PERSISTENCE IS PAYING OFF FOR DROOGS

“L.A. is just a very tough town,” says Ric Albin, lead singer and songwriter for the Van Nuys-based band the Droogs. “The competition is just tremendous. It’s a typical L.A. story that you have to wait years and years to be recognized.”

He should know. Albin and his Droogs (at the Anticlub tonight and Club Lingerie on Wednesday) have been waiting 15 years for recognition. And it hasn’t been for lack of trying. Since the band formed in 1972, Albin and his cohorts (guitarist Roger Clay, bassist Dave Provost and drummer John Gerlach) have released eight singles and one EP on their own Plug ‘N’ Socket Records label, had their work featured on several Rhino Records compilations and played before appreciative audiences on the East Coast and in Europe.

In Los Angeles, however, it’s been a long, slow uphill climb. For a few years in the late ‘70s, the band even broke up, but eventually Albin got back together with his original partner, Roger Clay. Then in 1982 Provost came on board (after leaving Dream Syndicate) and in 1983 ex-Little Girls drummer Gerlach joined. At that point, Albin says, things started moving faster, and now the pace is about to pick up even more with the release of the band’s new LP, “Kingdom Day,” its first on a major independent label (PVC Records).

While the Droogs’ psychedelic/garage/Sunset Strip rock has garnered rave reviews, building up a local following has been hard, partly because of that ‘60s-sounding name. “I don’t think the name has helped,” Albin admits. “A lot of people associate it with ‘A Clockwork Orange’--and so did we when we picked it back in the ‘70s. It hasn’t helped, but the fact that we’ve kept it has been good. We haven’t changed our name every year to cash in on the latest style.”

And over the years the Droogs have seen their share of fads come and go, but Albin says the Droogs have tried to maintain a current outlook.

“We’ve been through several trends but were never really partial to any of them, including the Paisley Underground,” he says. “We know we have roots in the ‘60s, but we’ve been trying to perform a contemporary set that has some garage-rock, some psychedelia, but also songs with some social conscience and music that’s not prefab or pap rock.”

The “Kingdom Day” album displays the ‘60s-roots sound the band is known for, but the mature songwriting and professional delivery (liberally flavored with harsh fuzz-guitar and a loose garage feel) make it contemporary and fresh.

One could easily imagine songs like “Webster Field” (about a softball field in the Valley favored by local musicians and roadies) or “Kingdom Day” (about growing up in a Navy town like San Diego) being sandwiched between U2 and the Georgia Satellites. And of course there’s still some pronounced, ‘60s-style music happening here.

While the Droogs readily acknowledge their ‘60s roots--all the members are in their 30s--Albin obviously doesn’t like to dwell on that aspect too much. “We’ve given up trying not to sound ‘60s,” he says. “And it is a point of reference that we’re not ashamed of. We were kids then and we do remember hearing the radio. But it’s just too confining to say it’s ‘60s music. We’re alive now and doing what we have to do. The bands that do suffer from (the ‘60s tag) are the ones who just imitate it.”

With the new album out and U.S. and European tours planned, the Droogs march on. How has the band managed to keep the faith over 15 years?

“We have waited so long,” Albin says. “One thing we have on our side is that we’ve always felt that if we believe in ourselves, others can. A lot of people who give up obviously don’t believe in themselves and so nobody else can.

“I talk to a lot of musicians who say they have good material but they can’t get a record deal. I say, ‘Do it yourself. Put out your own record.’ That’s one way to get feedback from people instead of staying in the living room and thinking, ‘This is the greatest thing since sliced toast and I’ll go to Warner Bros. and they’ll give me a big deal.’

“You hear that so much. The truth is, unless you know yourself what you’re doing, Warner Bros. isn’t going to help you.”

The only thing that counts in the long run, Albin maintains, is hard work.

“It doesn’t make great copy to say you’ve been working very hard, but that’s essentially the bag we’re in,” he says. “Our whole ethos is that we’re persistent and we’re determined in what we do. It’s been a long period of gestation. What can I say?”