“Ironically, we’ve had some interest from Universal Republic, who signed Jettingham,” said Chad Van Meter, homeless j’s lead singer and guitarist. Indeed, Van Meter and the rest of the homeless j line-up — Lance Hill, drums; Brad Amstutz, lead guitar; Jon Hill, bass — were about to head down to Nashville to play for an A&R person from Warner Brothers Records when I spoke with them.

Nashville, Van Meter explained, is the home of the band’s production company, 3.1 Productions, who recorded a demo for the band and are acting as an agent of sorts, promoting them to record labels.

“It’s exciting. But at the same time I’m a realist,” Van Meter said of the record labels’ interest in the band. “It doesn’t get me very excited — not until I see something. We don’t just want a record deal, we want a good record deal. We want to be something of a priority to the label.”

For the past few months, the band has been in a limbo of sorts, “waiting for this to work out with the record labels,” Van Meter said. “We want to solidify some kind of record deal. In the long term we want to be playing music full time. We want to focus on our music.”

Despite 3.1 Productions’ location in Nashville, long regarded as the country music capital of the world, the production company hasn’t a single country band on its list of clients, Van Meter said. He said that Nashville’s music scene has been changing in recent years, with rock bands — Nashville Pussy among others — becoming more and more prevalent. Van Meter said 3.1 Productions owns The Sound Kitchen, one of the largest recording studios in the country. The facility, aside from featuring seven state-of-the-art recording studios, has a lengthy and impressive client list that includes artists such as Elton John, Jewel and Faith Hill. At The Sound Kitchen, homeless j recorded the song “B-Fly,” which has gotten plenty of local airplay and will be featured on Essentials Vol. 5.

homeless j hadn’t intended “B-Fly” to be on Essentials Vol. 5, Van Meter said. “We weren’t all that interested in submitting it,” he said. “Just by chance, the deadline was extended and JJ (Fabini) at the station asked us to submit a song.”

Other than the demo 3.1 Productions recorded, homeless j don’t yet have a full-length album. “We definitely have enough material for one,” Van Meter said.

Van Meter described homeless j’s sound as, “generally modern rock or art/indie rock. We usually describe it as unlike anything people have heard.” He added, “We definitely want something more out of a concert experience — something more than just a promotional experience for the band. We want to take people to a different place and give them a new perspective on things. We like to challenge people a little bit.”

The band’s influences range from Leonard Cohen to The Red Hot Chili

Peppers to Tool. “Ultimately, there is no authentic genre the band disqualifies as potential inspiration,” according to a note on the band’s web site, www.homelessj.com. The website contains downloads of three of the band’s songs, as well as concert information, pictures and an extensive biography of each band member.

Van Meter said homeless j hopefully will start playing more local shows in the coming months. “We don’t play locally that often. But we’re definitely hoping to be more of a local band. We want to build a solid local following,” he said.

The band will play a benefit concert at the Sunset Hall on December 21 at 8:30 p.m. Proceeds from the concert, which Sunset Hall is calling The Christmas Charity Daydream Benefit Concert, will go towards helping raise $3,000 for the Angel Tree organization to purchase Christmas gifts for needy children of prisoners. Fans are asked to bring nonperishable goods to donate to the Charis House for homeless women and children. The show is an all-ages event. Strut Train and Quillen, a Detroit-based trance DJ, also will be performing.

“We are definitely concerned about using our music to do good things,” Van Meter said of the band’s involvement in helping local charities. He added the band’s name “has a social action flair to it.”

The name is the evolution of Van Meter’s former band, homeless jesus. After disbanding, Van Meter and homeless jesus bandmates Jon Hill and Brad Amstutz, who was the homeless jesus drummer, decided to form a new band. With the addition of Lance Hill as the band’s new drummer in April 2000, and Amstutz’s move to lead guitar, homeless j was complete. The band started playing shows in the summer of 2000, and by June of that year had begun its involvement with 3.1 Productions.

Van Meter said he feared the addition of Lance Hill, Jon’s brother, to the band, would be slightly awkward. Van Meter soon found, however, that Jon and Lance “get along really well. They are the rhythm section. They’ve been playing together for many years now. Their relationship is very deep and very nuanced. They play very well together.”

In addition to the December 21 Sunset Hall concert, homeless j will be at Columbia Street West’s M.O.M.S. (Midwest Original Music Showcase) on December 18. Super Sonic Rock & Roll Kitty Kat Club will open for the band.