Another Get-Back-Together for Tramps

The Cadillac Tramps’ reunion shows this weekend bring to mind the old Dan Hicks song “How Can I Miss You When You Won’t Go Away?”

This is, after all, the group’s second reunion in less than a year. But fans of one of Orange County’s most enduringly popular bands surely won’t object to the group’s get-togethers tonight at Club 369 in Fullerton and Saturday at the Glass House in Pomona.

The large and fiercely loyal following the Tramps developed between the time they formed in 1987 and the band members amicable parting last year is about half of the reason the group has decided to call it starts one more time.

The other half of the explanation is the musicians’ genuine affection for one another, despite the fact that years of touring and recording had left them feeling spent.

“We’re gonna have a good time,” singer Mike “Gabby” Gaborno said in a recent phone interview. “Me and the guys go back a long way. We’ve been through a lot together, and every once in a while we all want to hang out for a night or two. That’s why we’re doing it. We’re keeping the book open. Why put a cap on something that was never a novelty--it was pretty much a big part of our lives, you know?”

And so the group will sound off once more, reviving its bracing blend of roots rock, punk sensibility, unrestrained showmanship and the emotional bond with its fans.

The reunion features Gaborno along with fellow founding members Johnny Wickerman on guitar and Warren Renfrow on bass. “Raybones” Rodriguez replaces the lone reunion holdout--guitarist Brian Coakley, whose current band, Rule 62, is foremost in his mind these days. Dieter Hartman, the last in a series of revolving drummers in the Tramps, will man the drums.

Gaborno and company forged a strong kinship during their years together. You won’t hear the all-too-familiar bitter bickering among former bandmates from these guys.

“We’d been on the road for nine months out of the year for five years,” said Gaborno. “It wasn’t so much of a breakup as it was like, ‘Look man, let’s take a break. We started this in the first place because we were friends. Let’s save that aspect of it.’

“You spend a lot of time with someone, and you need to do that. It wasn’t like a pouring out, beating the [tar] out of each other kind of thing. It was a sit-down situation, lots of shaking hands and hugging going on. We all just got our own things going.”

In fact, some of the Tramps have done quite well for themselves since putting the band to rest.

Gaborno, 30, now fronts a throbbing hard-core group called X Members, whose debut album, “Down With the Average Joe” is slated for a June 11 release on Priority Records. Wickerman now plays with Youth Brigade. Coakley’s group, Rule 62, began as a side project to the Tramps but eventually became his top priority (he quit the Tramps prior to the breakup to devote full time to Rule 62, which recently was signed to Maverick Records).

But even as he eschews playing with the Tramps, Coakley remains friends with his former bandmates.

“Brian’s just a little bit set in his ways,” said Gaborno. “His thoughts are more like, ‘I’m moving on.’ He’s got something going, he’s on tour right now. Deep down inside, I just want the best for the people I love.”

Gaborno himself seems quite happy fronting X Members.

“At first [the attitude] was just like, ‘Yeah, we’ll all kind of show up and not deal with anything emotionally,’ ” he said. “But that was at first. There’s been ups and downs, and when people are there for you, you get attached to them.

“The [X] Members have been through a lot this last year, and we’ve gotten pretty tight,” he said. “It’s been working out good. This is the direction I always kind of wanted the Tramps to head in.

“Don’t get me wrong--I love roots, and all music stems from that. But I grew up in punk rock, and that’s where most of my memories and stuff lie,” Gaborno said. “We started out with no expectations at all; we just wanted to play some shows. Now the following is almost what it was for the Tramps in Orange County.”

And so the Cadillac Tramps, no longer a full-time group, remain in a sort of limbo. Its members might have moved on to other projects, but don’t be surprised to see the Tramps back together from time to time, reliving the good old days and entertaining their still-devoted fans.

“I look back and I always get a grin,” said Gaborno. “If we’re not doing nothing, why not get together and blow off some steam?”

* Cadillac Tramps, the Codependents, Punkture, D/Railed and Curb play tonight at Club 369, 1641 Placentia Ave., Fullerton. 9 p.m. $12. (714) 572-1816. Also Saturday, Joykiller, Los Infernos, Jigsaw and Fourgasm at the Glass House, 200 W. 2nd St., Pomona. 8 p.m. $10. (714) 665-7739.