Unknown Forever

For all those dancing lovers of psychedelic music, the Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd, Spacemen 3, the Brian Jonestown Massacre and Phish are just a few of the bands that have, over the years, accented the groove in “groovy.” To even a short list of tripped-out bands, one must add the Legendary Pink Dots, who will be making their local debut with Saturday night’s gig at the Ventura Theatre.

The Dots have been around nearly 20 years and have released nearly 40 albums, which in itself is fairly legendary. The band formed in London in 1980, but relocated to Holland in 1985. It began releasing albums in 1982 and has demonstrated no sign of slacking off. The latest is “Nemesis Online.”

About 30 musicians have been in and out of the band over the years, but the lyricist and ringleader has remained.

He is Edward Ka-Spel, also known as the Prophet Qa’Spel to those who dwell on obtuse, off-the-wall and downright strange lyrics.

Along with his lyrics, there is his wacky stage presence and those suicide rumors, all of which have combined to make Ka-Spel the most legendary Dot. Very much alive and loquacious, Ka-Spel discussed the stuff of which legends are made, during a recent phone interview.

Question: There are conflicting numbers--just how many Dots albums are there?

Answer: You’ll probably get conflicting numbers from me as well, because I’m not much of a collector or much of an archivist. I’d say there are probably 26 albums or so of just Pink Dots music, but with all the solo albums, there’s probably around 40 or so.

Q: Where did the name come from?

A: When we first started out in London, we had this old piano with blobs of pink nail polish on the keys. And as we discussed where and when they came from, they gradually became legendary. It’s nothing more glamorous than that.

Q: You’ve been described as one of the “all-time best unknown bands.” How would you respond to that?

A: I can definitely understand the “unknown” part. We don’t do that badly--we stay alive, and that’s the important thing--but we’ve long been resigned to not being famous. We’ve made absolutely no careerist moves. Once, we turned down a contract from Warner Bros. We ignored their letter and just stuck it on the wall. We’ve also turned down working with famous producers--all the things that bands do to get ahead, we didn’t do. Perhaps that’s the margin between success and complete obscurity.

Q: What do you think Dots music sounds like?

A: Hopefully, we play the most psychedelic music you’ve ever heard. It’s pretty out there--out there further than anyone else. But I do think it’s pretty accessible; I mean, you can hum it.

Q: How does a Pink Dots song come to life?

A: On the new album, it’s pretty much the whole band jamming together, and improvisation, but I write all the lyrics. When someone gets inspired with a chord progression or what have you, we take off with that. So, it’s more of a band thing, but I still release solo albums. This band has been together for about three years, and is fairly stable.

Q: How do the Dots survive with no airplay and no MTV?

A: We have this great hard-core following. They just turn up, and sometimes, a lot of them turn up. More than you’d think. More than we think. There’s a fair number of Goths, a fair number of freaks, even the odd punks, and whatever’s in between. There’s a lot of people in black.

Q: What’s the difference between European and American audiences?

A: American audiences are a lot better--they’re more enthusiastic. In Germany, everyone just stands there and looks miserable. In France, they shout Rimbaud quotes at us. In Holland, they discuss their trips to the supermarket when we’re playing. But we’re big in Poland for some reason, which is very strange. We played Israel once. It was great. They mobbed us at the airport. Of course, there were only 10 of them, but we sold out both shows.

Q: What’s the scene like in Holland?

A: It’s wet and windy. Let me think of the word. Dead. Yeah, that’s it, dead. We only play there maybe twice a year in a good year.

Q: What’s most misunderstood about the band?

A: Probably the humor. A lot of people just don’t get the humor. The humor is there. It may make you want to throw up, but it’s there.

Q: Now, we can agree that suicide is a bad career move. How did the rumors of your untimely demise begin?

A: None of this was started by me. We are very serious about the stuff we record, and perhaps some took the myth-making too far. I remember when I called this club, and the owner was shocked to hear from me because he had heard I had committed suicide two weeks before. There’ve been other rumors, such as I was lost in Africa or was in an asylum and only allowed out to play shows. We’re just one of those bands that goes on forever.

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The Legendary Pink Dots at the Ventura Theatre, 26 Chestnut St., 8 p.m. Saturday. Cost: $20. Call: 653-0721.

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In the Briefly Noted Department: The Legendary Jimmy Adams’ usual last Tuesday night of the month show at Cafe Voltaire in Ventura has been moved to today. Country rock doesn’t get much better than this. I wonder if the Legendary Jimmy Adams is related to the Legendary Pink Dots?

Meanwhile at Nicholby’s, Chris Jay & the Army of Freshmen will open for former English Beat front man Dave Wakeling, who still does all those cool ska songs.

The music scene will pick up in Simi Valley with an all-ages show Saturday night at the Boys & Girls Club. Slack, Variety Pack, Adrenaline, Needful Things and Battle Ground Zero are all slated to play. And for something just as loud, but with much more blues influences, check out the Guy Martin Group at Season Ticket, also in Simi Valley and also Saturday night.

Stephen Bishop will do his acoustic folk songs Saturday night at Go Fish, a sushi place in Ojai. While up the coast in Santa Barbara, Stevie & the Stealers will record a live CD at Victoria Hall. Davis plays slide guitar and is in the Texas Music Hall of Fame.

And finally, the sixth annual benefit for the Santa Barbara Rape Crisis Center will be Sunday at the Lobero Theatre.

On the bill this year will be several of Santa Barbara’s best players, such as Glen Phillips, former front man for Toad the Wet Sprocket; Kirsten Candy; Nerfherder; and the hottest band of the week, those rockabilly ragers, Blazing Haley.