Ataris Maintain a Personal Touch

It’s no exaggeration to say the Offspring-Vandals concert in Indianapolis nearly five years ago changed Kris Roe’s life.

That night, the then-19-year-old, fledgling musician gave his rough demo cassette to Paul Fitzpatrick, the merchandise hawker for the Vandals. Fitzpatrick passed along the tape, featuring songs written by Roe and crudely recorded on a four-track deck in his bedroom, to Vandals bassist Joe Escalante. The timing was perfect because Escalante--who had just formed a label, Kung Fu Records--was seeking to sign talented acts.

Though the music needed serious fine-tuning, Escalante was struck by Roe’s untapped potential, particularly for such a young songwriter.

“There was nothing special about his band at the time, but I was impressed by Kris’ ability to write a great, catchy pop-punk song,” Escalante said. “We’re not just an outlet for noise, energy and anger. I’m interested in bands that care about crafting strong, memorable songs, and that’s certainly true of Kris Roe.”

So Escalante signed the promising singer-songwriter-guitarist, who, in search of a better band, moved from his hometown of Anderson, Ind., to Southern California.

Settling in Santa Barbara, he formed the Ataris with guitarist Marco Pena, bassist Mike Davenport and former Lagwagon drummer Derrick Plourde (who was replaced three years ago by Chris Knapp). With Vandals guitarist Warren Fitzgerald producing, the quartet recorded its 1997 debut, “Anywhere but Here,” a turbocharged, melodically rich collection featuring such guitar-driven, youthful anthems as “Perfectly Happy” and “Angry Nerd Rock.”

Soon thereafter, the Ataris toured with some of Roe’s favorite bands (the Vandals, MxPx, Lagwagon, Fenix TX and Blink 182) in the United States and places as far away as Japan, Australia and Europe.

The ups and downs of life on the road would provide plenty of lyrical fodder for subsequent albums, including 1999’s “Blue Skies, Broken Hearts . . . Next 12 Exits,” last year’s “Let It Burn” and the forthcoming “End Is Forever.”

Ballads and Rockers

A mixture of ballads and potent rockers, “End Is Forever”--scheduled for release Feb. 20--features some of Roe’s most personal, and generally downbeat, songs. For instance, what more needs to be said about “Bad Case of Broken Heart”? Feeling hassled by cops in Texas lies at the core of the snarling “Teenage Riot” and “You Need a Hug,” which features the hilarious line: “Life ain’t so bad/Even if Henry Rollins is your dad”--was inspired by Roe’s scuffle with a burly, overzealous security guard.

“I still feel like the new CD is too melancholy, maybe a little too much of a downer,” said Roe, 24. “Usually, I’m a pretty happy guy, but unfortunately, I was lonely . . . and going through some pretty tough times with my ex-girlfriend when I was writing most of the songs. But now, I feel quite the opposite. . . . I’m in the greatest relationship that I’ve ever had.”

He and his second wife, Denice, will celebrate their first wedding anniversary this month. Who would have guessed, though, that the couple’s favorite song comes not from the genre of rock or punk? Try a standard from Ol’ Blue Eyes. One of the new album’s few feel-good tunes is the Sinatra-identified “ ‘Summer Wind’ Was Always Our Song.”

“We listened to ‘Summer Wind’ a lot on the jukebox at this bar where we first met,” said Roe, who cites Duke Ellington, Wilco, Hank Williams and Tom Waits as his other surprising sources of listening pleasure. “For a while, it was kind of an unspoken thing between Denice and I. She initially was [romantically] involved with someone else, so I’d play it kind of secretly for her. It was romantic but discreet.”

Indie Minded

Roe said the challenge now facing the Ataris is to expand their fan base without sacrificing the group’s indie credentials.

“We’re trying to model ourselves after bands like Fugazi and Avail, [two products of the late ‘80s, early ‘90s Washington, D.C., hard-core scene] who kept their grass-roots following all along. I think the most important thing is not to lose sight of where you came from, and the direction you want to be going, as well. I feel we’re right on track with what we’ve wanted to accomplish.”

“When I was Kris’ age, I thought signing with a major was the way to go. . . . Of course, now I know that it’s not what it seems,” added Escalante, who’s also signed to his Hollywood company such punk-based bands as Assorted Jellybeans, Lagwagon, Apocalypse Hoboken, Useless I.D. and Bigwig. “He’s done his research, and he’s made the decision that he doesn’t need a major label--at least not at this point--in order to further his career.”

After all, before his dream came true, Roe was just another wide-eyed fan yearning for a big break.

“For me, even now, I’ll stand in line for an hour after a show to ask for autographs,” he said. “That’s why we try to keep things on an intimate level with our fans. I answer all of the fan mail, even though it’s getting pretty crazy . . . having grown from maybe 100 letters per month to that many in a week. That bond with the kids is how we established our band, and that’s what we want to be known for.”

Sometimes that personal touch means blossoming into a quintet--at least during the band’s most popular song.

“We invite a fan who’s familiar with ‘San Dimas High School Football Rules’ to come up onstage and play the guitar parts,” Roe said. “It’s so unpredictable. . . . Some kids just slaughter it, but others can play it better than I do. It’s funny, because now I’m the one others are trying to impress.”

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SHOW TIMES

The Ataris open for Social Distortion on Tuesday at the House of Blues, 1530 S. Disneyland Drive, Anaheim. 8 p.m. (714) 778-BLUE. Sold out. Also appearing March 2 with Nerf Herder, No Motiv and Tsunami Bomb at the Glass House, 200 W. 2nd Ave., Pomona. 7 p.m. (909) 469-5800.