Dex Romweber Duo

Dex Romweber should be well known to locals. As front man of the Flat Duo Jets, he was one of a handful of rockers who, in the '80s, helped to cement Athens' spot on the musical map with a wild performance in the documentary Athens GA: Inside/Out. Since then, he's gone through being the guitar-wielding half of the Duo Jets to being a prolific soloist. Now he's back to a twosome as the Dex Romweber Duo, with his sister Sara on drums. And somewhere along the way he inspired the White Stripes and nearly every other garage-rock duo out there.

Despite it all, he's not a big name outside serious music circles. But with friends like Neko Case, Cat Power and Exene Cervenka working with him, Jack White pushing him and recent tour mates the Detroit Cobras squarely in his corner, that may soon change.

"I think sometimes we draw people ourselves, but it's very hard for me to distinguish who's a Cobra fan and who's a Romweber Duo fan," he says of the recent tour. "We did a tour of just ourselves before we went on this Cobras tour, so maybe next time around we'll have bigger crowds."

The Duo has been in existence about two and a half years and hasn't wasted any time. The debut record, Ruins of Berlin, was released in February, and the newly released 45 with Jack White, The Wind Did Move, is on White's Third Man label. The band's planning deserved time off soon, so catch its headlining show at the 40 Watt on June 26. Otherwise, the next chance to see DRD may involve a trek to Atlanta.