Nightcat Fever : Like most musicians of their ilk, Little Charlie and his band just can’t seem to keep off the road.

Tourists aren’t my favorite people. They are a lot like locusts with out-of-state plates. But to tell the truth, a goodly proportion of these new traffic jams aren’t your ordinary, obnoxious out-of-towners. A lot of them are blues musicians.

Blues musicians must be born behind the wheel because they’re always driving somewhere. An average bluesman does the equivalent of the Indy 500 at least 200 times a year. But don’t call the Unwelcome Wagon. They’re not moving here--bluesmen don’t actually live anywhere. The open road is their home and the Thomas Brothers are their closest living kin.

This week’s musical road warriors doing the Blue Monday thing at Alexander’s in Ventura will be Little Charlie and the Nightcats. Charlie Baty has a home in Sacramento where he roots for the Giants, but he’s never there. He doesn’t have cable, so what’s there to stay home for anyway?

Baty and his musical buddies Rick Estrin (singer, harmonica player), Brad Lee Sexton (bass) and Dobie Strange (drums) have just released their fourth album, “Captured Live” on Chicago’s Alligator Records.

His van must have been in the shop because Baty was reached at home for the following interview:

You blues guys do some serious road tripping.

Yeah, we do. We live in Sacramento, but we play in the Bay Area a lot more than we do in Sacramento. There’s a lot of good clubs working there. I think there’s a better blues scene in Northern California than there is in Southern California. Right now, April, is probably the busiest touring schedule we’ve ever had. We’ll be touring the Midwest. As soon as the snow melts, the Nightcats are gone. We do 225 to 250 dates per year. After Alligator signed us, we knew we had to start touring, but we didn’t know it would be like this.

So, you guys actually sent a demo tape to Alligator Records and got signed?

Yes. We’re the only band they’ve signed like that. Also, we were the first band they signed on the West Coast. Later, they signed Elvin Bishop, the Paladins and Charlie Musslewhite. Touring, we get to meet all these guys and we all have a common bond, and we all have to make the same sacrifices.

So how’s “Captured Live” doing?

Well, it’s doing all right, but a live record doesn’t sell as much as a regular record unless you’re a major act. Critics and other people used to tell us that we were better live than our records and we ought to do a live one.

How did you get the blues?

When I was a kid, the first thing I ever heard was a Little Walter record, and I just loved that kind of stuff. I couldn’t relate to the Beatles or the Beach Boys. I just love blues. I started with Rick back in 1976.

How would you describe Nightcats’ music?

We call it jumpin’ blues. There’s elements of swing, a little West Coast swing, a little Texas soul. We do a lot of original songs. We’re not a retro band. We do jumpin’ blues.

What’s the best and worst thing about having the blues?

The worst thing is having to be away from home. The best thing is getting to see the world. When we’re home, we play about three days a week; but when we’re on the road, we play six or seven days per week. We’ve been in every state but four. I’d just as soon play the population centers.

What would you change about your career if you could?

We don’t have a real tight plan. We’d like to have some kind of hit, get a Grammy. We just want to put out records and play more and more prestigious festivals. Last year, we played the Chicago Blues Festival, which is the biggest and best in the world. We’d like to get on a national television show, maybe Letterman or Carson--I mean Leno.

What’s the most misunderstood thing about the Nightcats?

We do a very visual kind of show and a lot of people think we’re a comedy or a novelty act. We’re serious musicians. We’re not the Monkees of the blues. We’re spontaneous. We improvise. We never do the same song twice. It’s art in action.

Why do Europeans seem to be so enamored by American roots music?

There’s something about the music that they don’t understand. They can’t improvise. They’re really amazed that American musicians can do that. They really respect us, but they can’t play blues over there. The American audiences are more emotional, and they dance. The Europeans just stand and watch; it’s almost like they’re taking notes or something.

You guys are involved with the Miller Genuine Draft Band Network. How does that work?

It’s been great. It’s our fifth year now. They came and saw us with John Lee Hooker, then said, ‘We want you guys.’ It’s not like selling out. They don’t ask us to play certain venues or play certain songs. They just ask that we acknowledge their sponsorship. We don’t even drink beer before our gigs. Our main vice is that we’re big coffee drinkers, which goes with the driving thing.

Do you wear shades at night?

No, I don’t, but Rick does. William Clarke might have a sponsorship deal with Ray-Bans and Olde English 800. We just have the Miller beer thing.