A Faithful Foursome Dreams of Stardom : It all started in a seminary, where some young men tuned in to rock, and that was the genesis of sam i am

The band is playing “You Really Got Me” just like the Kinks used to, but they’re singing in Spanish. The west San Fernando Valley crowd in this middle-class miniskirt and margarita bar seems confused. When the song is over, the lead singer speaks.

“This next song is dedicated to Andy Gibb. You all remember Andy Gibb? One down and three to go.”

Guitars blast into a hard-rocking rendition of the disco classic “Stayin’ Alive.”

There are a thousand unknown bands in this city and sam i am is one of them. But these Valley guys are going about it with a bit of cheek.

Recently, they took an ad in a local music magazine daring David Letterman to put them on his show. Soon after, the lead singer flew to New York City with plans of infiltrating Letterman’s office dressed as a delivery boy. It didn’t pan out.

sam i am plays some old hits, but you have to listen carefully to recognize them. Their original songs expound on what they call “fascist” dancing styles, the homeless issue and arranging your college education around classes where it’s easiest to pick up women.

And the odd thing is, these guys were supposed to be priests.

Lyford Rome, Jorge Ramirez and Paul Sullivan met three years ago at St. John’s Catholic Seminary in Camarillo. Whenever they had time away from liturgical studies, they got together in the music room to write rock songs. Sullivan didn’t play any instrument, so he borrowed some drums from a parishioner.

That might have been as far as it went, except that Ramirez, now 26, the bass player and a computer programmer, decided against pursuing the priesthood. The others soon followed. The trio met Chris O’Flaherty at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in Reseda and became a faithful foursome.

“When people hear you were in a seminary, they have such a preconceived notion of this monk thing,” said Rome, 25, the lead singer, who teaches school at St. Catherine. “They don’t think you could have fun and laugh and be literate.

“There’s nothing wrong with a Catholic rock band,” he said. “If we’re walking on stage with severed goat heads and 13-year-old groupies, then I might point a finger at hypocrisy. But I don’t see us getting into the sex and drugs and rock ‘n’ roll thing. Just the rock ‘n’ roll.”

Catholicism hasn’t fallen totally by the wayside, either. Religious sentiment runs through much of the band’s material, as evidenced in such songs as “Novena” (“I’ll pray for you,” Rome croons) and “Sacrament” (“Tasting you,” he sings).

But Sullivan, 23, who teaches at the same school as Rome, is quick to clarify that he and his cohorts haven’t followed in the steps of holy rockers such as Stryper.

“We’re not throwing Bibles at our fans,” Sullivan said.

“What we believe is obviously going to end up in the material,” Rome said. “But maybe not explicitly.”

sam i am took its name from the Dr. Seuss book “Green Eggs and Ham.” Rome says the moniker “sums up our childlike fun and innocence.”

The band’s musical style is an amalgam. The players describe themselves as “postpunk, retrohumor, neo funk protofusion.” Band manager Mike (Spike) Vail said: “It’s like a blending of earth and fire. Sometimes it’s almost obnoxious, but it never gets quite obnoxious.”

That description might also fit Vail’s tireless promoting techniques. He puts out a monthly sam i am newsletter--filled with puns--and sits down with the group once a week for “heavy-duty marketing meetings.”

He also found a way to arrange a recent set at the Red Onion in Woodland Hills, the type of bar that wouldn’t ordinarily welcome a quirky band like sam i am. Vail won a contest for 50 free drinks at the Red Onion. He talked the management into letting the band play instead.

“This band will be successful,” Vail said. “We’re not even worried about it.”

sam i am has spent two years playing such Los Angeles clubs as BeBop Records, FM Station and the Central. Last month, Music Connection magazine reviewed their two-song demo tape.

“Their playing is tight and meaningful with tasty guitar spurts sprinkled throughout,” the magazine’s critic wrote. “I have a feeling that as these guys develop, the hits will start to fall into place rather automatically.”

The band will be going back into the studio soon to record new songs as Vail works to get record company executives to listen. sam i am dreams of stardom.

“I just want them to name a sandwich after us,” Rome said. “The sam-i-am-wich.”

“I just want a street,” Sullivan said.

O’Flaherty, a 21-year-old student and lead guitarist, remains guardedly hopeful.

“I’ll take $100.”