Rock Group Is Fired Up : Music: The dark, unhappy sound of ‘Burning Hands’ has won it a loyal audience among rock fans in San Diego. Now it is looking elsewhere.

Maybe it was the beer labels and “Ace Tattoo” stickers plastered on the front door. Perhaps it was the hundreds of bottle caps embedded in the ceiling, the guitars casually lying on the floor or the rubber bats and skeletons that seemed to dangle from every spare inch of space. Something gave the distinct impression that this was the home of a rock musician. Scott Cates, founder and guitarist of local hard rocker group Burning Hands, credited his roommate for the unusual decor of his Ocean Beach cottage, but Cates seemed right at home amid the B-movie-inspired disarray.

“We’re pretty much into the Gothic,” he said of Burning Hands. “We’re not really into happy sounds at all.”

No, the music of Burning Hands comes from the dark side, a potent nightmare of chain saw guitars and throbbing rhythms, haunted vocals and imposing volume.

The group has amassed a large and loyal fan base in San Diego and this weekend will be playing at Dream Street in Ocean Beach and next weekend at Bodie’s in the Gaslamp. It also has been making some pretty serious inroads in Los Angeles as well, having played at the Roxy, Club Lingerie, the Black and Blue Club and Madame Wong’s, among others. The band is now working under a demo deal with EMI Records, in which the label finances studio time for a possible Burning Hands album at some point.

They’ve been in the studio with producer Tom Fletcher (Ozzy Osbourne, Suicidal Tendencies, Motorhead), who caught their act at The Roxbury in Hollywood earlier this year and was impressed enough to take the group under his wing.

After five years together, Burning Hands seems poised for a breakthrough.

Burning Hands was formed by Cates in 1987, which makes the band relative veterans in the fickle world of pop music. Initially, the group, which then included drummer Mike Hurst and bassist Bill Kitts, was strictly instrumental, working mostly on soundtracks for skateboard videos. In 1988, vocalist Steven George was recruited to round out the lineup, and the band started playing the San Diego club circuit.

With an aggressive, anti-pop approach to its music that owed much to metal pioneers of the ‘70s, Burning Hands made it to the top of the local scene in a relatively short time. Without compromising its vision or pandering to the hairspray-metal mentality prevalent at the time, the group was packing clubs and generating interest from major labels.

Last year, Burning Hands was courted by Chrysalis Records, and, according to Cates, had a deal on the table that only fell through at the last minute.

“Everyone there (at Chrysalis) was into it,” he said. “We just had to play one live showcase for it all to happen. We had worked all day, then we had to drive up to L.A. for the show. It was just a bad mood scene. They ended up not being into our rhythm section, so it kind of killed the deal. They offered Steve and me a solo deal, but we weren’t into it. We wanted to work with our bros, try to work things out. But it just didn’t happen.”

Shortly thereafter, Kitts and Hurst left the band. According to Cates, their leaving had nothing to do with the rejection from Chyrsalis, even if the timing seems to indicate otherwise.

Whatever the reason, their replacements turned out to be the ingredients that put Burning Hands over the top musically.

New drummer Paul Garusto has solid meter matched with impressive power and years of experience at the pro level--among his past gigs have been stints with The Psychedelic Furs and Iggy Pop. Garusto’s credentials can only serve to enhance the group’s reputation.

Bassist Barney Firks, who has worked with a number of local groups, may be an even greater find, though. His melodic attack and authority recalls Jack Bruce’s work with Cream, filling out the sound and adding even more muscle to Burning Hands’ already tough vibe.

Cates finds it ironic that, a few years after Burning Hands formed, their raw, brash brand of hard rock has become all the rage among the MTV generation.

“We had that grungy sound long before the Seattle scene even came around,” he said. “We’re not into the Nirvana kick and all that. We’re trying to stay off bandwagons as much as we can.”

While brushing off the current crop of trendy rockers, Cates cites a variety of artists--most of whom had their heyday long ago--as influences on Burning Hands.

“I guess we listen mostly to old music,” he said. “I like Black Sabbath, Neil Young, Deep Purple, Robin Trower, stuff like that. Steve listens to offbeat jazz and blues like Captain Beefheart and Tom Waits. Some new music I like; I really dig Temple of Dog a lot. But generally, I just like the older stuff better.”

Judging from their recent studio work with Fletcher, Burning Hands has successfully melded the dark and heavy sounds of their mentors with more modern themes and production values.

Three new standout cuts--”Naha,” “Prune” and “Wilted”--boast instantly memorable hooks (a rarity for too many hard rock groups), top-notch sound quality and topical themes such as sexual abuse and homelessness. Always at the fore is the one-two punch combination of Cates’ string-bending guitar work and Rae’s alternately rage-filled and introspective vocals.

Although Burning Hands’ songs (penned mostly by Cates and Rae) eschew the preaching of politics, Cates believes the band does have a message to offer.

“What we stand for is to stay real, stay true,” he said. “Be true to yourself and your roots, and don’t suck up to anything or anybody. Our songs are based on real life and real dreams.”

* For those dreaming of catching the new, improved Burning Hands live, the group will appear Oct. 24 with Rust Coat, Elusive Fur Coat and Candle Stick Maker at Dream Street, 2228 Bacon in Ocean Beach. Show starts at 8 p.m.; Burning Hands is expected to go on about 10 p.m. They also will be at Bodie’s on Oct. 31 with King Mother, Well Strung to Hand and Throttle, 528 F St. downtown. Show starts at 8:30 p.m.