Rave-Ups Pin Their Hopes on ‘Chance,’ Their Latest Album : The rockers, once a hot property, have to face an evaluation of sorts by their major recording label, Epic.

In the fickle, scene-conscious Los Angeles music industry, there may be few gaffs less pardonable than to be a hot item gone cold. Five years ago, the Rave-Ups seemed to bristle with potential, and it didn’t hurt that actress Molly Ringwald championed the rocking group, helping to land it a prominent place with her in the John Hughes film “Pretty in Pink.” But a series of independent releases and 1988’s major label “The Book of Your Regrets” album failed to catch on with a mass audience, and the L.A. scene, as ever, has moved on to other entertainments.

The quartet--Jimmer Podrasky, Terry Wilson, Tim Jimenez and Tommy Blatnik--has fully lived up to its touted potential with the recent “Chance” album, a mature yet rambunctious set of songs that could easily stand next to the work of Tom Petty and other American solid-rockers. But despite all the freshness that might be found in the album, the Rave-Ups clearly have their work cut out for them in persuading people that the band still has a future.

According to the 32-year-old singer-writer Podrasky, “A few people have mentioned to me they thought the album title meant ‘last chance.’ ”

Reached by phone Tuesday at his Los Angeles home, he said that the album actually is named for his son, Chance, whose baby face adorns the album’s cover.

“There were a number of songs on the record that dealt very directly with Chance and Chance’s mother, the whole family thing and the newness of being a father. It seemed like a very appropriate title because of what I was going through when we were writing and recording it.

“I was scared to death about being a dad, about what it was going to do to my life and what it was going to do to my relationship with Chance’s mom. I was afraid of making mistakes, of being a bad father, of doing something that was obviously going to affect someone else’s life. But I was thrilled. I was probably happier than I’ve ever been in my life. There was a lot of different emotions, from sheer terror to total joy. I wanted to capture some of those emotions in the songs.”

Then, after explaining away the album’s title, Podrasky noted, “Coincidentally, this could be our last chance.” The band’s contract option with Epic Records is up for review after this album. “I would be lying if I said there wasn’t any idea in mind that this might be our last record for Epic.

“The first album didn’t do very well. Epic has been very supportive of the band, especially on this record, but it’s part of a big company and things come down to dollars and cents, and I know that it’s still important to them for the Rave-Ups to move a lot of product, as they say. I’m sure we would be very happy if we were able to, but that’s not what’s most important to us. Obviously, we’ve been together six years and haven’t moved a lot of product at all,” he said with a laugh.

The uncertainty of their recording future led to a make-or-break effort on “Chance.”

“Not that we haven’t always tried to make the best record we could make, but with this one, I think we went in with an attitude of: ‘Well, we’ve got nothing to lose. We’re either going to make the record we want to make, or we’re going to get dropped from the label.’

“If anything that made us all the more relaxed in the studio. The playing is tighter, but it feels looser. I think we were much more nervous making the first Epic record than we were making this one. It probably should have been the other way around, since our option period is up now. Part of it then might have been that fear of all of a sudden being on a large label and wanting to do right by them, hoping they would like the record. But I think what came out was a fairly homogenized record.”

“Chance” is anything but homogenized. Podrasky’s lyrics address domestic life alternately with a piercing directness and a surrealistic dreaminess, while the album’s instrumentation includes horns, sitars and Sri Lanka cobra flutes.

“None of us knew how to play any of the damn things,” Podrasky said. “We just figured we would give it a shot. As long as we liked it and could live with it, we just went for it. It was a very loosey-goosey attitude. It was fun for the four of us and kept things upbeat, because being in the studio can seem really sterile and boring.”

Pittsburgh native Podrasky was first attracted to playing rock ‘n’ roll after finding himself with an English degree and nowhere to apply it. His fate was sealed when he found a beat-up red plastic Hagstrom electric guitar--still his only electric--in the trash behind his house. He formed his initial Rave-Ups in Pittsburgh, hooking up with the current lineup after moving to Los Angeles in the early ‘80s.

Though a great many bands migrate to Los Angeles seeking success, Podrasky has reservations about the trek.

“I think one of the good things about L.A., if you care a lot about music, is it really teaches you somewhat of the fickle nature of the music business. In that sense, it might be good for bands to come here and really get that kick in the ass. Musically speaking, it probably would be best for them to stay home, just playing together and staying together, and doing it for the love of it. That’s not really what it’s about here, unfortunately. People seem to be so caught up in shopping the demo, getting the deal, finding the good lawyer and all that other crap.

“Those aren’t unwise things to do. But I think by far the most important thing to do is to try to find people that you really like to work with, because then no matter what the business does to you, you still have your friendship and your music, and that’s not something anybody can take away from you. They can take your record deal, ignore you on the radio, stop reviewing you, but they can’t take away your friendship with people and the music you make with them.”

Podrasky has had cause to rely on that friendship of late. On the liner notes to “Chance,” he addressed his romantic partner of eight years, Chance’s mother, asking, “Now that we have a chance . . . will you marry me?”

“That story didn’t turn out too happily,” Podrasky said. “She actually got married while I was on tour. She married her hairdresser, who was my hairdresser too. . . . I haven’t had my hair cut for a while now. The last year or so of the relationship was very strained. I knew before I left on tour that things were very bad. But it was very much a surprise to me. At this point of my life now, I shy away from relationships, just spending a lot of time with my son (he has joint custody) and the band.

“One thing about the Rave-Ups is we’re able to laugh when it would probably be a whole lot easier to cry. Since we’ve had such an up-and-down career, we’ve been able to at least maintain a real healthy sense of humor about what we do and about our relationship with the music business. And I like to think of us as a pretty lucky bunch of guys, not in the sense that we’re enormously successful, but we do get to do what we damn well please, as far as the music goes.

“And we have our friendship still. We fight like cats and dogs, but we love each other a lot. I think that’s that main thing that’s kept us together.”

Though having a child has prompted him to reevaluate pursuing a life in music, Podrasky said he can’t foresee making a career change in the near future.

“It’s not the most comfortable and stable life. I do everything I can to keep my head and my son above water. So far everything’s OK, but it is a very fickle business. As long as I feel I have something I have to get out, and as long as I’ve got these three friends who are willing to help me get those things off my chest, I guess it doesn’t really matter whether we have a record deal or are rocketing up the charts. We’ll keep doing it unless and until a time comes when we say to each other that it’s just not fun anymore. If that time comes, I think we’ll know it.”

The Rave-Ups play tonight at 8 at the Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano. Tickets: $8. Information: (714) 496-8930.