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Peter Allen once sang that everything old is new again, and if any local band has capitalized on that philosophy, it's '80s rockers The Retroholics.

Of course, it helps that the band members came of age during the time when the music they play today was most popular. The energy and passion and rock 'n' roll jubilation the guys experienced as teens in the 1980s translates well to the stage today, according to guitarist and vocalist Larry Ottinger.

"It's just basically a bunch of guys who grew up in the 1980s, and then when '80s music started coming back and being popular again, it was easy for us," Ottinger told The Daily Times this week. "It's the same crap we played 25 years ago, so we just said, 'Hey -- let's just go play it again!' We got lucky as far as that kind of retro music coming back. It appeals to a wide range of people -- from college-age kids to 40-year-olds."

The Retroholics -- Ottinger, keyboardist Phil Watts, lead guitarist/vocalist Chris Armstrong, drummer Scott Connatser and bassist Jerry Connatser -- evolved out of two long-time local bands, cover outfit The Hip Twangers and blues band Pineda. Ottinger, a physical education teacher at Halls Middle School, started performing with local musicians more than a decade ago, and with The Hip Twangers, he found a steady gig playing a variety of covers.

"We played stuff from rock to country to disco, but we got into a rut -- playing the same places and doing the same songs," Ottinger said. "It started getting old and just kind of ran its course. There was no bad blood; we just decided to go our different ways, and for me the obvious thing was to do the '80s thing because I did it back in the '80s."

The first thing he did, Ottinger said, was ring up Watts. Although other local bands were playing '80s music at the time, Ottinger knew that to truly recapture the sound of New Wave, glam-metal and classic rock, his new project would need a keyboard player. With three members of Pineda throwing in their lot, The Retroholics were born almost three years ago.

"The difference between us and a lot of cover bands -- and some people want to do their own thing, because it's their artistic side coming out -- is that we are the most unoriginal bunch of guys you'll ever meet," Ottinger said with a laugh. "What we try to do is basically what you hear on the record, and honestly, it's a challenge to take a song that was recorded and probably tracked over time after time and pull it off and really make it sound like the record.

"Sometimes, we'll look at each other and say, 'That wasn't too bad, really!' We've kind of evolved into that mindset -- to be a true cover band and literally cover these songs the way people heard them on the original recording."

Throw in a healthy sense of humor, a penchant for self-deprecation and an ease with which they slip into the role of party hosts, The Retroholics have quickly become an in-demand party band around East Tennessee. The group will perform on Saturday at the Big BBQ Bash at Springbrook Corporate Center, and save for a two-week break while Ottinger vacations in the Caribbean once the school year is done, The Retroholics are booked up through the end of the year, he said.

"There are no egos in this band -- we're not out to sell records; we're out to go and play them and have a great time," he said. "The '80s just appeal to a wide range of people who grew up listening to certain stuff. We play what they're accustomed to hearing on the radio and take them back.

"It might take them back to riding around in the car when they were young, or the first time they got lucky in the car. I just think it jogs something in their past."