Smooth Road

Interstate Blues, to perform at the Blue Saloon on Friday night, has a new CD, “Velvet,” that will be released next month. Lead guitarist-singer-songwriter Jamie Purpora thinks it’s an improvement over the group’s two previous albums.

“I think the songs are better, and sonically it’s better,” Purpora said. “The singing is way better--I can listen to it and not cringe.”

Purpora, 27, originally is from Dayton, Ohio. He moved to Los Angeles in 1989. In 1994, Purpora teamed up with an old friend from Ohio, bassist Roger Brown, and a new friend from California, drummer Jeremy Crowther, to form Interstate Blues. Keyboardist Erik Sabo joined later after adding keyboard tracks to the band’s first CD, “Let It Go,” released in 1996.

The Burbank-based group keeps busy playing club gigs and recording. “Velvet” is the third CD the band has released in two years. The band’s music strikes a balance between blues and hard rock. Brown and Crowther provide a strong and steady foundation, while Sabo’s Hammond B-3 adds color and bottom. But it’s Purpora’s guitar that’s the star of this show.

When Purpora started playing rock as a kid in the 1980s, his heroes were Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eddie Van Halen, Buddy Guy and Richie Blackmore. Interstate Blues reflects those artists as well as 1960s acts such as Steppenwolf, Vanilla Fudge and especially Jimi Hendrix.

“ ‘Are You Experienced?’ Oh yeah, my mother had that album,” Purpora remembers. “We’re trying to bring good guitar playing back. It was overdone in the 1980s, but I think there’s really an audience for it now.”

And Purpora believes there’s a dearth of good younger guitar players.

“When I was growing up, I had Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eddie Van Halen, but all the good guitarists that are left today are older guys.”

Purpora realizes that rock guitarists, as a subspecies, sometimes have a tendency to go overboard.

“I want to play passionate music that’s not overkill,” he said. “I want to do things that are in good taste.”

And he’s man enough to admit that has not always been the case.

“I opened up our second CD with a bunch of noise! Ridiculous!” Purpora said.

Lyrically, Interstate Blues’ songs deal with the typical blues life experiences: women problems, the pain and confusion of breaking up, and the isolation of life in places like L.A. Musically, the band is feeling things out--trying on different rhythms and structures, expanding beyond the standard blues form.

The band sold its first two CDs at its gigs only, but with the release of “Velvet” it has a distribution deal set up in addition to its own Web site.

Interstate Blues seems to be a band that has its goals in order.

“We want to play good stuff and have a good time,” Purpora said.

Who could ask for anything more?

Interstate Blues performs Friday night at the Blue Saloon, 4657 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood, (818) 766-4644. $5. Web site is www.virtualrawtalent.com/interstate blues.

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Meanwhile, Floyd and the Fly Boys are performing Saturday night at the Moonlight in Sherman Oaks.

Floyd and company are a nine-piece band with a big, horn-driven R&B; sound. The group, which is a bit more rockish than most acts at the Moonlight, plays a variety of styles but seems to feel most at home with Southern soul music, specifically New Orleans-based artists such as Professor Longhair and Dr. John.

This is a good opportunity to hear the band, which doesn’t play many club gigs. The band has been around L.A. for about eight years. It was named the No. 1 R&B; band in a poll by Music Connection magazine in 1992.

Floyd and the Fly Boys perform Saturday night at Moonlight, 13730 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, (818) 788-2000. $5.