NEW YORK — The‚ Tuesday night Bowery Ballroom crowd‚ that witnessed a sweaty, high-energy performance by Lights Resolve probably had no idea that the band had just driven 19 hours to make it to New York from a tour stop in the Midwest to conduct an interview with Matt Pinfield on WRXP.

Lights Resolve (Sarah Be for Blast)

Despite a lack of sleep, and a tough act to follow in Brooklyn’s Care Bears on Fire, the New York City alt‚ trio jumped at the opportunity to be a last-minute addition to the opening night of the 2009 CMJ Music Marathon.

“We’re often running on empty but that’s when we tend to do our best,” said singer Matt Reich, during a chat with Blast after his band’s set. “The more we get beaten down, the more we rise to the occasion.”

Reich and drummer Neal Saini met as high school students in Long‚ Island and have been playing music together for 11 years, they explained. Bassist Luke Daniels, who had been trying to elbow his way into Lights Resolve for years,‚ was added after their original bassist left to join Australian sister act The Veronicas — in spite of a less than stellar audition that Reich still laughs about to this day.

Drawing upon influences including U2, Sigur Ros‚ and The Who, Lights Resolve has toured with the likes of Shiny Toy Guns, Dashboard Confessional and Panic! At the Disco.

Lights Resolve play Saturday at 11 p.m. at the Bowery Poetry Club.

Liz Raftery of the Blast staff contributed to this report.

Care Bears on Fire started creating a lot of buzz last year, startling everyone with their keen lyrical sense, perseverance, and do-it-yourself attitude “" oh, and don’t forget they were talking record deals before entering middle school. Now full-fledged teenagers, the all girl pop-punk trio is about to release a new full length album “Get Over It” to hit shelves and digital stores July 14.

CBOF are taking on teen issues this time around with a sensibility and realism that you won’t find watching Hannah Montana. “Gym Class Haze” and “Super Teen” tackle day to day school dramas and insecurities we all have experienced. The girls even take on stereotypes and contemporary issues with “Barbie Eat a Sandwich” and “Met You On Myspace” showing they can have a sense of humor and still hold down a conversation at the adults’ table.

The video for their first single, “Everybody Else” can be seen here, and CBOF can be caught this summer at Kidzapalooza in Chicago on August 8 and 9.