MUSIC : Classically Cool : Munkafust, composed of four UCSB students, plays a sort of ‘bluesy pop funk rock with a backbone.’

“All it takes for an asylum is four walls and the right kind of people.”

-- Eugene Pallette in “My Man Godfrey”

Alex’s Cantina in Santa Barbara, one of the happening State Street hangouts, can get pretty nuts sometimes, especially when Munkafust plays. The band, composed of four UCSB students, is this week’s Next Big Thing band in Santa Barbara. They’ll return to Alex’s on Saturday night. And Joey Summerville, the manager of the place, was right: These guys are good.

Now listen up; here’s the important part. Last time Munkafust played Alex’s, the place was crowded with gorgeous coeds, the types that spend more on hair care than the gross national product of several small countries. They didn’t show up to show off their sartorial splendor, either, and certainly not to watch golf on TV. They came to pogo in front of the stage and watch Munkafust cruise through their set of funky originals.

Alex’s is sort of like the Manute Bol of bars, long and skinny, a place where the designer couldn’t decide on a theme--Taco Bell or the Alamo? There’s Monday night football paraphernalia hanging everywhere, actually beer stuff, whose relationship to football is well-established. In the back of the place, in front of the stage, it gets so crowded, it’s like a party in your closet, which is a typical S. B. scenario. There’s something like 40,000 students in town, almost none of them locals and most of them with an allowance from daddy.

Other than a Crisco Night, it would be tough to squeeze any more people in front to watch the band. Perhaps Alex’s could add one more table if they relocated the Sugar Loaf Toy Shoppe. That’s one of those glass cases, where for 50 cents and a certain amount of dexterity you could direct those metal claws to nab a stuffed animal or a hat that says “Aspen” on it. In any case, get to the front first, or you’re in the back for the duration.

Munkafust plays classic three-minute rock songs, perfect for the radio if this were 1966. They’re sort of like INXS-meets-an-anorexic-Chili Peppers with plenty of hooks and a funky undertone for it all. The band has over 20 originals, and just two covers--an old blues song, “It Hurts Me Too” and the Young Rascals’ “Good Lovin’,” which gets the reggae treatment. Munkafust’s first tape was due out yesterday.

Frontman Evan Brau has a potent voice, and the musicianship is impeccably tight. “Open Up Your Door” is a real cool tune with a double order of “bop bop ba da, bop bop ba da,” which sounds a lot better than it reads. When Brau croons “paaaaaain,” you almost believe him for a moment until you realize: Hey, this is Santa Barbara. What’s so painful? Spill your beer? Got a zit? Misplace your Certs? Temporary traumas aside, Munkafust more than held their own on State Street with Spencer the Gardener and other popular bands.

“We started about a year ago, but we got two members last June,” said Brau in a between-sets interview. “Those guys are good. That’s why we got them. We play sort of a bluesy pop funk rock with a backbone.”

The new members are drummer Steve Gelfand and bassist Kristyan Ransonnet. Like Sly & Robbie is to Black Uhuru, these guys make this band go. The fourth guy is guitarist Rob Colby, who trades licks with Brau.

“I was in a few bands when I was going to Brentwood High School,” said Brau. “We just played a few parties and practiced a lot. I had this PE coach who told me I ought to play the blues. He was in a band once that went on tour and left with no money and came back with no money. Anyway, he lent me a bunch of blues records that I fell in love with. I picked up a lot from them. I’ve always known that this is what I wanted to do.”

In Isla Vista, where there’s almost as many bands as students, it’s difficult to walk more than a few feet without finding a party. There’s usually some band playing too.

“We used to play on Del Playa--that’s a street that runs along the beach in Isla Vista,” said Brau. “You just play in someone’s house--there’s a party down there every night. The music scene is pretty diverse in I. V., but there’s a lot of metal bands and grunge bands. We’ve played the Pub before and the Anaconda Theatre once. We’ve played Alex’s downtown five or six times, also the Ketch, the Beach Shack and the Prime Directive. We play downtown now once a week. I love just playing the music but hate having to carry all this stuff around.”

Caught in the crush upfront, but complaining not a bit, was Brau’s father, up from Brentwood to check out his musical son.

“My dad loves our music,” said the singing Brau. “He put up the money for the tape. He must’ve seen us play 50 times.”

* WHERE AND WHEN

Munkafust at Alex’s Cantina, 633 State St., Santa Barbara. Saturday night, 10 p.m., $2.