For Camper Van Beethoven, Tuneup Tour Is Timely

Since scoring a breakthrough in alternative-rock circles last year with its widely admired major-label debut, “Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart,” Camper Van Beethoven has kept an uncharacteristically low public profile.

Now, eight months after its last live gig, the once-prolific band takes its first tentative steps back on the road with a short tuneup tour that includes a stop Friday at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano. A full tour is planned for fall, following the late August release of a new album, “Key Lime Pie.”

The current nine-city blitz opened in Fresno, winds up in the Northern California hamlet of Guerneville and even includes a stop in Tijuana. That’s hardly a typical itinerary for most bands, but it fits the profile for Santa Cruz-based CVB, which has long traveled off rock’s beaten path--both geographically and musically.

“This is really how we started the band,” bassist Victor Krummenacher said in a telephone interview from Fresno, where CVB had just pulled in after a four-hour van ride. The current tour, he said, is a “back-to-the-roots sort of thing.”

Besides allowing the band to shake off the dust of the longest touring layoff in its history, the preview shows provide a chance to break in new violinist Morgan Fichter. CVB and former violinist Jonathan Segel parted ways after the last tour over increasing creative conflicts.

“It wasn’t working well anymore,” Krummenacher said. “It had become kind of a dysfunctional situation.”

Violin is pivotal in much of Camper Van Beethoven’s music, which is heavily influenced by Eastern European and other folk strains, so replacing Segel was a tall order. “We had several auditions,” Krummenacher said. “We found some very good musicians.”

The band finally settled on Fichter. They had met when her previous band, Harm Farm, opened for CVB. “We kind of stumbled across Morgan,” Krummenacher said.

The bassist has high hopes for “Key Lime Pie,” whose sound he described as more “warm and organic” than the last album. “I think we paid a little more attention to how we wanted to sound.”

Although there are some lighter moments on the new album, overall the songs are darker and moodier than previous CVB efforts, Krummenacher said. Also, he said, the album is more coherent than “Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart,” which took in a broad range of styles. “I think it flows well,” the bassist said. “I think the last one was a little on the schizophrenic side.”

Krummenacher expects the new album to build on the core audience forged with last year’s Virgin Records debut, which expanded a strong cult following built through several independent albums and EPs and incessant touring: “I think this one will see a lot more radio play than the last one. . . . I think we will kind of sway some people.”

Camper Van Beethoven plays at 9 p.m. Friday at the Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano. Tickets: $17.50. Information: (714) 496-8930.