Change is good for The Motion

The members of The Motion may be a bunch of jokers, but they’d like to be taken seriously.

“I trust him musically,” lead singer Mark McKee said in reference to the band’s newest addition, guitarist Chris Boyette.

“But not with money,” piped in drummer Mike McKee, Mark’s older brother.

“Yeah, every time I take out my wallet he’s always asking to borrow money,” Mark said, not missing a beat. OK, so maybe members of the Cary-based rock band don’t always take themselves seriously, but their music is a different story.

The group released its debut five-track EP, aptly titled The Arrival EP in May and has since been working hard to get the word out.

The group’s next local show will be Friday, Aug. 25, at The Brewery in Raleigh.

“We’ve grown as a band. We’re tighter. We feel good about the way we sound,” Mark McKee said in reference to changes in the group in recent months. “We’ve gotten more collaborative about the writing and how stuff is arranged.”

Some of the changes — such as adding a new member — are more noticeable than others. Chris Boyette has joined the band after returning to the Raleigh area from Nashville, Tenn., where he lived for several months.

“I’m really excited to play with these guys,” Boyette said. “You have to find three or four guys who have the same vision musically. It’s really hard to do that. Just listening to their stuff and putting a different spin on the music — it’s really exciting. They’re writing really good stuff.”

Mark McKee added, “We sound the way we’ve wanted to sound for the last two years.” Chris Rafetto, the group’s bassist, agreed.

“I think every band has to go through a lot of steps to get where they want to be,” Rafetto said. “We’ve been taking baby steps for a long time. Just having that fourth person will take our writing and performance to a new level.”

But Mark said sometimes taking it slow can be a positive thing.

“We’re OK with spending time to make it sound really good, and then evolve from there,” he said.

The Motion will play at The Brewery, 3009 Hillsborough St. in Raleigh, on Friday, Aug. 25. Tickets are $8 and the show starts at 8 p.m.