Matt Junkin is a hard man to track down. With his Portsmouth-based trio, The Whatnot, touring from Atlanta to Chicago and lots of nameless towns between, promoting their debut album, "What You Make of It," and holding down a real life, he is a busy man. Luckily for me, he works in The Wire office, about 10 feet from my desk. Still, he does leave for appointments a lot.

Along with bandmates Chris Mathews on percussion and Patrick Curry on guitar, bassist Junkin has played shows with such notables as OAR, As Fast As and Pondering Judd, bringing their acoustic stylings to a range of venues, from coffeehouses to 1,500-seat auditoriums. Junkin agreed to talk a little about what The Whatnot are up to and their show at the Stone Church on Thursday night with Virginia Coalition and Adam Richman.

How long have you been together?

We have been gigging since late December 2002.

How do you write songs-together, or does one person write and bring it to the others?

Almost everything we play is written solely by Patrick, but some of the newer stuff is written by the band as a whole.

You've been touring around the East Coast recently. Any good road tales?

Lots of tales. A funny one was getting trapped in Stroudsburg, Pa., by a flood. It was our first gig as a "full-time" touring band, and we had to cancel our second-ever gig because of it. We played at a place called the Sarah Street Grill and were able to enjoy the band accommodations provided by the club owner Dave Lapoint. That night we heard some pretty solid rain, but didn't think much of it until we awoke the next morning to find the dead-end street he lived on engulfed by a raging river that only the night before was a calm babbling brook. So we were stuck in Stroudsburg for an extra day, which luckily is not the worst place in the world. We got a return date there, but we weren't too enthused about how our tour began.

Did you take a job here at The Wire as a sneaky way to help promote your band? Don't lie...

I'm not gonna say it didn't cross my mind. (Chuckles nervously, eyeing the boss.) The Wire reaches a lot of people that I'm already in contact with because of the band.

After touring across the country, is it still exciting to play at the Stone Church?

Yes. Playing a room like that, you see a different crowd almost every night, the people are really receptive to music of all kinds. We're lucky to have a room like the Stone Church in our backyard. Not to mention playing with our good friends Virginia Coalition is exciting no matter where we play.

What makes The Whatnot different from other area bands?

That would have to be our bow-hunting skills. All three of us sing as well. And finally, we have a guy playing drums with his hands instead of sticks.

What are the band's goals for 2005?

This year we plan on scaling things back a little bit. Touring was a lot of fun, but we're going to focus more on building a fan base closer to home. The secondary goal, of course, would be to get on Dr. Phil.

Why did you become a bass player?

To fill a role, really. I've always been a guitarist, but a bass player is what the band needed, so, like the finches of the Galapagos, I adapted.

If each member of the band were a cartoon character, who would they be?

Chris would be Bugs Bunny because he's always outsmarting varmints, bald guys and spacemen. But he hates carrots, so go figure. Patrick would be Otto from the Simpsons. He's the best driver out of the bunch. But more importantly, he has an uncanny sense of direction. I would be Count Duckula 'cause I terrorize the countryside in search of ketchup and really don't like the sight of blood.

The Whatnot share the stage on Thursday night with D.C.-influenced The Virginia Coalition and Adam Richman on Thursday, Feb. 3 for an 18-plus show. Show starts at 9 p.m. and tickets are $6 in advance, $9 at the door.