By JUNO OGLE

juno@dailynews.net

Kristie Stremel has traveled far from her hometown -- literally and metaphorically -- since being transplanted to the big city before finishing high school, but the place is never far from her heart.

The latest incarnation of her band -- Kristie Stremel and the 159ers -- is named for Hays' main Interstate 70 exit, just as her original band was. Last month, they released a new album, "Color of Stars," that already is gaining some good response.

"My long-term fans that have stuck with me, I've heard some good feedback," she said in a phone interview recently from her home in Lawrence. "They're really enjoying it. It wasn't so much relationship stuff I normally write about. It's got a lot of hope, and that was cool to hear."

Stremel started playing electric guitar at14 and had a garage band while in Hays. She said while she "adores" being brought up in Hays, the move to Kansas City really opened up her music career.

"I was pretty closed-minded living in Hays, just because I hadn't been exposed to much," she said.

"I remember being in Hays, there were only two black kids in our school. I got to Kansas City, and there were kids rapping in the hallways" at school, she said.

After graduating high school in 1993, she "bummed around" with a variety of musicians for a couple of years before joining Frogpond, an all-girl punk-pop band. The group gained a reputation as one of the region's best live bands.

"I went on the road for, like, two years. It was a crash course in how to rock 'n' roll," she said.

They opened for Everclear and even got a personal invite from R.E.M.'s Mike Mills to play the "Monster" tour wrap party in Atlanta after he caught one of their shows. Their first CD, "Count to Ten," was produced by Everclear's Art Alexakis and released in 1996.

But Stremel was ready to cut out on her own.

"By then, I had a lot of songs written that I just had in my pocket," she said. "The lead singer of Frogpond was the songwriter, and I didn't feel like my songs really fit that music."

In 1997, she formed her own band, Exit 159. The band toured for a couple of years in the Midwest and West Coast, recorded an EP and then a full album, and received local awards for best new band and best female vocalist for Stremel.

But even with the success, it wasn't the best of times personally.

"I just wasn't in a good spot," Stremel said. "I was drinking a lot, and there was a lot of that stupid rock 'n' roll stuff going on."

The band broke up, and Stremel went solo, "because I didn't know what else to do," she said. She kept writing songs and recording albums, and in 2006, released "10 years," an album of fan favorites and new material.

Six years ago, she also started on a new goal -- a bachelor of fine arts degree from the University of Kansas.

"This rocker's gonna get a degree in December, and I'm really excited about it," she said.

For someone who was never excited by high school, she said she didn't expect how it would affect her career.

"It has opened up a lot of connections right back to my music," she said. "It really helped my songwriting with my vocabulary. I even had a couple of teachers reach out to me and do some wordsmithing on my lyrics."

Stremel said she feels like she's come full circle playing again with Exit 159's drummer Rob VanBiber and bassist James Wheeler -- along with guitarist Scott Cameron, whom she's worked with on some of her solo albums -- as the 159ers hit the road.

"Reconnecting with these guys is really special to me," she said. "They had seen the worst of the worst of me when alcohol was involved. I thought if nothing else, it was a bridge that had been rebuilt, and I was really pleased with that and grateful."

That positive energy echoes in songs on the new album like the title cut, "Love Survive and Drive" and "In Motion."

It's something Stremel expects to carry her through greater things in her music career.

"I'm already really happy now. I've still always had to work part-time jobs, but I think getting to play full-time would be another dream come true," she said. "We're giving it a whack."