L.A. quintet is in no danger of being gonged

Various members of L.A. rock quintet the 88 have the kind of seasoned-rocker history that’s all too familiar: a musical connection that goes back to high school, time in numerous groups and old drug problems that still intrigue interviewers.

But there’s one juicy detail about guitarist Brandon Jay’s past that he first reveals to his bandmates during a lunchtime interview on the shady patio of a Hollywood restaurant.

“I was on ‘The Gong Show’ when I was little,” says Jay, 31. “I sang a song with my mom and my cousin that my cousin wrote. It was called ‘God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater,’ after the Kurt Vonnegut book.”

Intrigued, Calabasas-raised singer-guitarist Keith Slettedahl and keyboardist-producer Adam Merrin (the aforementioned high school pals), both 29, demand videotape of this incident. They ask if Jay got gonged. “No, but we were horrible!” he replies, laughing. “Chuck Barris kicked me when we were done. You know, like, ‘All right, get outta here, kid!’ ”

The 88’s reception has been more enthusiastic. Interest in the classic-rock-inspired, yet thoroughly modern, music on its debut album, “Kind of Light,” has grown thanks to frequent gigging as well as old-fashioned street-level marketing: Members have passed out thousands of CD samplers all over town.

The 88 won over many fans of indie singer-songwriter Elliott Smith, who had heard the CD and asked the group to open an Orange County show and back him on a couple of numbers.

Such songs as “Melting in the Sun” and “Sunday Afternoon” have garnered comparisons to the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, and the Kinks. Traces of Bowie, Elvis Costello and the Pixies make the 88 fit neatly among such diverse acts as the Strokes, the White Stripes and the Music. “I try not to think about all these comparisons,” says Slettedahl.

The early response has vastly boosted Slettedahl’s confidence in the band’s chances of building a wider following, touring and making another recording this year.

For now, he’d settle for quitting his day job. “We’re different,” Slettedahl says with quiet conviction. “I think we stick out.”

Adds Merrin, “One of my favorite bands is the Band. In 1967, everyone was doing all this psychedelic stuff, and they came along dressed differently, and they didn’t sound anything like that. But all of the sudden, people started being influenced by them.”

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The 88

Where: The Fold at the Derby, 4500 Los Feliz Blvd., L.A.

When: Tonight at 8

Cost: $6

Info: (323) 663-8979