Near-Successes Sustain Suspects : Music: Satisfaction outweighs commercial appeal for this local band.

Sooner or later, most ambitious rock musicians accept the reality that the road to success in the music industry is actually a long stretch of potholes, ditches and detours leading to the edge of an abyss. Brutal, potentially demoralizing struggle, daunting odds, and self-doubt spawned by the indifference or criticism of others present an emotional obstacle course overcome only through supreme perseverance.

Sometimes, however, a truer test of a band’s resilience is its resolve in the face of accolades and near-successes that stop just short of yielding large fruit. A case in point is the South Bay band, Usual Suspects, which headlines a bill tonight at the Spirit.

The quintet, which plays a piquant, untrendy mix of rock, pop, folk, and country, has experienced everything from obscurity to local acclaim to national recognition since forming in 1986. Although technically no closer to “big time” success at this juncture, Usual Suspects’ members are sustained by their minor victories and maintain a confident, upbeat attitude about the future. Judging from the recent comments of guitarist-songwriter Kyle Ince, 25, tonight’s gig in itself is a measure of the musicians’ level-headed approach to their music.

“We last played the Spirit about four years ago,” the pleasant-spoken Ince said earlier this week. “We always enjoyed it, but because we thought of the Spirit as a place for bands just starting out, we stopped playing there after a year or so. But they made us a nice offer, and we like to play, so . . .”

Absent from Ince’s remarks was any suggestion that Usual Suspects was back at square one after sampling some heady validation just 18 months ago. Every year, the widely read Musician magazine conducts an international competition to find the “Best Unsigned Bands,” or BUBs. Winners are featured on a special CD issued in conjunction with a major label, and the grand prize is thousands of dollars’ worth of musical equipment.

Most significantly, the finalists’ aspirations are legitimized by an influential publication. Early in 1990, Usual Suspects sent the BUB board their four-song cassette, “Return to the Moon,” in the hope that it would remain in the competition long enough to attract the attention of record companies. It did. That summer, Musician announced 249 semi-finalists--from a field of more than 3,000--and Usual Suspects was among them.

“That was a great experience,” Ince recalled, “but it didn’t turn into anything permanent, maybe because we didn’t make it to the finals. Elektra Records called us and asked for a tape, but nothing came of that. Still, the whole thing gave us a lot of exposure we wouldn’t have had otherwise. We’re already considering sending another tape for this year’s competition.”

Unable to further capitalize on the BUB achievement, Usual Suspects returned to the grind of day jobs, rehearsals and occasional local gigs. In the interim, the band has weathered some changes. In January, Mark Tucker replaced original bassist Gary Halvin, joining Ince, vocalist-songwriter Brian Sharkey, keyboardist Robert Fedeli and drummer Bob Sheehan. More than anything else, the quintet has been applying itself to a schedule of recording new material for a follow-up to “Return to the Moon.”

“After doing a lot of recording at various local studios, we have a total of 12 songs, three of which we still have to mix,” Ince said. “The new stuff sounds great, much better than the previous material. ‘Return to the Moon’ was primarily a demo to try to get signed to a label, so we chose four songs that we could imagine hearing on the radio. But that kind of thinking brought nothing but frustration, so now we’re just recording what we want to record--a little country, some harder rock.

“I think we’re getting better as songwriters,” Ince added, “and we’re also trying some different instrumentation on this recording--fiddle, string bass, horns. We should be done in a couple more weeks. Then, we’d like to find an independent label to pick it up--to pay for the studio time and the mastering, and maybe even to distribute it.”

A combination of time and diminishing returns has scuttled many a band, but Ince feels certain that Usual Suspects won’t fall victim to frustration, mostly because the musicians have their priorities straight.

“You know, we’ve been doing this for more than five years now, and some things have changed,” he said. “I just got married, and I have a full-time job working at a biology consulting company. Sometimes, you wonder if and when it will all pay off.

“But no matter how frustrating it gets, I still enjoy writing and playing songs,” he declared. “There’s nothing like putting something together and recording it, playing gigs. We all love doing this, and I can’t imagine giving it up. I see people who’ve been doing this a long time suddenly drop out, and that’s just beyond me. I don’t know how you do that. I know I won’t.”

Usual Suspects will play sets at 10 and 11 p.m. today, at the Spirit, 1130 Buenos Ave., in the Bay Park-Moreno Boulevard district. Other acts on the bill include Don’t Call Me Sir (playing at 8 p.m.), Comanche Moon (9 p.m.), and the Deceived (midnight). Tickets are $6 at the door. For more information, call 276-3993.