Second Verse

Denny Lake was crushed flatter than a pancake. Five years ago, he was the leader of a promising Orange County punk-rock band, Atomic Boy. His quintet put out an album, aptly titled “Sonic Cocktail,” but several months later the record company folded, leaving the musicians in debt, depressed and toiling again at their day jobs.

Fast forward to the present, though, and Lake has reason to smile, even rejoice. The singer-songwriter’s new band, U.S. Crush, has been signed by Virgin-affiliated Immortal Records, home to hard rocker groups Incubus and Korn. Its debut album, “U.S. Crush,” which hits stores today, has snagged the opening slot for Goldfinger’s three-week national tour that starts next week.

Over lunch at a waterfront restaurant in Huntington Beach, Lake, guitarists Dave Hanson and Hodgie Haynes, bassist Ky Lambert and drummer Dennis Wolfe spoke enthusiastically about the future, though Lake’s optimism is tempered by experience.

“I’m trying not to get too excited,” he said. “I heard how famous I was gonna be one other time--and I was a waiter a year later.”

Still, he’s thankful for another turn at the plate.

“This is my second chance, which is a pretty rare thing to get in this business,” Lake said between bites of swordfish. “So it’s gotta be right. We’re fortunate to be the first band going through the Immortal/Virgin merger because Immortal is trying to prove they’ll do a good job, and Virgin isn’t hesitant to put resources into the project.

“We know the label’s committed to us because they’re discounting our CD,” he said. “They may lose money initially, but they want us to gain exposure. . . . They believe we’ll build up a following and it will pay off in the long run.” (Retailers can set their price, but Immortal is suggesting a developing-artist price of $9.98.)

And Lake is happy with the new record.

“I think this record . . . has more than one song with the potential to be a hit,” he said. “Alternative [Music] Press just picked us as one of the 15 bands that will matter in another 15 years. Something like that just blows me away. “

The album mixes the noisy crunch of punk, the thick guitar riffs of rock and the catchy melodies and soaring harmonies of pop into a potent sonic stew. Its first single, “Bleed,” is being played on modern-rock stations nationwide. Other cuts include the anthem-like “First Time,” an irresistible sing-along called “Jimmie Crack Rock” and a chunkier version of “Debutante,” an Atomic Boy song from “Sonic Cocktail.”

U.S. Crush’s gravitation toward a more pop-oriented sound was urged by the album’s producer, Jim Pratt. Early in 1998, Pratt--then a disc jockey at KOME-FM in San Jose and a fan of Atomic Boy--liked a demo he heard by Kickball, the pre-U.S. Crush band name. Still, he urged the band to break from the limiting punk mold.

“Jim and I got together and had some discussions about where music is going and what we were doing,” recalled Lake, whose throaty, fierce vocals sound like a cross between John Lydon and Joe Strummer. “I told him I wanted to be a band like [Goleta-based melodic punkers] Lagwagon that sells 50,000 to 100,000 records, tours around the country and makes $1,000 a night. That’s what our destiny is.

“He said, ‘Dude, you want to be Rancid, but you’re not. You sound like a million other punk bands and you write such good songs. Why do they all have to be 200 beats per minute?’ ”

After being challenged to write something slower--like maybe 124 beats per minute--Lake responded with a demo version of “Jimmie Crack Rock” that eventually caught the ear of disc jockey Zeke at KROQ-FM. About two years ago, Zeke made it a Pick of the Month on his local music program, a break that generated major-label interest.

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With a sound shifting away from turbo-charged punk, the band changed its name to U.S. Crush and returned to the studio to lay down more tracks. One of them, “Same Old Story (She’s So Pretty),” worked its way into heavy rotation on KROQ, and by July of last year, Immortal had signed the band.

Lake now sees “Same Old Story” as pivotal to the band’s chance to emerge from the pack.

“Before I wrote that song, we had a lawyer and label interest, but we were looking for a new drummer, our bass player had just quit, and I had been fired from my job at California Pizza Kitchen,” he said. “I was feeling a lack of confidence in myself, and we were at a crossroads for the band. That one song, and the favorable reaction it generated, really got us moving in a positive direction.”

As U.S. Crush now heads for destinations big (Philadelphia, Washington) and small (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.; Old Bridge, N.J.), the band members still value their roots in the local music scene.

“After we got signed, we still played basically the same four clubs--the Doll Hut, Club Mesa, Tiki Bar and Chain Reaction,” said Lake, who recently moved to Irvine from Newport Beach. “We rarely play in L.A. It’s a healthy scene right here in Orange County, where bands like us can work and grow and develop a following.

“I think we have gained some recognition and respect, and our self-confidence has never been higher,” he said. “At the same time, we’ve got a lot more work to do. The challenge ahead is to continue writing quality material and turn on new fans wherever we play. The time is right.”