Prayers for Atheists

Jared Paul was one of hundreds arrested during a Labor Day protest at the 2008 Republican National Convention. His successful yearlong journey to get an acquittal inspired a free MP3 from fellow Rhode Island artist Sage Francis. The experience, though, was less an anomaly than part of Paul’s ongoing activism, with his recordings as a spoken-word poet, rapper and punk vocalist as byproducts. His band, Prayers for Atheists, released a self-titled debut EP on Francis’ Strange Famous Records last year, but judging from its MySpace tracks, the group is still a work in progress. But Paul knows how to work a crowd, and has a hell of a story to tell. 2710 V Street, www.myspace.com/prayersforatheists.