Crowded Theater : The mellifluous pop of Australia’s Crowded House promises to have the Ventura Theatre packed to the rafters.

Crowded House is exactly what the inside of the venerable Ventura Theatre will be like when the band of the same name stops by for a Saturday night performance. Save your energy; the show is sold out. You can stand outside, but the sound is lousy and the cops don’t particularly like it. Another Capitol act, Richard Thompson, will open.

Crowded House has been around so long that they used to be somebody else--the critically acclaimed, financially unrewarded and generally underappreciated Split Enz.

That band made maybe eight albums in 10 years, resurfaced as Crowded House and got rich. Crowded House has recently released their third album, “Woodface,” which is substantially cheaper than the $25 concert tickets you can’t buy anyway. And now the Aussie band, once a trio fronted by Neil Finn, is a quartet, having recently added Finn’s older brother, Tim.

The conversation with Neil Finn from Melbourne went something like this:

You must’ve hit the big time if the record company is paying for this conference call from Australia.

Finn: I suppose so, but maybe they just don’t want to release my home phone number or something.

I’ve got rock stars’ phone numbers the world over. I’d rather watch the Dodgers than hassle you.

I love baseball. In 1985, when we were living in L.A. recording the first Crowded House album, I went to a Dodger game. It was a playoff game with the Cardinals and I had great seats right behind home plate. Baseball, you know, is largely uneventful for three hours and when something finally happens, there is all that extreme emotion. When Jack Clark hit that home run, I can still remember that collective groan.

A painful memory. How’s “Woodface” doing?

Well, we’ve gotten used to the fact that it takes a good year to see anything. I think the record company holds onto the money for as long as they can; that’s why we take as long as we can to do an album. Only kidding. Actually, we get along quite well with Capitol. We have the easiest opening support act in the world, Richard Thompson. He’s very funny and dumps on us a lot before we come on.

Where did you get the name Crowded House?

It’s been so long, five years or so, let’s see. We were living in a house in L.A. recording our first album and a lot of people were living there at the time. It was literally a crowded house. Our manager at the time slept on the couch. He later sued us--never let your manager sleep on the couch.

Why are there so many great bands from Australia and New Zealand?

Just the superior level of intelligence and creativity, I suppose. The bands down here have to survive the pub scene, which can be very intense.

So it’s not the beer?

No. Beer is a brain depressant.

How would you describe Crowded House music?

Well, it’s a bit of everything, I suppose. I value the power of the three-minute song and a good melody. Onstage, we can do everything from country and Western to psychedelia.

How is it different than Split Enz music?

It’s simpler; there’s less people. This band feels really different; there’s less arguments. Everyone in Split Enz had a strong opinion of every aspect of everything.

Why didn’t Split Enz make zillions?

We had a good time. It didn’t spoil us and we should’ve been more successful. We didn’t want to do the grind of touring in America. It took us three or four years just to get out of Australia and New Zealand, so it was sort of a geographical liability. Also, there was a lack of experience and bad management. Bands such as INXS and AC/DC toured a lot, we didn’t. I guess we just didn’t want to play the game. Now, we’re willing to do anything and we have mastered the mechanics of the game. And I think you’ll be seeing all the Split Enz albums reissued on CD pretty soon. If forty or fifty thousand fans want them, then why not?

Your brother Tim is in the band now. How did that come about?

Well, we had a bit of a songwriting session and we rediscovered the joy of doing it together and didn’t want to leave it there. It soon became obvious to make him a member of Crowded House.

How did you get started in all this?

Pure nepotism really, I joined my brother’s band, Split Enz, when I was 18. He had a great record collection--the Beatles, the Kinks, Buffalo Springfield, Neil Young and stuff like that. Also, my father had a huge jazz collection.

What’s the best and worst thing about your job?

The best thing is the live touring which gives the opportunity to receive feedback and receive some sort of--and I’m not getting cosmic on you--some sort of transcendental state. The worst thing is the lack of job security. You’re only as big as your last hit. And everybody knows that we’re actually a heavy metal band.

Does the band perform Split Enz songs?

We do one Split Enz song and we know a few more. We do a selection of Crowded House songs, a lot off the new album, about 18 or 20 songs a night. We do eight or 10 off the new album, four or five from our last two albums, plus a couple of loose ones. We’re very open onstage; a lot depends on how loudly someone yells out the name of a song. We just wait and see what happens--we do a different show every night. Our songs are tremendously varied. When I write, the subconscious delivers a few lines and the conscious finishes it off.

What was your strangest gig?

We appeared on a German television show between a guy who hypnotized chickens and a Japanese drum dancer.

Thanks, I’ll print your phone number for the English-speaking world now . . .