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At 44, with his debut album just out, Seth Swirsky tells you: “Hold on to your dreams.” Easy for him to say -- Swirsky was a prosperous songwriter-for-hire in his 20s and 30s, penning tunes for the likes of Al Green, Taylor Dayne, Celine Dion and Rufus Wainwright. And that was before his wildly successful ventures into books (three compilations of letters written to him by baseball players and fans) and collecting (he owns a baseball signed by all four Beatles from their Aug. 15, 1965, Shea Stadium concert).

In fact, visit www.seth.com, and you wonder what prompted Swirsky to make “Instant Pleasure,” a melodic, earnest collection of Beatles-influenced pop. “Writing the songs made me feel very free -- the shackles just came off,” says Swirsky, a father of three. “I didn’t have to worry about what Celine Dion or anybody else wanted. It felt very organic, and I had a good time.”

Backing him on the album was a lineup including Andy Sturmer (Jellyfish), the Rembrandts and Justin Meldal-Johnson (Beck, Air). “I have no dreams of playing Madison Square Garden,” he says. “It’s not like I’m 44 and want to be 24.” He might feel that way Oct. 25, though. That’s when Swirsky will perform at the Cavern Club as part of the L.A.-based International Pop Overthrow festival’s second visit to Liverpool, England.

Goodbye studio

When Jeremy Greenspan started assembling the music for “Last Exit,” he never envisioned actually performing it. He and Junior Boys collaborator Matt Didemus were a studio project, and their nervy electro-pop seemed destined for a niche audience, not rock venues. But a few glowing reviews and some support from Domino Records later, the Canadian duo is on tour, with Greenspan on guitar and Didemus on keyboards.

“With rock acts, their art is their live show,” Greenspan says. “We’re producers foremost, and with our live show we’re trying to re-create that as faithfully as possible. We didn’t want to do a laptop set, so we decided to have pre-sequenced music and play along with it.”

Irony is, Greenspan’s music feels as if it should be played. It’s electronica with the sharp edges of indie-rock and the flourish of old-school R&B; -- dance tunes doing a verse-chorus-verse step. The duo stops at the Knitting Factory tonight as the opening act for Mouse on Mars.

Fast

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Carlos Guitarlos has assembled a formidable lineup for a benefit Sunday night at the Echo for his former Top Jimmy and the Rhythm Pigs bandmate Gil T (who is recovering from surgery to remove a benign tumor and cannot work). Among those performing: the Blasters, Dave Alvin, John Doe and Exene Cervenka, Flea and James Intveld.... The folks behind the Intravenous Records compilation of L.A. talent have scheduled a series of free shows at Tempest in West Hollywood. First up tonight are the Local Division, Electromagnetic and Sky Parade.