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Close your eyes in front of a map and stick a push-pin wherever your fingers happen to land.

Chances are, if it’s a decent-sized city, on the local music scene there boasts dozens of stories similar to that of The Leningrads.

There’s nothing unique or sexy or outlandish about the way The Leningrads came together. Like so many other bands in so many other cities, the members sort of drifted together over a bond of beer and music, found common influences when it comes to influences and favorite bands and wound up with enough talent and scrap to land a few local gigs.

Only time will tell if The Leningrads follow the pattern set by so many of their peers, both local and otherwise — hang together for a few years, making a name for themselves locally but never quite stretching beyond the boundaries of East Tennessee.

For certain, though, the guys in The Leningrads intend on having as much fun as they can while the ride lasts.

“It’s everyone’s main project, and it’s a reason for four guys to get together on Monday nights and bang out loud music and piss the neighbors off,” guitarist/singer/songwriter Knathan Halliburton (“just like the criminals,” he jokes) told The Daily Times this week. “We’re pretty much straight rock ‘n’ roll, about as garage-rock as we can get.”

The difference between The Leningrads and others of their rock ‘n’ roll ilk is twofold: One, all the members are in their 30s and harbor no illusions that the band will make them stars. Sure, there’s an outside shot, as there is with every band, but nobody’s running to the mailbox every day to see if a record contract has been delivered.

Two, the amount of talent the individual members bring to the table is reason enough to give them a listen, especially for students of the local music scene. Halliburton, a long-time cohort of “Funhouse” (aired from 8-10 p.m. every Friday on WUTK-FM “The Rock”) co-hosts Derek Senter and Rob Levering, has been a member of various outfits around town, including the Honey Badgers, a group that included members of the Westside Daredevils. Joe McLemore once played in subbluecollar, a band that featured Dixie Dirt front woman Kat Brock, and is a member of local cover band The Coveralls. Johnny Sughrue is a veteran with major-label experience, having played with The Judybats. And drummer Seth Gourley, Halliburton said, is the linchpin that holds it all together.

“He moved here from Austin and got a job at the Disc Exchange, where I work,” Halliburton said. “It all starts with the drummer. If you don’t have a good one, you’re sunk from the beginning. He brought a lot of energy to what we wanted to do.”

In January, the band — formerly known as the John Leningrads before changing its name to part ways with a former drummer (“He had some chemical problems, so it didn’t work out and we had to kick him out,” Halliburton said. “I had the great idea of breaking up and reforming under a different name, which is just a passive-aggressive way to kick somebody out of the band. So we just shortened it to The Leningrads.”) — debuted at Barley’s Taproom in Knoxville’s Old City. The band’s sound is damn near perfect by all standards — not too obnoxious or in-your-face, but certainly not moodily, shoe-gazingly sedate. There’s a definite Rolling Stones-circa-”Let It Bleed” vibe to some of the songs, and John Lennon’s influences are distinctive in Halliburton’s songwriting and vocal work.

The band is preparing an eight-song EP for which the guys are still seeking a title, but given the relatively short amount of time in which the members have been together, it’s surpassed all expectations, Halliburton said.

“I’m the front guy, and I write all the songs, and when I look around and realize we’ve assembled a formidable rock band, I’m a little intimidated,” he said. “That means I’ve got to uphold my end of the bargain and put good songs out there for them to play. As far as fitting into the Knoxville scene, we just like to have a good time, and I think that’s why people like coming out to our shows.

"We’re all in our 30s and three of us are married. One of us has a kid, so we’re not under any illusions here. We just want to have fun and play some (good) rock ‘n’ roll.”