Meeting of Important People is a classic case of rising from the ashes.

The Pittsburgh-based group, which is playing tonight's Roustabout! show at 10 at Bar Bleu, 114 S. Garner St., was born from the rubble of another band.

"We've had kind of a cool history," singer/guitarist/songwriter Josh Verbanets said. "We used to play as The You, we were on a label."

The You was a fixture of the Pittsburgh indie scene, and the group gained the attention of Pure Tone Music, a newly formed indie record company.

"A Sony Epic rep was starting an indie label," Verbanets said. "We thought it would have all the positives of recording on a major label."

One of those positives was the opportunity to record in Chicago with Brian Deck, who had previously worked with Modest Mouse and Iron and Wine. The resulting album was 2006's For the Masses. However, when it came time to release the record, there was a snag.

"We pretty much had to litigate against the record company. It was one of those things where the company wasn't fulfilling its obligations," Verbanets said.

He said he attributes the ordeal to the inexperience of Pure Tone's owner with running an independent label.

"He was a guy from a traditional label so he didn't know what to do with our band," Verbanets said. As a result of the group's break with its label, For the Masses went unreleased. However, a few copies of the record still found their way into circulation.

"What's interesting is you can find copies of it on Amazon," Verbanets said. "I've seen them on eBay."

From the remnants of The You arose the three-piece Meeting of Important People. Verbanets said the name is a tongue-in-cheek nod to indie names like Elephant Six and Broken Social Scene.

"We thought we would do almost a fake indie band name," Verbanets said. "A lot of band names are representative of an anonymous group of people."

The name may be a joke, but it's also appropriate to the band's roots. Meeting of Important People itself is a member of a close-knit group of indie bands and fans in Pittsburgh that calls itself the Key Party. Verbanets himself is also a member of fellow Key Party band Lohio.

Verbanets said he's almost thankful The You collapsed, because the period following the band's fold gave the group a chance to mature.

He says Meeting of Important People still plays some The You songs.

"We're reinventing the band," Verbanets said. "I've written new songs, we play some of the old songs."

Tonight's show is not part of a tour but rather one of a few dates the band is playing in support of its new single, "Mothers Pay More."

"This is their first time playing Roustabout!," Roustabout! promoter Jesse Ruegg said. "It's always exciting to get some new blood in the mix."

Verbanets described the band's sound as "garage pop."

"We play as a three piece, but not in a traditional way," Verbanets said. "We really love bands like The Who and Nirvana. We want to sound like Nirvana playing a Motown song."

Meeting of Important People is in the process of recording a new album.

The band plans to tour in support of the album, which will be released in early 2009. Verbanets said the band strives to maintain its live style in the recording studio.

"On the record we try to preserve the feel of three people playing," Verbanets said.