By MARGAUX MASSEY, staff reporter

With a self-proclaimed “white-boy reggae/acoustic groove,” the Moses Lake-based band, Dimestore Profits, will be performing at Prosody on May 3.

“We have that Sublime/Jack Johnson sound and that’s what I like,” John Wilson, drummer for Dimestore Profits, said.

Along with Wilson, the band includes Ray Glober, vocalist and guitarist, and Eric Groff on bass. Each member has been playing for at least 14 years by themselves and three years as a band.

The band formed in 2009 and played their first show on Dec. 31 that same year. Wilson recalls how the band first came together.

“I knew [Ray] since he was in high school,” Wilson said. “I listened to some old recordings of him and thought, ‘I’m going to find him.’  Eric and I had been trying to play music for a few years, it kind of just lined up and it works.”

According to Groff, their musical influences come from all across the board, anything from The Clash and Bob Marley to all kinds of early punk rock.  He explained how he started out as a punk rock bassist, and because of this band’s different sound, he had to recreate himself.

Regardless of their various musical influences, the artists have one thing in common when it comes to the music they find influential.

“We all have an appreciation for a well-written song, whether it’s old or not,” Groff said.

The band got their unusual name in an equally unusual way.  Glober said he and Wilson were sitting in a local bistro having lunch while getting ready for their first show.  They didn’t have a name yet, and the venue told them they needed a name to be able to promote and advertise the show.

“We sat there having some burgers and spitballing for half an hour or so, bouncing ideas off each other,” Glober said.  “There was a menu sign next to us that said something about pasta and had ‘dime’ in the phrasing.  We just kind of went with Dimestore Profits. We have a menu board to thank.”

What they didn’t know was there was already a band with the same name.  Wilson said people would try to find them online and end up finding a Christian band from San Francisco.  The other band ended up contacting them and said they were free to take the name if they wanted it.

As a new band, Dimestore Profits quickly learned to combat stage fright.

“Sometimes we pull up to a gig and I start getting butterflies,” Glober said.  He went on to joke that when he does get stage fright, “number two really helps.”  Of course if that doesn’t work they always have an alternative.

“Once in a blue moon we get the jitters,” Glober said.  “But we take a shot of Patron and everything falls into place.”

The largest show they have played as a band was at a local theater and was close to 2000 people, but that is not their most memorable show.

Groff said his most memorable show was a winter festival they played.  There were about 1000 people there, it was 20 degrees and people were being served from an ice bar.  They also played at The Gorge.

“I like playing at the local American Legion, drinking Budweiser and smoking Lucky Strikes,” Wilson said.

So far, they have a good local following. People are starting to recognize their name, and when they play locally they can easily get 100 people to attend.

Their ideal venue, the one they want to end up playing the most, is main stage at The Gorge.  Wilson said that’s the kind of band they are.

“That kind of feel good, kick back, have some beers and enjoy some groovy tunes band,” Wilson said.

Aside from playing main stage at The Gorge, the band also has other goals in mind.

“Our goal as a band is to make our nine-to-five day strictly about music while still having time to enjoy our families and personal lives,” Glober said.  “We would like to try to make it a career, no matter how many rungs of the ladder we have to climb up.”

They say that being in a band sucks for their families because they are gone often, but their families love them enough that they support them through it.  They all agree that their families are incredible and enjoy it thoroughly when they are able to make it to shows.

“We don’t do it for the dough, we have a hardcore passion,” Wilson said.