Their band name may not have changed, but Blaine Duncan & The Lookers have a new sound and a new ensemble, including Adam Morrow from Callooh! Callay!

Blaine Duncan & The Lookers will be opening for Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires at Green Bar this Friday, Nov. 9 at 10 p.m. after taking a long hiatus.

In April, Duncan decided to form a new backing band based out of Tuscaloosa.

“We used to meet in Birmingham, which for each of us was 40 minutes away, so by the time we would meet, we would be tired and we had a limited time to practice,” Duncan said. “We would have no energy to work on new material.”

Duncan began recruiting Tuscaloosa musicians who could practice more regularly. The band is composed of the same instruments as before, but with different musicians, including bassist Josh Kavanaugh, guitarist Adam Morrow and drummer Adam Ridgway.

Duncan said the band’s sound has changed a lot too.

“It is more focused on the lyrics,” Duncan said. “The design was to get the lyrics on a platform and let the music be the undercurrent.”

Part of the change is due to Morrow, from local band Callooh! Callay!, who Duncan recruited because he knew Morrow had the kind of sound he wanted from his new guitarist.

“When Blaine asked me to join, I think he wanted to totally re-learn what these songs should be,” Morrow said. “Some of the older ones will sound very much the same, but some don’t. A lot of the new ones have been approached in what I assume is a new way.”

Morrow said it is not so much about fitting inside a certain expectation, but more about doing something compelling and different.

“I only say that because he had no expectations, sonically, compared to when the group started and he had a clearer idea of what, or who, he wanted to sound like,” he said. “The songs and their stories are the centerpiece, and we’re learning how to respond to those.”

Duncan asked Morrow to join The Lookers over the summer.

“I’ve known Blaine for a while,” Morrow said. “Our two bands have played shows together, we’ve bounced musical ideas around, discussed what Karl Welzein is up to, etc. I have always been a fan.”

Morrow said he has enjoyed the opportunity to just play guitar in a band and not be the front man for a change.

“It’s really, really fun,” he said. “Playing these songs is a lot of fun because I’m getting to put my own interpretation on things that already existed, that I already loved. It’s also definitely a new challenge, stylistically, which has been great.”

But Morrow has not deserted Callooh! Callay! and is continuing to work with both bands.

“Callooh! Callay! just released our second album, so it’s been a busy juggling process,” he said. “There are a lot of folks in town that are in multiple bands, but this is new to me. I like it so far. Both bands’ shows get booked so far in advance, there’s no real issues with that. Hopefully we’ll have a show soon I pull double duty at. That’d be a fun night.”

Friday night’s performance will be the band’s first show together.

“We’ve worked hard reimagining the older songs and orchestrating an approach to the new ones for a few months, and it’ll be good to finally take them from the practice space to an actual performance where other human beings are present,” Morrow said. “We will be a much better collective of musicians on the other side of it. Blaine recorded an EP over the summer that is really excellent. I’m looking forward to playing those songs for the first time.”

The group will be opening for Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires, a band that has been gaining attention in the Tuscaloosa area and are excited about the opportunity.

“The Glory Fires are also just really phenomenal,” Morrow said. “That’s been said repeatedly for the last year, but it doesn’t make it any less true, so I’m really looking forward to their set.”

The Glory Fires have been playing all over the country, but Lee Bains said the Tuscaloosa and Birmingham areas are still their favorite places to play.

“Blaine is a really good friend of mine,” Bains said. “The first time I played in Tuscaloosa was at Egan’s with him. He is a great songwriter and a great guy. I am really excited to see how [the new band] reinterprets his music.”