MESSENGER--MEN WITH A MISSION

“I have to say we’re blessed,” says Messenger guitarist Vic Butler, 29. “We’re on a mission from God. It’s the truth. Everything we do we try to put God first in it. . . . We all have a strong religious background.”

Judging from singer Doni McDaniels’ recent performance at Club Lingerie, Messenger has a background in matters more secular as well. During one particularly steamy song, the bare-chested singer lay down and became, ahem, intimate with the stage floor, a la Prince. There were no “amens” from the contingent of female fans down front, but you could tell they were moved.

And while Butler insists that the band doesn’t want to get a reputation for selling sex, McDaniels admits that his growing emergence as a sex symbol has helped attract industry attention.

“It’s commercial, I guess,” says the well-muscled 23-year-old singer. “That wasn’t really the intent. I’ve always been health-conscious and I wanted to bring it to music. All lead singers have their looks and I just wanted to be slightly different and feel good about myself while I was up there.”

McDaniels is not the only member of Messenger with a well-defined stage presence. All the musicians have specific personalities or “characters” they bring to the stage. Bassist Dino Stewart, for example, never appears without a silver lame mask over his face. He even wears it during interviews.

Why?

“Because basically I want to remain a common person,” says Stewart, 26. “I don’t want my ego to get big and act like someone I’m not. In reality, I’m like anyone else. I have to take off my shoes before I go to bed. Things can get really ridiculous but you have to remain humble.”

“(Dino) is a character,” says Butler. “That’s what we’re trying to bring back to music. In the ‘60s and ‘70s, people used to know individuals in bands by their names, but recently it’s like there’s David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen but who are the rest of the guys?

“I have my own image with my scarf; (keyboardist) Flash has his pajamas image; (keyboardist) Bobby Jackson has his satin image; (drummer) Johnny Moore has the ‘Miami Vice’ image, and Doni has . . . the masculine image.”

Image is not all Messenger has to offer. The band lays down a strong R&B-based; pop blend that’s unique on the local club circuit. While the group has only been playing live for 10 months, the message has gotten out. Last month, two of the group’s songs were featured in the ABC-TV movie “Brotherhood of Justice.” (Messenger recently headlined the Beverly Cabaret.) Meanwhile, the band’s frequent shows at Madame Wong’s have grown to sellout proportions.

“Hard work pays off,” says Stewart, 26. “You have to realize that this is a business. It’s show business . You have to (concentrate on) the show as well as the business.”

Messenger has paid attention to both. Nearly three years ago, Stewart, Butler and his brother Bob Butler (“Flash”) moved to Los Angeles from Philadelphia. They teamed up with McDaniels and two other family members: Stewart’s brother Jackson and his cousin Moore. For nearly 18 months, the sextet “went into the woodshed” and worked on songs, choreography and staging.

When Messenger debuted last fall, the band had a tightly polished sound and style that meshed the band’s East Coast urban roots with a Hollywood sensibility. Messenger onstage is a sensual and sophisticated bop-till-you-drop treat that has evoked comparisons with the Gap Band, the Time and Prince. It’s not the sort of act one runs across very often in local clubs.

“We want to be as big as the Beatles or the Jacksons,” says McDaniels. “And if we keep reaching and take it step by step, we’ll make it. I really believe that. I’m surrounded by some strong individuals. We have that all-for-one-one-for-all philosophy. We’ll be OK as long as we stay together and remember that this business has a way of trying to pull the ends of a band apart. You’re stronger as a group.”

Being an all-black R&B; act working a predominantly white club scene oriented toward hip and trendy music doesn’t worry them.

“We know that racism is always going to be around as long as man keeps his present way of thinking,” says Butler. “But we don’t dwell on that. We just go and do what we have to do and God takes care of the rest.”

‘You have to sit down and really map out what you’re going to do,” adds Stewart. “Some bands or some people don’t have any plans. They just get out there and it takes them years before they start to figure out, ‘Oh, this is the way to do this!’

“I have to spend too much time on my own projects to take time out to look at my competition. It’s like you’re a racehorse running a race and if you keep looking back and around you’ll lose. You have to keep your blinders on and keep looking forward.”