Mike Lyon has done what few people have done: he has gone from writing about a band to becoming a permanent member of the band he wrote about. This past March, Lyon, the publisher of the Santa Cruz music zine Your Music Magazine, joined 3 Up Front, a Santa Cruz-based punk rock quartet, after their bassist left to pursue other interests.

Before joining the band, Lyon remembers being impressed with the band when he saw 3 Up Front for the first time at Your Music Magazine’s second Santa Cruz Battle of the Bands three years ago.

“They went on before The Expendables and put on a really good show,” he says. “I liked the high energy atmosphere they created.”

After joining the band, Lyon had a very short amount of time to gel with his new bandmembers before a Your Music Magazine release party at the Catalyst featuring 3 Up Front. “I had about two weeks to learn the songs and put out the magazine,” he says.

Before playing with 3 Up Front, Lyon had played in other Santa Cruz groups like the alternative rock group Wyrm and the hip-hop metal outfit MLX. In addition, Lyon found it easy to relate to his new bandmates. “It felt really natural,” he says. “I get along really good with the drummer.”

Before Lyon joined the group, 3 Up Front was a Tahoe-based band that formed in 1999. In 2000, the band moved to Santa Cruz to further pursue a career in the music business. While in Santa Cruz, 3 Up Front released a CD titled Nothing to Lose.

Lyon describes 3 Up Front’s sound as fun punk rock.

“We don’t deal with heavy issues,” he says. Song titles like “We Were Baked” and “2 Drunk” back up Lyon’s assertion.

The band is currently working on a new album titled 3 Up Front and Jake. The CD, the band’s second, will probably be released this spring. Lyon describes the sound of the record as punk riffs with radio-ready vocals.

3 Up Front plays the Lava Lounge in Club Octane at 321 Alvarado St. in Monterey, Saturday at 10pm with Plaster and the Kick Start Devils.No cover. 646-9244.