Oh, the places they'll go

When Troubled Hubble fizzled out three years ago after some 400 shows and astounding regional success, brothers Nate and Andrew Lanthrum didn't just lose their band, they essentially lost their full-time jobs.

Though it wasn't easy to return to the professional work force after some four years or so away, it became a welcome escape from life on the road.

They capitalized on college degrees, landed real-life gigs (Nate now works as a juvenile detention officer in downtown Wheaton) and returned to family life. Everything was just how they wanted it. That's when nostalgia set in.

"I miss sleeping on floors," drummer Nate admits. "I miss getting directions from people at gas stations."

Cue Nate and Andrew's latest gig: a sweepingly melodic pop group called Kid, You'll Move Mountains. Joined by Inspector Owl's Corey Wills, classically trained pianist Nina Jones and vocalist Jim Hanke from Milwaukee's now-defunct, popular indie outfit El Oso, this band of Geneva all-stars represents a group of local-music veterans who've been there, done that and done it well -- on tour, in the studio and in front of hundreds of fans.

Nate thought he'd never do it again, not unless something too good to be true turned up. Turns out, this was just what he longed for.

"It takes a huge toll on your life," he says. "I didn't know if I'd play music again like that." Then again, he says, "I was super-excited to be playing in a band again."

If Geneva's Kid, You'll Move Mountains decided on rules when they thought up the band name that would follow their previously successful rock projects, Nate says they had two: "It couldn't be terrible, and it couldn't rhyme."

Dr. Seuss couldn't have said it better himself.

Thankfully, rules were just about the last thing on Nate's mind when he and guitarist Andrew agreed to hook up with Hanke, whom they'd seen on tour many times throughout the years. Initial goals for the band revolved around having fun for old time's sake, and if something marketable came out of it all, then so be it.

In 2006, with the addition of Wills on guitar and Jones singing backup and playing keys, Kid, You'll Move Mountains indeed found themselves transforming mole hills into mountains after all.

Nate admits that combining members of former bands initially produced music that sounded a lot like their respective old songs, but it provided more than enough material to satisfy show bills and a short, introductory album. That August they headed to 91.7 WMSE radio in Milwaukee to debut their new tunes and walked out several hours later with a brand-new, live EP.

They played shows across Chicago's suburbs and in the city and began recording their second album last summer at Nate and Andrew's parents' house -- something Nate wouldn't suggest to other bands. He anticipates releasing the new album sometime this summer, followed by a string of shows across Illinois and Wisconsin.

For all intents and purposes, the Lanthrum brothers have found themselves in another full-fledged rock band, and their roots are only helping them seal the deal. When news broke two years ago that a couple of Troubled Hubble kids started a new band, venues that wouldn't give Nate the time of day six years ago opened their doors immediately. That's when Kid, You'll Move Mountains started hearing the s-word. You know, "super group."

Nate laughs when he hears it again. "I think Velvet Revolver is a super group … Guns 'N Roses, Metallica," he says, noting that Troubled Hubble and El Oso attracted a good amount of success in their heydays, not to mention Inspector Owl's multiple records and Jones' piano-teaching success ("she brings an air of validity to our band," Nate says of her). But they have a long way to go as Kid, You'll Move Mountains before relating to such a "super" title.

"You need to coin something new!" he says.

When asked about record labels, Nate admits to chatting up a few local, independent groups to help release the band's forthcoming disc, but nothing linked to touring contracts. When asked about touring, he details plans to tour the Midwest in support of the new album, but again, nothing as extensive as what Troubled Hubble once undertook.

"I'm to the point where right now I have a legitimate real job. (On tour), I worked at Blockbuster; Andrew worked random jobs. … We moved home so we could leave and go tour. Do we want to do it all again?"

The answer? "I hope that someday it gets to that point again," he says, "but it would definitely have to be a solid investment. … Right now I'm loving it, and I'm getting to the point where (I'm wondering), 'Should we be doing this full-time again?'"

Based on the group's progress as a cohesive unit that has taken leaps to break away from past projects and settle into their own mold, he's willing to consider a full-time future -- maybe not tomorrow, or the next day, but as soon as the right deal lands on his plate.

In the meantime, they'll hark back to the lessons that pushed those past bands into the limelight. Recalling Troubled Hubble's strategy as one of hundreds of bands trying to make it out of Chicago and the suburbs, he says, "We stood out in other places. We would go to DeKalb and play for 250 kids and then go on tour."

For now, though, Nate remains focused on his initial reasons for picking up the drumsticks after more than a year of watching them collect dust in the basement: "From the start, my personal goal was to try this again and see if I could do it."

Upcoming shows:

Today: Cactus Club, Milwaukee, with Statehood. $10, 9 p.m., www.cactusclubmilwaukee.com

Saturday: Reggie's, Chicago, with Statehood. $8, 10 p.m., www.recordbreakers.net