Courtesy of My Radio

My Radio: singer J.P. Powell (foreground) and (background, from left) bassist Jeff Hofmann, guitarist Brett Lemon, drummer Hunter Johnson.

Salem-connected band My Radio is taking a big step up into the world of music and pop culture, and it's happening fast. Their song "Yeah, yeah, yeah" from their 2009 album, "Give Us the Sun," will be featured in the movie (and in the trailer) "The Joneses," starring Demi Moore, David Duchovny and Amber Heard. It'll be in theaters April 16.

"It's definitely a big opportunity for us," said the band's drummer, Roanoke College graduate and former Salem Mill Mountain Coffee & tea manager, Hunter Johnson.

"When the movie comes out, it's hard to say what will happen," he said. "Honestly, the fact that we got into the movie is awesome, and then anything that happens outside of that is just an added bonus."

Back in October 2009, the band signed with placement company Ocean Park Music Group in Los Angeles. They managed to get the same song, "Yeah, yeah, yeah," in the Fox Sports music reel for the Cleveland Cavaliers within a couple of months, and now they've landed My Radio right where they want to be.

From what they've been told, the song will be featured in a montage scene for a little over two and a half minutes during a critical part of the movie. The trailer, which features the My Radio song for most of its duration, was posted on www.perezhilton.com, a celebrity gossip site, on March 1 and had already been seen more than 500,000 times by that March 5.

J.P. Powell is the group's true Salemite, but bassist Jeff Hofmann and drummer Hunter Johnson both attended Roanoke College and have lived in Salem most of their lives. Guitarist Brett Lemon also has strong family ties to Salem.

-- Miranda Adkins