By Brian Kramp Special to OnMilwaukee.com Published Jun 27, 2013 at 5:31 AM

The band that I’m most interested in seeing this Thursday day at Summerfest is L.A.’s Capital Cities.

Its debut CD "In A Tidal Wave Of Mystery" was released earlier this month with huge support from the smash single "Safe And Sound." The song has been on the Billboard Alternative Music Charts for 31 weeks, peaked at No. 1 and doesn’t seem to want to fall far from that spot anytime soon.

The one thing that many fans don’t know is that the song has been around for over three years and had to go through eight to nine different variations before it got to where it is today. In fact, a handful of the band's debut CD was in fact released several years ago on an EP.

The band first got together in 2008 after Sebu Simonian put an ad up on Craigslist offering his music production services for commercial writing and the only response he got was from Ryan Merchant. The two would go on to write a few things for commercial use but found that their musical collaborations had more potential so they decided to write original music, start recording and then performing those songs.

Over the past five years Merchant and Simonian have gone from a two-piece to a five-piece band that now brings their crafted melodies, lead vocals sung in unison and amazing production to the stage.

apital Cities is no one-hit wonder band and that’s very apparent after hearing other songs on the CD, including "Kangaroo Court," "Patience Gets Us Nowhere Fast," "I Sold My Bed, But Not My Stereo," and "Farrah Fawcett Hair," featuring Andre 3000 of Outkast. Capital Cities' well-crafted radio-friendly songs will allow the band to stick around once "Safe And Sound" runs its course.

In today’s Kramp Cast I talk to Sebu Simonian of the breakout alt-dance group Capital Cities about how the band got to where it is today, the way the hit single "Safe And Sound" has taken off commercially and the influence that the Pink Floyd has had on him.

Capital Cities performs Thursday at 8 p.m. on the U.S. Cellular Connection Stage at Summerfest.

Brian Kramp Special to OnMilwaukee.com

Over the past 16 years Brian Kramp has been a dedicated, recognizable and award winning personality on the Milwaukee airwaves. From his time on WLZR 102.9 and most recently on WLUM 102.1 he has been committed to Milwaukee and wants you to continue to be plugged in about our great city.

Kramp's podcast consists of original programming on Milwaukee news, events,  entertainment, sports, food and fun in a relaxed format.

As the winner of 10 Wisconsin Broadcaster Association Awards including Best Large Market Morning Show in 2008, 2010 and runner up in 2011, Kramp is ready to bring quality broadcasting back to your ears via the podcast.