Things change quickly in the music business.

Brooklyn-based Locksley has played in State College five times, as recently as April 2007. The band was always booked as part of the weekly Roustabout! series.

Since then, the band has exploded in popularity. Locksley has had its songs featured in commercials, the background of MTV shows and as available downloads for the video game, Rock Band. The band has also been a part of MTV's 52/52 Campaign, which features a different up-and-coming band each week, and will be performing at Lulu's on Monday night.

Guitarist Kai Kennedy said the band's sudden prominence did not happen overnight -- it began speaking with MTV several years ago, and the recent partnership is just a result of "good timing."

"We had all our ducks in a row and they had all their ducks in a row," he said. "Everything just seemed to happen at a decent time for everybody."

The band doesn't appear to be fazed by the newfound notoriety, however. Lead singer Jesse Laz compared the changes to having a birthday.

"People are like, 'Oh, how does it feel to be a little bit older?' But it just feels kind of the same," he said. "It's nice because it means we're able to keep going, but it hasn't felt like a big change, to be honest."

But even with Locksley's surge in popularity over the last few months, its '60s-influenced garage rock sound has been known around State College for several years and the acclaim didn't come as a surprise.

"There was that whole garage rock revival a few years ago with the Strokes and the White Stripes, so it stands to reason these guys would do well, too," said Jesse Ruegg, who booked the band in the past for Roustabout! shows.

Ruegg said he was ready to book the band within 20 seconds of hearing its first demo. The band's polished, poppy sound reminded Ruegg of the more prominent acts from the 1960s British Invasion, like the Beatles and the Kinks, but he said they appeal to more than just regular Roust-goers.

"They're a bunch of good-looking guys, so they work well with the teenage girl crowd," he said.

Ted Swanson, who booked the show on Monday, said he's seen Locksley before but never in a State College venue.

He said he booked the concert before Locksley was even attached.

"It just worked out that it was Locksley," he said. "They signed on and it was perfect."

Swanson said he has worked with the MTV tours in the past, as recently as the 2004 election cycle and as far back as when he was a student at Penn State. He said the event will include representation from both campaigns and registration information for eligible voters.

"MTV feels like they have a responsibility for college kids," Swanson said. "I think it's a good thing. 'If I'm in State College, but I'm from Pittsburgh or McKeesport or somewhere, how do I vote?' A lot of 18- and 19-year-olds don't know how to do that stuff."

Kennedy said everyone in the band tries to stay as politically informed as they can, but Locksley is trying to keep its involvement nonpartisan for the tour.

"For us, it's not about 'Vote for this guy or vote for that guy,' " Kennedy said. "It's more about just at least vote, and know who you're voting for when you do."

In addition to voter awareness, the band will also be promoting the Bill of Rights for American Veterans, an act that would give soldiers returning from combat more medical benefits and college assistance, among other services.

Laz said Locksley took on the cause because it was a nonpartisan issue.

"It's taking that phrase 'Support the troops' back from meaning 'You support the war' to meaning 'You support the soldiers," Laz said. "That idea of patriotism and USA -- it's all become not what it should be. To be a patriot now means you support war, but they don't have to be tied together."

Kennedy said while he feels somewhat validated by everything Locksley has going for it, the band is more concerned with what comes next. For now, that means the current MTV tour, followed by recording the band's next album only days after it returns home to Brooklyn.

"When it comes down to it, it's really just about playing and recording music," he said. "These are all things that help and are going to enable us to do that for that much longer."

Locksley's fan base seems to sprawl across age brackets. Though it's only played to the 21-and-over crowd in State College, the band just wrapped up a tour with pop act Rooney, who had just been on the road opening for the Jonas Brothers.

But regardless of whether they drink from juice boxes or beer bottles, the fans are to whom Locksley feels it owes the most. This gratitude is what motivates the members to keep going.

"The new people who discover us seem to enjoy it, and I just want there to be more for them to discover once they find us," Laz said.