Memento's tale of how it got signed to a major label is a romantic story, the kind from which rock 'n' roll dreams are made.

Lead singer Justin Stewart Cotta described the fateful night when the band was showcasing in a Los Angeles club called Dragonfly. A heavy melodic rock band on hip-hop night.

"We had gotten to a point where our money was running out, and it was the last gig booked where people we knew would be there who would be interested in the band," Cotta said. "We just basically had hecklers from song one and this guy made his way up to the stage."

A brawl ensued, and the beauty of it was it helped the band in more ways than he could have imagined, Cotta said.

"I don't think you could choreograph a better end to a rock 'n' roll show," he said. "It allowed us to stand our ground, do our thing and be a bit desperate."

Memento will be opening at 9 tonight at Crowbar, 420 E. College Ave., for West Chester-based CKY, along with Atreyu.

Last Tuesday, Memento released its Columbia Records debut, Beginnings. Having grown up in Australia listening to acts like AC/DC, Tool, Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam, Cotta's goal has been to release a record in the states. But he couldn't have imagined the producers of his inspirations helping him with it.

Brendan O'Brien (famous for working with Pearl Jam and Stone Temple Pilots) mixed Memento's debut and Toby Wright (who worked with Alice in Chains) produced Beginnings.

"I mean, O'Brien, the name speaks for itself," Cotta said. "He's so humble and really mild-mannered. You don't really know what he's doing until you hear your record."

Cotta said Wright brought an earthy and natural presence to the disc.

"Despite his big-time status, he will let a baby band fight for its ideas," Cotta said. "Instead of squashing us like a little bug, he listened to us, and we listened to him."

Adding string arrangements was David Campbell, father of the multi-genre musician, Beck.

"He's an absolute genius," Cotta said. "We were all misty-eyed with his string arrangements. It makes the songs really stand out."

The band is glad it had the finest work on its record because now there's no real reason for it not to sound great.

"We hope we wrote good music because there aren't really any excuses," Cotta said. "The cool thing about that is, we stand on our own now."

The fuel for Memento's passion is playing live rock 'n' roll.

"Getting out there and playing is what we do," Cotta said. "We are touring because we love it."

Memento played a show a few nights ago, a stop-off gig from the CKY tour, and Cotta said the intimacy of the show was favorable to the band.

"We played to 30 people in some random bar," he said. "It was easily my favorite show of the tour."

Atreyu is also touring to support its debut LP, Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses, with its current line-up that has been together for two years.

Guitarist Big Dan Jacobs said he would describe the band's music as heavy and melodic, and said its live show promises to deliver. "It's entertaining," Jacobs said, "it's all over the place."

Both of the openers are excited to be playing with CKY, but especially with CKY's drummer Jess Margera, brother of Jackass' Bam. After its brief stint opening for Guns N' Roses, CKY decided to tour on its own.

"I'm sure they're fantastic," Jacobs said because he hadn't met the band yet.

Cotta had played a few dates with CKY already and enjoyed a few beers with them.

"They are psychopathic but in the most beautiful way," Cotta said, likening the band to the first punk bands. "I think they're more punk than all this bubble-gum punk on the radio ... they are amazing musicians."

Tickets for the CKY show are $10 in advance. A limited number of all-age tickets are available.