Once More, With Feeling : With Tubes’ Return, Waybill Vows Less Flash and More Substance

Armed with a renewed spirit and the return of lead singer Fee Waybill, the re-formed Tubes are working on making music that matters and holding the frills.

In their heyday, these San Francisco-based rockers were better known for their live shows than their actual music. Mixing rock, theater and satire, their wild concerts used everything from interactive videos to near-naked singers and dancers. And always at the front was showman Waybill, who also co-wrote many of the songs.

Tunes such as “White Punks on Dope,” “Mondo Bondage,” “Sushi Girl” and “Don’t Touch Me There” were energetically presented with a titillating edge.

But after the band hit a critical and commercial peak with the release of the 1981 concept album, “The Completion Backwards Principle,” a rift developed over creative differences. Some members wanted to continue in a polished, hit-oriented direction, while the rest argued for a more substantial sound.

As a result, the ensuing album (“Outside/Inside”) was unfocused, and when Waybill left the Tubes in 1986, the band had hit its nadir. The sparring factions contributed equally to their final album (“Love Bomb”), which was pretty well panned by critics. Even Waybill said it should have simply been titled “Bomb.” It was a commercial and critical flop.

In the meantime, Waybill turned to other projects. He wrote songs for Richard Marx (“Chains Around My Heart,” “Too Late to Say Good-Bye”), produced the Russian band Gorky Park’s debut release, and spent time growing tomatoes in his garden.

Now, the Tubes and Waybill are once again touring, and they will stop tonight at the Coach House. The lineup for this six-week tour includes original members Roger Steen on guitar, Prairie Prince on drums and Rick Anderson on bass. Recent additions are keyboardist Gary Cambra and backing vocalists Amy French and Jennifer McFee.

Getting the band back together in America, however, took European intervention.

“On the strength of our recent ‘Best Of’ package (Capitol), a European promoter did offer us a lot of money to embark on a 40-date tour of Central Europe, which we finished in April,” Waybill said by phone from his home in Sherman Oaks. “Since the band had toured without me for nearly seven years, the promoter insisted I return. That’s why the marquee reads, ‘The Tubes featuring Fee Waybill.’ ”

To skeptics, this might sound like another over-the-hill band reuniting to cash in. But the 42-year-old Waybill (born John Waldo) insisted there’s more to this reunion than milking the oldies to make money.

“For one thing, we’re playing four or five new songs a night,” he said. “One is about getting back together and the price of fame (‘Fastest Gun Alive’), another is ecology-minded (‘Fish House’), and then there’s one Gary and I just finished writing about the personal struggles that we all face in our mind and our lives (‘Arms of the Enemy’).

“We’re not just playing all of the old songs,” he added. “I do not want to be an oldies band like the Moody Blues, slogging it until we’re in our 50s. I won’t do it--I can’t just play ‘White Punks on Dope’ over and over.”

Waybill acknowledges that some damage was done to the Tubes’ reputation when they carried on as the Tubes without him.

“It definitely hurt,” he said. “It’s something we still have to overcome. I heard that fans were disappointed and (upset). But at least now the fans know they’re getting the real Tubes.”

And for fans looking to relive the wild and wacky stage antics, they’re in for a surprise.

‘We’re not doing a huge show like we used to,” Waybill said, adding that he’s looking forward to performing again--but without the distractions.

“Some fans are gonna expect this big monstrous thing, right where we left off,” he said. “But the focus has to be on the music this time around.

“Ironically, (the extravagant shows) hurt us as much as put us on the map. The visual excitement of it all took over. . . .That’s what people wanted to see, and we kept giving it to them. But flash doesn’t mean much in this day and age, does it? People today want substance, they want feeling--even if it’s out of tune or grungy.”

Except for the certainty of the tour, the Tubes are somewhat in limbo. With no record contract in hand, the future depends on how well the concerts go over and how well industry executives are impressed.

“In between the club dates, we’re working on new songs and kind of testing the waters,” Waybill explained. “We’re testing ourselves, our audiences. We want to see if there’s sufficient interest in the new, naked Tubes today. Can we rise above everyone’s expectations? Will they accept us without the frills?”

* The Tubes, featuring Fee Waybill, perform tonight at 9 at the Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano. $22.50. (714) 496-8930.