Out on the road in support of a new album, Per Second, Per Second, Per Second... Every Second, Wheat seems to be taking its new popularity in stride.
In fact, the band has stripped down for this particular jaunt.
"This is a really cool tour," Levesque said. "It's just the three of us for the first time. And we're not supporting anybody either, which, as you can imagine, isn't the greatest thing in the world."
Clearly not a fan of playing second fiddle to anyone, Levesque, when asked about the cancellation of this summer's much-touted Lollapalooza run, which Wheat was scheduled to play, seemed strangely relieved.
"I was excited," Levesque said. "It sounds funny, but I was actually really happy about it. Because, I mean, even if you love the bands you're playing with, how many times can you say hello in the chow line? Like, ''hey Morrissey, great show, I really love that Smiths record,' you know what I mean?"
Levesque has no problem playing first guitar with Dave Fridmann (perhaps best known as the uber-producer behind another Lollapalooza also-ran, The Flaming Lips), who turned the knobs for Wheat's last several releases.
"He's just sort of becoming part of the thing," Levesque said. "I mean, there are things he does very well, and things he doesn't do so well, which is where we come in. But he's amazing to work with."
Though Wheat makes its home in Boston, Levesque is skeptical of suggestions that he's somehow famous in Beantown.
"It's tough to say," Levesque said.
"I really don't know if we've ever been part of a scene like that. We've always existed in this weird little sort of fringe. There's just never really been this celebrity there, and I like that."
Levesque joked that, despite plenty of support from fans both old and new, he's not too concerned with some of the other trappings of fame that some musiciants tend to get wrapped up in.
"That's the best thing, when people are really into the records and love coming to the shows," Levesque said.
"But the other things I don't really pay any mind to. They're both a blessing and a curse. At the end of the day, I'm just a guy playing music. I hear little songs in my head and I just like to develop them. It's just unfortunate that so much other s*** gets in the way of that."
The Bullet Parade front man Jeff VanFossan said he is looking forward to bringing the Roustabout! energy to Crowbar, a new location for the event, and about joining both Wheat and Mt. Egypt with his own band.
"We haven't played there in a long time, but it's a really fun place to play," Van Fossan said. "It always sounds great, and there's that big stage to play on."
Van Fossan made sure to mention the assistance of local promoter Ted Swanson in getting an up-and-coming act like Wheat to town.
"He's been tremendously helpful in all this," Van Fossan said. "We're very lucky that people behind the scenes like Ted help to bring things like this to State College."
Dave Wells, Crowbar operations director, reiterated that Wheat is a band to look out for in the future.
"With their history and the following they've amassed through touring and putting out albums, they've really sustained that growth," Wells said. "They just seem to have a lot of staying power."
Wells notes that though Wheat's fan base is strong, the band is good enough to draw in nonbelievers that should make the trip anyway.
"This is a band that people are really becoming dedicated to. People who've heard this band say 'oh my God, Wheat's coming!'" Wells said.
"The challenge is for people who haven't heard the band to come out and see what they're missing."
