Aurora's Painkiller Hotel used to braving the elements

Mother Nature seems to be against Painkiller Hotel. The Aurora-based band is in the process of recording their second album at a studio in Nashville. On their most recent weekend trips, the city was hit by nonstop storms, resulting in severe flooding.

"In the area around us there were people jet skiing in the streets," said singer and guitarist Kevin Presbrey. "People were stranded. There were roads you couldn't cross. Restaurants were closed down. Nobody was doing anything."

Earlier this year, the band was there when the southern city got hit by one of its worst blizzards of the decade. On one drive, 40 mile-per-hour winds blew their car off the road.

"The whole process of making this album has been epic," Presbrey said. "It's been one weather disaster after the next. Somebody doesn't want this album to come out."

Despite the setbacks, Presbrey and his fellow band members bassist Adam Harker, guitarist Leif Hendrixon and drummer Nate Green, all of Aurora, have been hard at work. Their still-untitled album is due out this summer.

"I want to wait until the album is done before coming up with a name for it," Presbrey said. "I think you can come up with a better name once you see what the whole album breathes and sounds like."

Since the current lineup for the alternative rock band came together in 2006, the group has been growing a following throughout the Midwest and the south, playing shows in Florida and Atlanta and participating in Austin's massive South by Southwest Music and Media Conference and Festival.

They play at home in Aurora at Ballydoyle Irish Pub & Restaurant this weekend.

Presbrey said he views his band as a small business. He books all their shows and pours a huge amount of work into promoting them through social media and cross-promoting with other bands. Painkiller Hotel first started performing outside of Chicago's Western suburbs by traveling to Indiana and Wisconsin, making connections with local bands in those states. The native groups would help introduce their fans to the visiting act, and in turn would receive the same treatment when they traveled to Illinois.

"Everyone is trying to gradually grow their market outside of their home base," Presbrey said. "The way we've been really successful at it is we go back to those places. You have to keep returning to your customers."

"Black Roses," the group's debut album, shows how the music Presbrey grew up on influenced his style. Tracks mix the dark and moody lyrics and notes of '90s alternative music like Pearl Jam and Stone Temple Pilots with powerful basslines and guitar riffs common to classic rock groups like Led Zeppelin. Many of the songs focus on love gone bad, though Presbrey promises they're not all about one girl. He said he takes a spontaneous approach to songwriting, often just sitting down with his guitar and coming up with a tune and seeing what feels right to sing along. While he was the primary force behind the songs on Black Roses, Hendrixon is joining the writing efforts for the new album.

Traveling to Nashville to record has meant long drives and brushes with severe weather, but it's also had great rewards. Recently the group got to spend time with 3 Doors Down, one of the bands they cite as an influence on their own music. Painkiller Hotel used the Mississippi-based alternative rock band's studio and equipment for part of their recording.

"They were in there working with us and giving us suggestions for what they thought would sound cool," Presbrey said.