(hed)pe Twists the G-Force

One of the first songs the inventive, hard-core rock and hip-hop band (hed)pe wrote as it began its climb about four years ago was “Hill.” The baleful, psychodramatic chant frets loudly over the fate of an artist condemned to oblivion.

The group’s strapping, dreadlocked rapper and main lyricist, M.C.U.D., identifies in “Hill” with the plight of Sisyphus, the mythological figure who spends eternity pushing a boulder up a steep hill, only to have it roll back down.

And the hill so very high does not give comfort,

And the sweat upon your brow will not be noticed. . . .

Another casualty of art whose only fault was being born,

Born between the rock and the stone,

Forever the hill your home.

Sisyphus notwithstanding, the mood recently in (hed)pe’s black-walled, equipment-cluttered rehearsal cubicle reflected anything but a sense of doom. The six band members ate pizza, had a tobacco-free smoke, and chatted enthusiastically about how they forged the sounds and themes on their first major label release, “(hed)pe,” which is due out Tuesday.

The band is rightly proud of the album’s stylistically and emotionally varied sonic brew. It deftly integrates the hip-hop fundamentals of rapping and DJ record-scratching with the driving rock force of punk-metal, using more artful, atmospheric interludes to keep the music interesting through extended, album-length play.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rage Against the Machine, Korn and 311 have proved that a large audience exists for punk and metal touched with hip-hop and funk. (hed)pe could find a substantial following among the same crowd.

Jerrad, as his bandmates call M.C.U.D., admits that (hed)pe’s ascent has been a lot easier than he imagined when he wrote “Hill.” (Fullerton-raised Jerrad Shaine and the others, in keeping with hip-hop tradition, assumed tags.) The band has yet to encounter any setbacks, except for having to append “pe,” for “planet earth,” to their name after another band called Head turned up.

“It’s been relatively easy. I hate to say that, but [expletive],” the front-man cussed cheerfully.

Besides M.C.U.D., or U.D., (hed)pe includes Wes “Wesstyle” Geer, the lead guitarist and primary sonic architect; rhythm guitarist Chad “Chizad” Benekos, drummer Ben “BC” Vaught, bassist Mark “Mawk” Young, and Doug Boyce (a.k.a. DJ Product). All are in their late 20s and live in Orange County or Long Beach.

(hed)pe got a head start by sharing bills in 1994 with Korn and Sublime, two big draws on the local alternative-rock scene that were destined to become big deals nationally. Right away, the members of (hed)pe learned to play to large crowds to muster credible performances under pressure.

“It pushed us,” U.D. said.

From the start, said Wesstyle, “our audience understood the vibe of hard-core [rock] with a groove.”

U.D. and Mawk, an Englishman who came to Southern California to find a band, had teamed in a previous rock band. Wesstyle and BC were part of another. The four joined up late in 1993, added U.D.’s then-roommate Chizad to provide power-guitar chords and went looking for a disc jockey. They found DJ Product, who was having a hard time convincing the patrons of dance-oriented clubs such as the Lava Room in Costa Mesa that hip-hop and hard-core punk should be spun back to back.

“The first time he came down [to audition], sparks were flying,” recalled Wesstyle. And Product hasn’t stopped producing sparks. The DJ’s stage act sometimes includes scorching his turntable gear with fireworks or drilling holes in the metal frame holding his equipment. He may exploit the sonic properties of his power drill by running it next to a microphone.

The redheaded, spiky-topped Mawk recalled one close encounter with Product’s toys: “His drill was this close to my head. I’m trying to play a song, and he’s almost cutting off my fingers.”

Among the band’s greatest sources of pride is its ability to uphold the first convention of hip-hop: “Keep it real,” in real time. Eschewing commonplace prerecorded tapes or keyboard-triggered samples, hed(pe) uses live guitars and turntable maneuvers to produce smooth, ambient tones or spooky sonic-squiggle effects patterned after Dr. Dre’s gangsta-rap production style.

“We’ll think of a part and find it on our instruments. We tweak ‘em to make the sound we want to hear,” said Wesstyle, whose guitar emits the band’s most distinctive effects.

U.D.’s approach as lyricist relies on familiar wrath-rock declarations of embattled individuality, usually laced with epithets against the forces of conformity. But the album is too ambitious and complex to serve only knee-jerk ire.

In “Tired of Sleep,” he yearns for meaning beyond the cycle of desire and wish-fulfillment that rules many American lives. In “Hill,” he plays the tortured artist. And in “Bitches,” which has nothing to do with typical rap misogyny (although crude sexual insults pop up elsewhere), this son of a onetime Southern Baptist preacher uses religious imagery to pray for cleansing and release: “Wash away this dirty soul of mine.”

“It gave me a lot of information, Bible study three times a week,” U.D. said. “When I was a kid I was born again. Now I look at Christianity as another myth or whatever. . . . Anything that makes a group think they’re above another group or [that they are] a chosen group makes me feel they’re misinformed.”

“IFO,” finds U.D. happily awaiting the arrival of an advanced civilization from space:

I will be chillin’ by my TV, rockin’ with CNN,

My bong in hand, surrounded by friends,

When the world as we know it will end.

Question these beliefs, and U.D. and Wesstyle transform into a stereophonic debating team, pounding home the certitude of alien visitations and government deception. But, tellingly, U.D. ends the discussion with a thought about implications for humanity.

“Before this world can even deal with outsiders, it has to deal with the inside. Or maybe the abrupt confrontation with alien life would make [Earth] deal with its problems.”

In the narrower sphere of rock careerism, things will soon accelerate for (hed)pe, which has never toured until now. The band members are delighted to be making their way on the BMG-affiliated Jive Records.

“Jive [executives] wouldn’t even leave town after seeing [the band] at Club 369,” recalled Ray Anderson, who manages (hed)pe. They “insisted we deal with them.”

The (hed)pe members are also delighted with their record.

“We expect huge things from the record,” said U.D. “We’re lucky to be into a music that apparently a lot of kids are just down with. I pride myself on this record.”

He pranced around the studio, making up a rap ode to “G-punk,” (hed)pe’s house-brand name for its rock/hip-hop hybrid.

G-punk is born! G-punk is born!

And we’re ready to take the country by storm!

(hed)pe, Vital Minds, Dub War and Snot play Tuesday at the Galaxy Concert Theatre, 3503 S. Harbor Blvd., Santa Ana. 8 p.m. $4. (714) 957-0600.