Cape band The Big Idea recently signed a contract with Mudstomp Records

Will Montgomery leans on a pool cue as Tommy Main racks up another game on a quiet weekday night at the Rude Dog Pub.

They circle the table slowly in the narrow bar under stickers for their band, The Big Idea, mixed into decorations on the wall.

Give them a guitar and a banjo, and Montgomery and Main are half of one of Cape Girardeau's most reliable local acts.

But tonight, they're just Will and Tommy -- just a couple of regular joes shooting pool at the ‘Dog.

The Big Idea has become a downtown favorite since 2009, when Montgomery and Main started playing together in earnest. Now, with bassist Scott Welton and conga man Dale Baker, its brand of scruffy, drawling acoustic rock and plain-spoken everyman style has landed the band a record deal.

The band and Overland Park, Kansas-based label Mudstomp Records had flirted a few times over the years, and Mudstomp co-owner Don Simon said he's excited to finally have them signed.

"They're straight up what our label is all about," Simon said. "Our focus is on roots and Americana music. ... The Big Idea is going to fit right in."

Montgomery agreed. He said for years, the band has shared stages with Mudstomp artists with similar musical inclinations.

"We always wanted to be a part of what [Mudstomp] had going on," he said.

Casual listeners might equate The Big Idea's sound with that of Old Crow Medicine Show, but it warrants a subtle distinction. Their style won't burn down the barn per se, but it's a little more urgent -- it thumps harder. It feels more akin to the Violent Femmes than bands in the neo-folk revival movement. The band's Facebook page lists "grungegrass" and "stompgrass" among other iterations of rock and folk in the description.

"We're a rock 'n' roll band," Montgomery said. "We just happen to have a banjo and an acoustic guitar."

That might explain why the band is so popular in Cape's downtown haunts.

"They've already got a really nice following," Simon said. "We're excited to help them get to the next level."

That next level includes short tours with other Mudstomp artists and a spot in the lineup for the Riverstomp Music Festival in early October. So far, The Big Idea has recorded and produced its own music, usually in improvised home studios. Montgomery said now it is signed with Mudstomp, it might use an actual studio but won't change the stripped-down feel of its music or subject matters.

"What's great about them is that their songs are about living and working hard and songs that also tell a story," Simon said. "It's just great to listen to."

It's also great to see live. Baker and Welton keep rhythm while Montgomery and Main strum guitar and banjo with their hands and thump kickdrum and high-hat with their feet. Sometimes Joey Parent joins them, bent double over a harmonica. It's rambunctious, it's infectious, it's playing the Elderberry Jam in Hartsburg, Missouri, today and tomorrow.

The Big Idea's next gig in Cape is Aug. 15 and 16 at the Rude Dog Pub on Main Street. Its eponymous debut album will be available online Tuesday for download.

tgraef@semissourian.com