What’s up with describing Up the Chain’s music as “neighbor rock”? “We don't know exactly what it means, but it has a certain... truthiness,” says bassist Noah Skaroff. After singer Reed Kendall expanded his solo project into a quartet (alongside Skaroff, John Hildenbrand, and Kirby Sybert), the Philadelphia band cemented their sound via their happy, feel-good tunes. Their third LP, The Prison Break, is full of accessible, friendly licks and quirky melodies; watch their video of “No Waiting Lines” exclusively on Myspace. (Also check out the video for "Sidecar," which features a city-to-city montage, recapping the band's 100-plus live shows from New Orleans to Bern, Switzerland!)

Hometown and homebase:

Noah: The city where pros shake, rattle and roll, the city of brotherly grub, where the beer flows like wine and the women instinctively flock like the salmon of Capistrano... Philadelphia.

How did you all meet and what made you want to form a band together?

Noah: Myself, John, and Reed were bachelors on The Dating Game. Backstage, we discovered that we were all musicians. Kirby was the bachelorette, and he chose all three of us. This was back when Chuck Woolery was the host.

Does being from Philly help your sound?

Noah: Philadelphia embraces whatever kind of music you want to make. There is a scene for everything, and the boundaries are pretty blurry, so you get a chance to play with everyone.

Why is your album called The Prison Break?

Reed: A lot of the songs are about starting over again from the top - a new beginning, leaving behind burdensome constraints. Each moment is a possibility for something new, so you might as well attack them with full appreciation, as if you've just been in prison for years.

Can you talk about American Diamond Recordings and being its studio master, Reed?

Reed: The studio started as a slow snowballing thing. I wanted to make some demos so I got some cheap gear and invited my friend Ron Gallo over to play a tune while I messed around and learned how to record it. Ended up learning a lot quickly, making a record for him and building from there. It's been incredibly rewarding to work with other songwriters and bands, not to mention having the freedom not to watch the clock and worry about studio costs while we are working on our own songs.

Who are your biggest musical influences?

Reed: The first thing I remember is singing Michael Jackson in the shower. I'm not sure how old I was, but I was old enough to shower.

Noah: My musical Mount Rushmore features four familiar Liverpudlians. Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Duke Ellington and Boyz II Men also played very important roles.

Who would you love to collaborate with?

Noah: Literally, everybody. I love playing with other people and seeing how different brains approach music in different ways.

Reed: Blake Mills

Do you remember the first song you ever wrote? What was it about?

Noah: My first song was about a friend of mine and his supernatural connection to nature. I wrote it on banjo sitting on the bank of a creek while he collected four-leaf clovers from a nearby field with his eyes closed.

Reed: The first song I ever wrote is called "To The Best" and it appears as a hidden track a few minutes after the final song on 2011's Holy, Open, Drying Road. I recommend listening to it for a good laugh - it's at the very end of the song "I'll See You Inside." I hadn't gone through puberty yet and I sound like Tracy Chapman.

What's the craziest thing that’s happened to you as a band so far?

Noah: A gentleman in Frankfurt, Germany tried to take us to the world's largest brothel after a show. He was very persistent but alas, we declined.

Why are you called Up the Chain?

Noah: Insane Clown Posse was already taken.