Local San Diego band Pinback has enjoyed modest national success with its quirky and undeniably catchy tunes. Founding member and genius behind the band’s distinctive bass lines, Armistead Burwell Smith IV (aka Zach Smith), is currently touring as his solo side project, Systems Officer, and will playing a show tonight at The Casbah.

Fans of Pinback and Smith’s other project, Three Mile Pilot, need not listen long to spot the similarities between the three acts. The distinctive flair Smith brings to the table with his bass, keyboard and vocal work are on full display in Systems Officer. Though it bears heavy similarity to Pinback, the solo project allows Smith to indulge his lyrical side with abandon while maintaining some of the identity he has established in his other projects.

Smith has enlisted Pinback drummer Chris Prescott, along with Kenseth Thibideau, to flesh out Systems Officer both on the tour and on a more permanent basis. According to Smith’s recent post on the band’s website, he is now able to invest more attention in “molding Systems Officer into something really special.”

Systems Officer will play to those who are 21 and older with Phantom Works and The Color of Glass at 8:30 p.m. tonight at The Casbah. Tickets are $12 and can be purchased at casbahmusic.com.