Timbuk3 Plays to Prove Band Is Not Merely a One-Hit Wonder : The Texas group, known for the 1986 hit ‘The Future’s So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades,’ performs Saturday night in Ventura.

A lot of actors get typecast because, perhaps, they do their job too well. Larry Linville will always be known as Frank Burns, Jerry Mathers will always be the Beav, and Lassie will always be some hairy dog with a big nose.

In rock ‘n’ roll there are a lot of groups tied forever to their greatest hit. Single-hit wonders Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs will forever be associated with their biggie: “Stay.”

Timbuk3, who will make their Poinsettia City debut Saturday night, had a big hit in 1986 with the catchy “The Future’s So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades.” The song was nominated for a “best new artist” Grammy, but the group lost out to Bruce Hornsby.

After “Shades,” the group continued to release critically acclaimed albums, but with diminishing sales--a direct link, according to band member Pat MacDonald, to diminishing label support.

Timbuk3 began as a duo, MacDonald and his wife, Barbara, plus a boom box to handle everything but the guitars. Starting out as street musicians in Wisconsin, the MacDonalds decided they could be homeless if need be in a warmer climate--Austin, Tex. But then the hit hit, and Timbuk3 was on tour with the likes of Bob Dylan, then appeared on Saturday Night Live, The Joan Rivers Show and Solid Gold, where they didn’t even have to lip sync.

Now the band is up to four members, occasionally. As you can see from the picture, sometimes the bass player can’t make it. When they show up at Art City on Saturday night, Timbuk3 will probably be a duo again.

The band members recently got out of their record deal with I.R.S. and signed with High Street Records, a subsidiary of Windham Hill. They just released a six-song EP titled “Looks Like Dark To Me,” which is a preview of the next full album, “A Hundred Lovers,” due out in February. The EP contains a new version of “Shades,” plus a surreal version of the biker’s anthem, “Born To Be Wild.”

MacDonald spoke from Austin recently about matters, some more and some less, obvious.

Was it a problem to have such a big hit so early in your career?

You know, it was something that got our music out there to a lot of people, but it wasn’t a big enough hit for people to pick up on our next record.

Was it a shock to go so quickly from playing on the street to becoming rock stars?

Yeah, it was a pretty short period of time. I think that kind of stunned us to some extent. But now we’ve finally, through a lot of diligence, regained our underground status.

There have been lots of offers to use “Shades” in commercials?

Yeah, we’ve had a lot of standing offers but it got to be like a game show--do we take the cash or door No. 2? We just couldn’t let ourselves do it. The record company tried to get us to play ball with them, but we’ve always felt we’ve had more than just one song. I don’t want to sound bitter about whatever success we’ve had, but we’ve put out five albums. We put a lot of work into our third album “Big Shot In The Dark.” That’s the only one I can still listen to.

What’s up with “Born To Be Wild”? Are you guys trying to corner the biker market?

We’ve been playing that song for a few years, and every now and then when people wanted to hear one more, we’d do it. I worked it out on my guitar, and it’s completely different when it’s finger-picked. There’s no bass, but I tune my guitar very low, so it’s not exactly an acoustic sound or an electric sound. That’s sort of what we’ve built our sound around lately.

Why did you record a new version of your old hit?

We’ve done three or four versions of it over the years. It still kind of bugs me more than any other song. It’s definitely not one of my favorite songs that we’ve recorded. I always wished we could do it again with the right attitude. Live, we’ve butchered it as a dirge, then a ska thing. Our new label was interested in having a new version of it--and we added a new verse--so now maybe we can lay that one to rest.

But that song kept you from the dreaded day job, didn’t it?

Yeah, and we got a small advance from our new label. But I don’t know about people that have jobs. I’ve had a couple of part-time jobs now and then, but I’d quit because I couldn’t write songs. If you’re going to be a songwriter, you better think you have something special, or at least the desire to do something special. I dropped out of high school when I was 14 to do music.

So where are the real Timbuk3 fans?

Well, I remember one time we were playing in the park in San Francisco when the earthquake happened. We were playing for a lot of people in business suits, but also a lot of homeless people. When I saw all the homeless, I felt we had truly found our audience. They could definitely relate to our song, “Dirty Rice.” We’ve been poor for long, long periods of time, so we have a certain slant that certain people can appreciate. I have a problem when they charge 12 dollars to see a show.

When was the last time you guys played California?

Well, we played at our A&R; guy’s wedding last year, and we came out to mix the new album, but we haven’t had a real gig in California for awhile. I love the road. I use the time to just sort of space out and write. I don’t mean drugs, either; we’re pretty straight. I even drive sometimes, but other people usually prefer that I don’t.

Details

* WHAT: Timbuk3.

* WHERE: Art City II, 31 Peking St., Ventura.

* WHEN: Saturday, 8 p.m.

* HOW MUCH: $8 suggested donation.

* FYI: 648-5241.