Many degrees of musical separation

Rami Perlman, the singer and main songwriter of the rock band Something for Rockets, stands at a microphone in a small West L.A. rehearsal room, meshing his electric guitar with an electronic groove programmed by his partner Josh Eichenbaum and the beat of a human drummer, Barry Davis.

In a deep voice that swoops and wobbles as it follows the hilly melody, Perlman sketches a scenario of desire and deception played out in a Manhattan loft: “I like to ask about your other men / To see what you might say and can I be one of them / And then you laugh as if to pretend / You don’t know what I’m thinking when we get into bed.”

The question that occurs isn’t just what the public might think about the catchy song, but what Perlman’s dad, a guy named Itzhak, would think. It’s a long way from Beethoven’s “Spring” Sonata to Rami Perlman’s “Tragic City.”

Second-generation performers have proliferated in pop music for decades, but Perlman, 24, is a true rarity, if not entirely unique: the child of a world-renowned classical musician who’s chosen to fight it out in the rock ‘n’ roll trenches.

“Classical? Not really,” says the younger Perlman when asked whether he considered pursuing the field. After all, he sang in the children’s chorus of the Metropolitan Opera and studied trumpet for two years at the Manhattan School of Music.

“I love listening to it, and I took a conducting class and I loved that,” he says, sitting on a couch during a break from rehearsal. “But as far as playing it, I don’t have the brain for that type of playing.”

More of a brain for indie rock, from Elliott Smith-influenced balladry to harder stuff (he’s played drums for such college-rock favorites as Enon and the Natural History) to the electro-pop hybrid he’s hashing out with Eichenbaum and Davis in Something for Rockets.

So, what does dad think?

“He always plays it for me, and sometimes I give my opinion,” says Itzhak Perlman, in a phone interview from his New York City home. “Sometimes I say, ‘I love this song -- is that bad? Is it a bad song because an old-timer likes the song?’ I don’t pretend to be a big expert on what’s going on today. I’m always looking for a little melody, or some rhythm. I like his voice, I like the way he sings. But then, am I being prejudiced?

“For me, one of the great gifts that people in music have is the ability to really be moved by something. For me to start crying when I hear some Brahms piece, or Bach or Mozart, I feel very, very lucky that I actually am able to experience such a sensation, and Rami can do that.”

Rami, his older brother and their three sisters were amply exposed to both classical and pop music while growing up in New York (their mother, Toby, is a violinist as well), but father and son concur that there was never any pressure to follow the parents’ path.

The girls did anyway, big brother became a lawyer, and here’s Rami, a frisky pup trying to stir up some attention on the bustling L.A. rock scene.

In that regard, Itzhak’s example has been invaluable.

“He’s a great person to follow, because he works so hard,” says Rami. “He’s playing 90 concerts a year, he’s now conducting, and he teaches every day.... He’s a killer role model. We’re really focused on the work ethic.”

Something for Rockets are still fairly low on the L.A.-band food chain. They’ve played just a handful of shows since expanding from a duo in September with the addition of drummer Davis (they’re at the Knitting Factory tonight, opening for the Aluminum Group). They’ve released a three-song sampler CD while concentrating on an album they hope to have ready in April.

But the three are cheery and tireless proselytizers, often rehearsing until 1 a.m. and then hitting the campaign trail.

“Every time I go out it’s like a chance for promotion -- without being obnoxious about it,” says Perlman, who initially teamed with Eichenbaum when they were students at Brown University in Providence, R.I. “All of us carry our CDs in our pockets wherever we go. Like we’ll go to the Spaceland residency thing on Monday -- very hip crowds -- we go and meet people there.... We’re very social people. A lot of things happen from the social aspect.”

The three musicians say they’ve had good response to their sampler, noting some airplay on college radio station KXLU-FM (88.9), and they’re encouraged by the recent success of the group the Postal Service, which employs a similar blend of modern electronics and traditional songcraft.

“The CD was one of the few unsolicited CDs that caught my attention,” says Liz Garo, who books acts at the Echo Park club the Echo and has hired the band to play there twice. “It just really grabbed me. It has a kind of soulfulness to it. And Rami was pleasantly persistent in calling and trying to get a show. I didn’t know who his dad was until halfway through my dealings with him.”

That’s fine with the younger Perlman. The name can open doors, or at least get attention, but he knows they’re in different worlds.

“Like, Kathy Battle and Daniel Barenboim had Chinese food at our house one night and then went upstairs and started playing,” he recalls. “That was cool, but it’s not like hanging out with Eric Clapton and Jeff Lynne comes over.”