By Erin Goss | SDUN Reporter

Local rock band Transfer is bidding San Diego farewell. No, the popular group isn’t succumbing to a tragic breakup but rather setting off on an extensive European tour in hopes of capturing the ears of music listeners across the pond.

In a recent interview with Transfer band member and Golden Hill resident Matthew Molarius, the singer/guitarist revealed how a year of touring both nationally and abroad has set the band up to conquer the European audience.

Having just laid the groundwork for a U.K. fan base with an England-only tour this past fall, Transfer has already begun to reap accolades from our colonial cousins. The band was recently featured in the popular British music magazines Clash and Q, slated as the rising stars of sunny California.

“Things seem to be gaining momentum and the support has been an interesting thing to see develop. It’s brand new to most the people that you play for when you play an entirely different region. This definitely adds to the excitement of the experience,” Molarius said.

While the band has an upcoming two-month European tour just around the corner, it plans to capitalize on its recent success abroad by returning again shortly after for a round of festivals.

“So far we have a pretty intense tour schedule in the U.K. and Europe coming up. We will be gone for about two months then we come back to a four-night stint at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas. We also have been writing and recording some new material that we will work on while we are on the road, and then we›ll come back and record the next set of songs in April. After all that, we will head back to E.U. for some festivals in spring,” he said.

However, Transfer won’t be leaving its hometown fans high and dry, or worse—silent. Instead the band will be playing an “epic Bon Voyage show” at The Casbah, located at 2501 Kettner Blvd., on Jan. 21 to celebrate.

“We are quite excited to play The Casbah as a sendoff as (the venue) feels like home. It will be Casbah’s 22nd birthday so it will be full party mode. We have been writing quite a bit and I think we will kick the tires on some new material that night.”

While Molarius conceded “2010 was probably the best year yet” for Transfer, the band is off to a solid start and it’s only January. With a sendoff party at The Casbah and a European tour on the horizon there’s no doubt this will be one of the easiest goodbyes Transfer has seen.

For more information on Transfer, visit transferband.com.