When asked about the highlights of their 10-year-plus career as a band, members of Percy Hill described colorful moments in what has clearly been a long, strange trip. Drummer Aaron Katz recalled the feeling of the band discovering itself, in a studio revelation, during the making of Color in Bloom. Keyboardist Nate Wilson pointed to the Jammy Award they received in recognition of that album in 2000. Bassist John Leccese remembered a Halloween concert at The Music Hall in 1999, which sent the whole band into a paroxysm of nostalgia.

"The theme was Alice in Wonderland, so we all dressed up as characters," Leccese explained. "Aaron was the Cheshire Cat, Joe was the Mad Hatter, Nate was the Caterpillar, and I was the Queen of Hearts. And we all dressed up in hideous costumes."

Sitting in the kitchen of the band's studio in Dover, in an off-pink Victorian two-story duplex, the band recounted details of the Halloween show. They had played songs related, however loosely, to the phantasmagoric Wonderland story, such as Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit," Ted Nugent's "Cat Scratch Fever," and Tom Petty's "Don't Come Around Here No More." (Remember the video?) They had also propped a giant painted storybook at the back of the stage, and a friend, dressed as the Rabbit, turned the pages as the band progressed musically through the scenes. The band-mates laughed jubilantly as they recalled the White Rabbit getting "blackout drunk," and nearly pulling the storybook over the edge of the balcony.

Earlier, they had trickled into the kitchen one at a time, first Aaron, then guitarist Joe Farrell, then Lecesse, and finally Wilson. I could hear a familiar Percy tune drifting down the stairway from the studio, where sound engineer and producer Andrew Gallagher was working on the new album that the band hopes to have out in January.

But for the time being, Percy Hill has a more pressing matter to attend to. They are gearing up for their Sept. 10 concert at the Rochester Opera House. They have not appeared at the Opera House since the fall of 2002, when they recorded Percy Hill Live.

"That night that we recorded for the live record it really all came together musically, and it was really a pretty special night. So I'm looking forward to going back," said Farrell.

Percy Hill was first formed by Joe Farrell and Nate Wilson in 1993. Wilson was only 16 at the time and still in high school, but his parents allowed him to move in with the other band members, who were all UNH students, in Dover.

Most of Percy's gigs during those early days were at private high schools or colleges. They also played at Libby's in Durham and The Stone Church in Newmarket, and did shows at the Ioka Theater in Exeter, as well as The Music Hall in Portsmouth. By 1997, when Aaron Katz and John Leccese joined the group, they had developed a significant local following. After meeting Farrell and Wilson at UNH, Katz and Leccese were quick to jump on board.

"I became just very close with Nate," explained Katz. "We were in the music department at the same time. We were writing together, playing in the jazz bands there. And I got to know Joe, and we just connected as far as where we were all looking to go."

By '98, Percy Hill was touring around the nation. A year later, they recorded their cult classic Color In Bloom, which won the 2000 Jammy Award for best studio album of the year. On tour, the band has hit 42 states. Some of their favorite regions on the road include Colorado, Montana, and the West Coast, but they still maintain a special affinity for New England.

This shows in their lineup for Sept. 10. Local music wizard John Nolan will open the all-ages show, and a post-show party at the Crescent City Bistro in Dover will feature Boston band Mode3. The members of Percy Hill are very serious about giving back to the community that weaned them. For this reason, they have invited several nonprofit organizations to participate in the event.

One of these groups is Strangers Helping Strangers, who will be running a nonperishable food drive to benefit various charities in Rochester. Anyone who plans on attending the show is encouraged to donate nonperishable canned goods. Another is Headcount, a nonpartisan group that goes to concerts and registers people to vote. Headcount has previously worked with enormous acts such as the Dead, Phish and the Dave Matthews Band. Also, the band will welcome Naked Truth, an organization dedicated to calling attention to the harmful toxins present in many everyday products we use.

More than anything, the band members want to expose a new generation of fans to their lyrically affirmative, instrumentally exultant music.

"We are reaching out to all the new people who will be hearing us for the first time," said Katz. "It's exciting to try to get to people that are really more geared in the mainstream radio and MTV world and show them that there are other forms out there musically, other types of expression, and positive messages."

But the established Percy Hill faithful need not be wary. Katz promises to fill the set with plenty of jazzy, Percy standards. "We'll play some classics, maybe some oldies but goodies, and..."

"Knock 'em on their asses," chimed in Leccese.

Other than a brief tour through New England and New York in November, the Sept. 10 show will be the only chance fans will have to see Percy Hill perform live until after the new album is released next year. Everyone in the band has side projects going on, but for the moment, Percy takes priority.

"I think when we get together there's an amazing energy that we've developed, and the creativity is there, the writing's there, and it just always happens when we get together. It's very exciting, and there's a long future in store for this music," Katz asserted.

After taking a few pictures of the band in the studio upstairs and checking out some of the graphics for the sleeve of their next album, I shook hands with the group and walked outside. Wilson was messing around on a piano just inside the door, and his improvised jam followed me to the sidewalk. I remember Percy Hill playing locally back when I was in high school. It feels unexpectedly comforting to know that they are still here, still making music.