriend was named Dash Riprock, and so I thought it would be really cool to name our band after her boyfriend, who also lived right around the corner from my house.”

Only fitting then, the band plays various styles of Southern music, Davis said, mashing them into their own high-energy ways.

“We play country, we play Rockabilly, we play what I would consider Southern pop which would include bands like R.E.M. or Drive-By Truckers,” Davis said.

And what it lacks in numbers, Dash Rip Rock makes up with in energy, setting it apart from other Southern bands.

Even when playing some golden oldies, the band never tones down its ampage.

“At a live show we’re known to pull out maybe old country songs, but also give them our own treatment which really sort of involves making them faster, songs by Hank Williams, Patsy Cline or George Jones,” Davis said. “We like to take country music and make it super fast and energetic.”

It mostly sticks to its originals, though, with 15 albums under its belt, and two in production to pull from.

And even though a vein of high energy runs through all of its songs, when cupid’s arrow strikes, the band’s knees can’t help but bend.

“If we see a band we love doing a certain style of song, we may try to emulate it just because it’s something that we’ve fallen in love with,” Davis said. “But we do pretty much keep it within the energetic, Southern rock thing.”

At this performance, however, the band will play mainly from the two new albums still in progress.

“We’ve just really been working hard on them, and we love the new songs,” Davis said. “They have a newness to them that make us want to play them all the time.”

The Melting Point is another new thing the band is looking forward to — returning to Athens and reuniting with old friends.

“We just haven’t been in Athens in years and years and we’re very excited to be returning and playing at The Melting Point,” Davis said. “We’re always excited to break in a new club.”

DASH RIP ROCK

Where: The Melting Point
When: 8:30 p.m.
Price: $5 (adv.), $7