The rock band Locksley is returning from its newly adopted home in Brooklyn, N.Y., to play Madison's Freakfest on Saturday. The band's four members -- Kai Kennedy, Jesse Laz, Sam Bair and Aaron Collins -- attended Madison West High School together and relocated to New York after graduation.

Locksley, which recently appeared on Conan O'Brien and joined Hanson on a national tour, was named one of Alternative Press' best unsigned bands in the country. The band has been touring behind its first album "Don't Make Me Wait," released on its own Feature Records.

Locksley brings its catchy songs to the Milio's/The Onion Stage (at the Gorham Street-Buckeye Lot, next to Pizzeria Uno) at 10:45 p.m. Saturday.

Channel 3000 caught up with lead guitarist Kai Kennedy to talk about returning to Madison and the Halloween madness on State Street.

Channel 3000: The band's members all attended West High School. How long have you known each other? When did the band form?

Locksley: We've known each other for about five years. The way we look at it, we started in 2003, because that's when we moved out to New York. But we all knew each other in high school -- I graduated in 2002. So the band we are now, we say we started in 2003, but we actually did kind of start around 2001.

How is living in Brooklyn treating you guys?

It's pretty good actually. We kind of caught the pace eventually. It takes a little while to acclimate yourself, but we're pretty used to it now. It's definitely an interesting place, very vibrant.

How do you think playing the Halloween party in Madison will compare to your other shows?

It's definitely going to be more costumed. I actually don't know what to expect, to be honest. We're all looking forward to it, I know that much. It should be relatively crazy; I mean, Halloween usually is on State Street. I've participated before but never performed or had a hand in how the event goes, so that will be a different perspective for sure.

Any past Madison Halloween memories stand out?

For me, they kind of meld together a little bit from how crazy they were. I remember once, standing in line at Casa Bianca, pretty drunk, and you realize you've been standing in line for a half hour and somehow you just don't care. I'm sure there's far more exciting stories than that, but I'm totally not sure.

In your opinion, what's the best thing about Halloween in Madison?

In the past, it was kind of a way of people letting go. It really does take advantage of the pedestrian mall, and it's hard to be able to find a place where so many people can congregate and just have a good time over this massive area. And you don't really see that anywhere else; it's a very unique experience.

From touring, I've met a lot of people from across the country who come to Madison every year for Halloween, which is not really something that would you expect. It's got a name for itself, and it's become a weird cultural sideshow for Madison, which is funny, because of the many other cultural events going on, Halloween and homecoming, seem to come to the forefront every year.

Are you planning any costumes for Saturday's show?

We are. Thank you for reminding me, because we were just about to go pick them up right now. We're definitely all going to wear costumes. I think it's going to be a surprise. We heard that Lifehouse is playing, and they are a Christian rock band, so we wanted to make sure that it fit.

How would you describe the band's sound to someone who hasn't heard you guys before?

I'd say it's very much like garage rock meets the Beatles -- a lot of the early '60s British Invasion-style music. It's very dancey. I'd say our show is, not necessarily a dance party, that's a bit of a stretch, but it's very high energy.

What was it like touring with Hanson?

That was actually really, really a lot of fun. I didn't know what to expect at all. But it ended up being very lucrative in terms of the fans we gained. Because they're very rabid in terms of their musical taste, and we just happened to kind of strike gold. A lot of them really took a liking to us and that helps a lot.

By the end of the tour, our fan base east of the Mississippi, basically, has definitely grown. It's a hard experience to actually describe to people, because most people have to go to a Hanson show to really understand it. It was cool; it was very unique.

Is the band still unsigned?

We are. We're not exactly pushing too hard to get signed right now, but if the right deal comes along we might have to snag it. Right now, we're doing pretty well independently, and we hope to continue to do that for as long as we can, because that leaves so much more control in our hands.

It gives us some freedom, but it's also somewhat limiting because less people have access to you. At the same time, we want as many people to hear our songs as possible, but we also don't want to get into a deal that will take control away from us.

What's next for the band?

We're recording our second album now, actually. Right when we get back from Madison we're going to start -- we already have two tracks almost done. And then we're going to record, record, record until it's done and then kind of take a break from playing shows. Hopefully the record will be done by the end of winter. Then we're going to do another tour. We're hoping to get back to Japan. We're hoping to get over to Europe. And then we're definitely going to do another U.S. tour in the spring.

We're all really excited about the new album. So far it sounds really good, but I'm somewhat biased.

Hear Locksley's music at the band's MySpace.com Page.