The musical collaboration started in the early 1990s, when Ryan Barringer and Chris Sallen were students at Saratoga High School. College and jobs separated the two for a while, but the guitarists reunited three years ago.

They now practice weekly in the basement of Barringer's home, with Ron Songco joining them on drums.

The trio's efforts are paying off, as they are headlining at Johnny V's in downtown San Jose on July 16 and performing with other groups in San Francisco and Berkeley soon after.

The Nixie Tubes' original compositions have already gained them radio airtime on Live 105 in San Francisco, and they are putting the finishing touches on their first EP.

Barringer, 26, started playing on his grandfather's 1945 Gibson acoustic guitar when he was 11 and at 12 started playing with a band called Deep Theta.

"A friend of ours came up with the name because he thought it was trippy," Barringer says. "It means a deep trance."

A series of bands followed.

His freshman year, Barringer played in a punk band called Deadmen Wear Plaid, and by his senior year he was playing in the seven-piece Crime in Italy.

Crime in Italy is where Sallen and Barringer first joined forces.

"One of our buddies came up with that name," Sallen says. "It's the definition of 'criminy.' "

The band was popular, playing at both Villa Montalvo and Paul Masson Winery before disbanding.

Sallen went on to the Berkeley College of Music in Boston, earning his B.A. in music business.

At Berkeley, Sallen played in Big D and the Kids' Table, an ongoing 10-piece band that regularly tours on the East Coast and in Europe.

The summer of 2000, Sallen returned to Saratoga, taking a job in client services at Google.

By then, Barringer was working in marketing at Valley Credit Union, and the two reconnected.

"We were both trying to figure out how to do the work thing. We did the work-to-live role for a while and did the music on the side," recalls Sallen, now 27. "It faded in and out a few times in the next couple of years."

Barringer says, "After high school, music left my life for a few years. I think sometimes it comes into your life and sticks around, but if you don't nurture it, it will leave. I was just floating around in life, wondering what to do, and it came back to me a few years after high school."

Barringer says initially he and Sallen "started doing some projects just for ourselves, on and off. Then we decided to do a band and do it seriously."

After auditioning others, the two found Songco, a programmer at Apple who lives in Santa Clara. At the urging of Sallen and Barringer, Songco gave up playing guitar and taught himself to play drums.

About a year ago, they decided the mix was right and they became the Nixie Tubes.

"We were strapped for a name," Barringer recalls. "We were called the Matterhorn for a few weeks, but we were getting bookings and found another band with that name. I was looking through an old electronics manual and saw the term." Nixie tubes, electronic devices used for displaying numbers, were used in the first electronic calculator.

The group plays all original material coming from compositions by Barringer and Sallen.

"I sing about relationships between people and... the way people interact with society," Barringer says. "I try to keep it lighthearted and fun, but throw in something with an interesting twist and add a little humor. I think anyone can relate to the songs." Barringer's song titles include "Word You Throw," "Fitting in Fine" and "Be Cool."

Sallen says he's started writing more for the Nixie Tubes than he has for any previous group he's performed with.

"Our writing is a little bit collaborative," says Sallen. "Ryan will come in with words and music together, or he'll have a complete song and we'll rework it until it sounds like the Nixie Tubes.

"I tend to show up with five different parts I want to glue together, and Ryan helps me figure out how to do it."

The Nixie Tubes see their target audience as ages 18 to 35, but say they hope younger and older audiences will find their compositions relevant.

"We love to craft the perfect 2 ¹/2- to 3-minute song that you'll leave singing and remembering the words," Barringer says.

Both Barringer and Sallen are philosophical about a full-time music career.

"It would be great to pursue music, because that's what we love to do, but we're not quitting our day jobs," Barringer says.

"We're out there for us," Sallen says. "We're doing it because we love to do it."

The Nixie Tubes will perform at 9 p.m. on July 16 at Johnny V's, 31 E. Santa Clara St., San Jose. There is a $5 cover charge and anyone attending must be 21 or older. They also have shows scheduled July 20 in San Francisco and Aug. 6 in Berkeley. For additional information visit www.thenixietubes.com.