Music was an outlet for Trapt

Trapt, with Blindside and Aphasia, will be in concert at 8 p.m. Wednesday in Club Bijou, 209 North Superior St. Tickets are $20 from Ticketmaster. Information: 419-243-4446.

Like a lot of kids growing up in suburbia USA, high school pals Chris Brown, Simon Ormandy, and Peter Charell felt stifled, smothered, and a bit trapped.

The Los Gatos, Calif., teenagers gave their frustrations a positive outlook by forming the rock band Trapt, which comes to Club Bijou Wednesday night.

"Trapt was originally an outlet for the frustrations of being constantly monitored by the suburban authorities who were very bored because there was almost no crime," said Brown, the group's lead singer and guitarist. "All the lyrics were aimed at society trying to bring us down."

But Trapt, which later added Seattle native Aaron "Monty" Montgomery on drums, is not dwelling on those initial feelings of anger and angst. "At some point, you've got to take a stand for yourself," Brown said.

The success of Trapt's 2003 self-titled debut disc, which sold 1.8 million copies, was driven by the single "Headstrong," which slowly marched up the charts.

"●'Headstrong' took longer than any other song to hit No. 1 on the charts. It took like nine months," Montgomery said in a recent interview. "It was really odd, especially the way the radio markets work now. Usually the songs spike right away and then drop off. But 'Headstrong' kept sticking around."

Such a slow, steady rise indicates a word-of-mouth, grass-roots appeal for the song by the group whose high-energy attack is matched by its sense of melody.

Trapt hopes to build on the success of its debut with "Someone in Control," its sophomore CD released Sept. 13 by Warner Bros.

Montgomery said the 11 new tunes reflect the musicians' development as a creative unit.

"It's not so much a different approach than the first album, but we're just doing what we do on a much more intense level," he said from a tour stop in Chico, Calif.

Opening for Trapt will be Swedish rock group Blindside and Aphasia, a northern California group whose debut disc was produced by Trapt's Brown.

Trapt, with Blindside and Aphasia, will be in concert at 8 p.m. Wednesday in Club Bijou, 209 North Superior St. Tickets are $20 from Ticketmaster. Information: 419-243-4446.