Shouts roll down the street. Fists are jousted into the air. "Down with neo fascism," their signs read. Music fills the air. Amid the bustling streets of angered sound, a group of American kids arrive with instruments in hand. The scene: Leipzig, Germany, April 30, 2005.

These American kids have a rock band from Milwaukee named Decibully and this city was another stop on the group's long European spring tour. They knew the specifics of when and where they'd play, but they didn't know the chaos that would be beat down on the city.

Once a city roamed by Nazis in  eastern Germany, Leipzig conjures up a jolted history at each turn. This was another chapter, as a neo-fascist parade was scheduled the next day. Anarchists and punk kids from all over Germany came roaring into the city to protest. Riot guards and police on horseback followed. The band members made their way past the protestors and their protest music festival, noticing posters with their album cover and protest posters alongside one another on the walls.

"To walk down the streets and see posters of our record cover plastered on the wall with these protest posters, it was pretty once in a lifetime," says lead singer William Seidel.

But they didn't let that bother them. They had a gig to play.

The gig that ended up being just down the road from this festival. Setting up their equipment they noticed how beautiful this old pre-war theater appeared. It was almost time to play. They were in the process of warming audiences to their new album "Sing Out America!" But with this turmoil, no one could tell what would happen. The protest let out and the band noticed the participants tricking into the theater.

"After the street festival ended all the people came to our show," says Seidel. "It felt like were part of something bigger than simply playing music that night."

Such is the story of Decibully. Since its creation in 2001, the band has grown both in size and in the bond between the members. Many of the members have spent years playing together on the road that the band functions like a group of brothers, family, really.

"The majority of us have spent countless months on the road together and we know each other pretty inside out," says Seidel. "We all know where we're coming from. The fact that we've played so long, it's become kind of second nature to play."

Seidel is currently joined by Kenneth Siebert, Ryan Weber, Nicholas Sanborn, Aaron Vold and Andy Menchal, several of whom play multiple instruments in the band. Decibully started out as a three-piece at their first show in 2001 but by their fifth show they'd grown to 10. Some have come and gone but Seidel has been the main "voice" of Decibully through it all and Siebert's guitar playing is signature Decibully.

Add the rest of the band and you've got a rich and textured collaborative mix of songs featuring styles anywhere from rock to folk to soul.

"It's pretty much rock and roll, a little bit of folk, a little bit of world music, a little bit of shoegaze rock, a little bit of everything," says Seidel. "Every person comes from a different musical background and we're bringing all kinds of influences."

Brent Gohde knows this very well. As the promotions director at WMSE 91.7FM from 2002-'08, Gohde got to see the band frequently with in-studio visits and their help during money drives.

"They're an extremely tight band that can move between styles pretty effortlessly," says Gohde. "I've no idea what goes into the writing process, but for seven pieces to come together so beautifully is pretty special, especially considering the degree of difficulty."

For the band, this ability to change it up from time to time gives them freedom to let their music roam freely.

"We never felt like we had to conform to any sort of sound or idea," says Seidel. "If we want to play a rock song we'll play a rock song and if we want to play a really quiet song we'll play it."

And if they mess up, they don't miss a beat. They continue onwards. They're not afraid to let loose with their sound and let whatever comes of it just happen.

"We're just worried about making great songs that people are going to listen to," says Seidel. "Sometimes it'll come super easy and sometimes we'll spend months on it. If we all like it, we all know right away because there's just that certain kind of feeling. We don't even have to say anything."

Seidel says that they always work toward doing what's best for the songs and not for anyone's ego. The band's songwriting schedule lends itself for the band to gel and make these quality songs. Wednesday nights usually means practice night for the band.

"For one day of the week we get to hang out and do whatever the heck we want to do and write whatever kind of music we like to," says Seidel.

These practices are a usually a mixture of joking, listening, writing, and playing.

"We all show up at our practice space, usually with some beer and sit down a talk about how everyone's doing for the first hour, set up our instruments, and listen to a couple records or whatever anyone is listening to at the time," says Seidel. "If there's an idea we'll start playing that and work until it becomes something. If it's not working we'll work on something different."

Gohde says the band has a habit of going out of their way for their music, which he's very grateful for.

"They have always been very gracious about any support, especially in Milwaukee, to the point of once hopping out of the tour van after weeks on the road and walking right into the studio for a live set before even going home to see family," says Gohde.

While all their songs are special for the band, none can compare to the ones they write about being in a band. On their three albums, "Festivals of Cities," "Sing Out America!" and most recent "World Travels Fast," the band makes sure there's a song on that topic.

"On the new record 'World Travels Fast' we did one called "An Hour of Noise," says Seidel. "It's basically about traveling around the world, you have a whole day to travel around the world and go out a week at a time but you only play one hour a day. That's the one hour that you get to do what you want to do."

Up to this point, Decibully's albums have represented the band at important stages of their growth as a band and as people.

"The first record "City of Festivals" dealt with growing up and living in Milwaukee and then we got to see more of the country with touring and then it was "Sing Out America!" says Seidel. "Now, this new one is the whole world with the technology boom since the last record."

"World Travels Fast" also marks a change in how they feel about getting their music out. For most of their existence they enjoyed being on a major label, Polyvinyl Records, who released their first two albums.

With a new album in tow that they spent nearly four years working on, things broke down and the label decided to let them go for business reasons. Not wanting to dwell on the fact that they didn't have the album out, they were determined to get their music out and keep moving ahead whether they find a label or self release from now on.

"It's not like this is something we're looking to make money on, we just want people to hear what we've spent all this time working on," says Seidel about getting "World Travels Fast" out. "Let them hear it and then we can start working on some new stuff and keep moving forward."

Unless a perfect deal comes they're way, Seidel says that the band plans to self release the album during a show sometime this summer or fall with limited number vinyl and a downloadable digital version.

What's for certain is that they won't stray away from the road this summer. They're playing Sunday at the Locust Street Festival and hope to do at least a show or two each month around the region. While the band's more limited these days and can't take several months tours, they enjoy every chance they get to play for new and old fans alike. Gohde says that when they're out of Milwaukee, they're very good at promoting the home music scene.

"Decibully are champions of other Milwaukee bands, and never miss the opportunity to spread the word about what's going on here," says Gohde. "They take that around the country on tour, and they proudly flaunt their Milwaukee ties, which is fantastic seeing as they are such excellent ambassadors -- as musicians and as dudes."

When Decibully really gets rolling, be prepared for the music to sweep over you. They're a band full of friends who want to make every moment playing count whether it's for a home crowd or a chaotic crowd in a German city.

"We just do it and it feels natural, it's like breathing," says Seidel. "It's like you have an hour to live your life at the end of the night."