Pushing Widespread Panic’s Buttons : The Georgia-Based Group, Playing at Coach House Tonight, Is Tired of Comparisons to Grateful Dead

The group members have long, graying hair and wear clothing onstage that could most charitably be called “casual.” They indulge in long, improvisational guitar-driven jams, their vocals are ragged and guileless, if obviously heartfelt. Their fans have been known to travel hundreds of miles to catch the group in concert, and to openly exchange bootleg tapes of past performances.

Sound familiar?

According to percussionist/vocalist Domingo Ortiz of Widespread Panic, the Georgia-based group--which performs tonight at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano--is tired of being compared to that other band.

“A lot of people say, ‘Oh man! You people remind me of the Grateful Dead’--or the Allman Brothers or this group or that group,” said an exasperated-sounding Ortiz in a recent phone interview. “But we try to develop our own style. We always do inventive things, and we’re tired of being classified with other bands. We want to be classified as Widespread Panic.”

Perhaps if Widespread Panic had come down the pike in the late ‘60s or early ‘70s, when the sort of droning, experimental music that the group specializes in was all the rage in rock, the comparisons to the Dead and other like-minded acts wouldn’t be so plenteous. At least maybe they wouldn’t sting so much.

In fact, while Widespread Panic does owe more than a tip of the bandanna to the Dead and other acid-rockers of the ‘60s, the band also evokes memories of such purveyors of extended, spontaneous jams as the Allmans, Little Feat and Santana, while adding idiosyncratic elements of its own.

The group, whose members range in age from their 20s to 40s, shows a spectrum of influences spanning ‘60s San Francisco to ‘80s Athens. Many of the group’s prolonged, snaking instrumental workouts can be a rewarding musical experience for anyone who cares to take the time to actually listen.

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But while Ortiz laments being lumped in with bands of the past, he’s no fan of the contemporary rock scene or its satellite dictator, either.

“If you turn on MTV, there’s some good stuff there, but I switch around to VH-1 and BET (Black Entertainment Television) before I go to MTV, because there’s more diversification on those networks,” he said. “MTV should be a little broader, I think. They think we’re just a bunch of guys from the South who look like (expletive)--too natural for them, you know? They don’t think we have ‘the look.’ ”

Widespread Panic has gone through several lineups since forming in 1980, and took 11 years for the group to land a recording contract. Fittingly, they were signed by a revitalized Capricorn Records, once home to the Allmans, the Marshall Tucker Band, Elvin Bishop and other Southern rock groups.

The band has released three albums since 1991, including the recent “Everyday.”

While Ortiz says Widespread Panic is treated like the “flagship group” for the label, good relations with record companies often are directly related to your latest sales figures.

According to Ortiz, “Everyday” has sold 150,000 units--modest by major-label standards--and the group is looking to beef that figure up a bit next time out.

“Capricorn is happy with the way things have been going, but they really want the next one to do something,” Ortiz said. “You step into the big leagues, and you’ve got to sell--if not, it’s time to regroup and think things over.

“We’re going into the studio in January to do some pre-production, and I think we’re going to try to break out of that (‘60s) stigma.”

“All it takes is one hit to get momentum rolling. We’re not going to waste time trying to search for that, but I think it’s time to experiment with shorter, poppier pieces, and go in with more understanding of what we need to do to keep our future intact within the context of staying true to ourselves.”

* Widespread Panic performs at 8 tonight at the Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano. $16.50. (714) 496-8930.