Top Bermudian band the Kennel Boys will unveil their first CD at a celebration party tonight.

And the band are set to follow in the footsteps of adopted Islanders Hootie and the Blowfish in a bid to hit the big-time.

Co-songwriter Owen Critchley, who runs his own production company, Good Dog Productions, in Bermuda, explained the band had learned a lot from talking to Hootie and the Blowfish.

He said: "We had a lot of guidance from the band and support crew, who have really taken to the Kennel Boys.'' Owen explained Hootie and the Blowfish got a lot of airplay on the influential college radio network in the US, particularly in the southern states of South and North Carolina, Virginia and Georgia.

That stimulated interest in the band, who hit the college circuit. Demand for their recordings rocketed -- and the rest is history.

Owen said: "We are going to try and follow the map which Hootie and the Blowfish helped lay out.

"We don't intend this to be just a local thing -- and it certainly won't be just a token effort to get recognition in the US.'' The initial pressing is for 1,000 CDs for the Bermuda market and in batches of 1,000 at a time for the US market.

But the Bermudian version of the album is distinguished by a different sleeve design, making it unique.

Owen added: "If things go well on college radio and we can support that with performances, we may have to go for larger batches.'' He said the band -- lead singer Ed Fox, brothers David and James Fitzsimmons on lead and bass guitar respectively and drummer Jonathan Dobson -- had been playing together for about three years and had even supported Hootie and the Blowfish on one of their Bermudian appearances.

Owen -- who lived in Toronto for eight years and is signed to Warner Brothers Canada as a songwriter -- got involved with the band after seeing them perform at Hamilton's Oasis nightclub and co-wrote most of the 10 track album with David Fitzsimmons.

The CD was produced and engineered at Osceola Studios in North Carolina by studio chief Rob Clarke, assisted by Owen in March and April and mixed in May and June.

Owen said: "It's such a good record and it's a real milestone for a local band to reach such a level. We're all really excited about it and people who have heard bits and pieces of it have loved it.'' He added the band have drawn on the US southern rock sound and the UK back-to-the-'60s sound, marrying the two with a uniquely Bermudian twist.

Owen said: "It's a really current sound. There's a slight nod to southern rock, but it's very melodic and the band do bring a strange British influence to it.

"The songs have quite an introspective feel to them -- they are not those typical love songs. They're songs about losing loved ones and the trouble of being alive today. It's got a nice modern feel to it.'' The Kennel Boys are set to take the stage at Oasis at midnight tonight until around 3 p.m. And they will be appearing on Sunday at the Robin Hood, Serpentine Road, Hamilton, on Sunday between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m.

The new CD "The Kennel Boys'' will be on sale at Great Sound Music Centre, Cedar Park Avenue, Pembroke, and Oasis.

ROCK BAND! The Kennel Boys (from left), David Fitzsimmons, James Fitzsimmons, Jonathan Dobson and Ed Fox, whose CD is unveiled in Bermuda tonight and in the US next month in a bid to reach the big time.