I Nine, a rock-pop quartet with roots in Orangeburg, stopped by WORG 100.3 FM on Wednesday to promote the release of its debut album, "Heavy Weighs the King."

The album was released April 29 on iTunes and climbed the charts to No. 35, according to vocalist Carmen Keigans.

"It's finally out, and a lot of kids have been waiting," Keigans said, adding that the band has received requests from local students as when the album would drop. "It's really great to get local support."

"Heavy Weighs the King" can be purchased exclusively on iTunes for $6.99.

"It takes you from a pop standpoint to a '70s rock 'n' roll sound," Keigans said of the album.

The band has replaced most of its music equipment since its trailer was stolen last year on a visit to Orangeburg, Keigans said. However, the group has a few more pieces of equipment that have to be made.

Touring after the incident was made possible by borrowed equipment, the singer said.

"We have recovered from that with the help of a lot of people that we know," Keigans said. "We were really lucky and very blessed."

The quartet grew up and attended public schools together in Orangeburg before making their way to the University of South Carolina in Columbia.

In 2005, I Nine performed the first single from the sound track of "Elizabethtown," titled "Same in Any Language," cowritten by director Cameron Crowe and his wife, Nancy Wilson, the film's scoring artist.

Keigans said the group plans to perform in Orangeburg sometime this summer.

For more information and tour stops, visit www.inine.com.

T&D Features Writer Candace Newson can be reached by e-mail at cnewson@timesanddemocrat.com or by telephone at 803-533-5540. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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