Queer bands are becoming more and more visible and are finding ways in which to distinguish themselves from the pack. The Cliks do so in a couple of ways. Musically, their sound has a harder rock edge to it than some of the others, which goes a long way in setting them apart. Also, having a transgender front person, as they do in Lucas Silveira, is the kind of thing that is destined to earn them more attention. The Cliks, whose debut disc Snakehouse (Silver Label/Tommy Boy) was released in April 2007, is one of the bands on Cyndi Lauper’s multi-act True Colors tour, which is stopping in San Diego on July 27. I spoke with Lucas shortly before he and The Cliks hit the road.

Rocket: Nine of the 10 songs on Snakehouse are credited to you as writer. What can you tell me about your songwriting process?

Lucas Silveira: It kind of depends. Every song is different. But I can do something as simple as sit in a room – I usually just kind of like to be on my own – I’ll sit in a room and come up with something that’s knocking at my gut. I can come up with the guitar first, then the lyrics after, or a melody first and then add guitar. Sometimes I’ll have a tune in my head that I’ll be humming for days. I actually have this cell phone that records stuff, so a lot of times I end up singing stuff into my phone [laughs].

Rocket: So people see you walking down the street doing that, and they think, “Wow, that’s so sweet! He’s singing to someone on his cell phone.”

LS: [Big laugh] That’s funny!

Rocket: Who would you consider to be your biggest musical influences?

LS: I think in the last few years Jeff Buckley had a huge impact on me. My roots are kind of all over the place. I listened to the Beatles a lot when I was a kid because of my parents. A lot of old rock and roll like Kiss, Blondie, The Pretenders, and then when I got older I listened to a lot of R&B and soul music. I listened to a lot of Motown. Some Concrete Blondie and Mötley Crüe and Ozzy Osbourne. I kind of go all over the place.

Rocket: I’ll say! That’s interesting because a number of the songs, including “Misery,” “Eyes in the Back of My Head,” “Start Leading Me On” and “Whenever,” have a bluesy quality to them.

LS: Well, I listened to Jimi Hendrix religiously for about two to three years of my life.

Rocket: “Complicated” and “Oh Yeah” are great songs for dancing. Do you have a preference, one way or the other, for songs that have a slow burning impact or those that get people up and moving?

LS: No, I think every song has its place. I think there is some stuff on the album where the energy and the essence of the song was a little bit more aggressive. I think Morgan, our drummer, captured that. A lot of the beat stuff, I will credit to her, giving it that back bone. I think [with] the slow songs, when we’re trying to get people into a moody atmosphere, get them to listen to the lyrics, if you pull back a little bit, it’s easier to do that. I do like performing fast songs! I think it’s really fun to see people dancing around and stuff.

Rocket: The Cliks also do a cover of Justin Timberlake’s “Cry Me a River.” Why was that song chosen for inclusion on the disc?

LS: I came into band, one time, kind of singing it because I had been in a situation where I was in a really bad break up. I had a long-term relationship [that] ended after six-and-a-half years. I really connected to the lyrics of the song; it’s a really great song, and I brought it in. I’ve always thought that the song itself, even though it’s great, I felt a little more aggressive about what was being said. We started doing it as a band, and when our producer, Mo Berg, came in, he was like, “You guys have to put that on the album.” I think it really fit with the content of the album; it’s kind of a break-up album. It was pretty much right in there with the rest of it. It fit the whole mood.

Rocket: Has there been any feedback from Justin or his camp?

LS: Not yet. We know he apparently has gotten a copy. We met his booking agent from Germany, named Steven, who told us that he gave him a copy, but we haven’t heard anything. It would be really cool to know what he thinks of it, actually.

Rocket: On The Cliks’ Web site there’s a picture of you in which there appears to be some elaborate ink-work on your forearm. Is there a story behind it?

LS: Yeah, I actually have a full sleeve and continuing work. The part I think you can see is I have a dragon on my arm and it’s rising out of flames, and at the bottom it has a name, Ripley. Ripley was my first dog, and I’m an animal lover. He was pretty much my kid and when he passed away. It was the first death that I had in my life. I took it really, really hard and I did it to commemorate him, and I did this dragon because dragons signify protection. I always thought that he was looking out for me, and that he still is, so that’s why I did it.

Rocket: The Cliks are on the True Colors Tour, which hits the road in June. How did that come to pass?

LS: Essentially our record label and our A&R woman, Rosie Lopez, have been working alongside Logo, the MTV network who is sponsoring the event. They have been extremely supportive of our band. Our video is No. 1 on the Click List (at the time of this interview), and all that. Also, Cyndi Lauper’s manager was very into the band and asked us to come on board. I think it’s pretty perfect for a band like us right now.

Rocket: As a transgender person, you represent the T in the GLBT community. What does it mean to you to be a representative of the trans community on the True Colors Tour?

LS: It’s an honor. It’s pretty much new to a lot of people and I think a lot of people are a little inquisitive about the “T” in GLBT because it hasn’t been something that’s been talked about, and a lot of people aren’t very open about. I am hoping that I can open a lot of people’s eyes to this, including the gay, lesbian and bisexual community. Because I think on both sides of the camp there’s a lot of education that needs to be done. I’m not there to educate people, per se, but I’m there to go, “We do this, too, and we’re here, just like everybody else.” It feels cool and I’m looking forward to hearing what people have to say.