Vagrant is home for the Eels

Vagrant Records has snagged another wandering soul -- and it could mean a transformation for the Los Angeles label best known for such young “emo” turks as earnest crooner Dashboard Confessional and the aggressive Alkaline Trio.

The group in question here is the Eels. The veteran L.A. act built a reputation for heartbreaking introspection and magnetic pop settings over the course of six albums for DreamWorks Records, but had little commercial impact outside of the minor hits “Novocaine for the Soul” and “Susan’s House” from the group’s first album, 1996’s “Beautiful Freak.”

Now, with DreamWorks having been integrated into Interscope Geffen A&M; Records, the Eels slithered over to Vagrant, which has a partnership with Interscope for distribution and marketing but remains an autonomous entity.

The Eels, with a two-CD, 33-song set titled “Blinking Lights and Other Revelations” due April 26, joins former Replacements leader Paul Westerberg, who signed with Vagrant three years ago, as the anomalous entries on the Vagrant roster.

It’s reminiscent of what happened when Tom Waits (who makes a guest appearance on the new Eels album) and Merle Haggard joined punk-centric Epitaph Records via the launch of its Anti- Records label, which now is also home to such respected artists as Nick Cave, Marianne Faithfull and country-rocker Neko Case.

Eels mainstay Mark Oliver Everett says he nearly signed with another major label, but ultimately he and his managers were drawn by the personal touch of Vagrant, an approach that attracted him to DreamWorks when it was run by veteran executives Mo Ostin and Lenny Waronker. He even addresses that topic allegorically in “Railroad Man,” a new song about dedicated rail workers being marginalized by their shrinking industry.

“We had a lot of choices of labels,” Everett says. “The managers are thinking that rather than having the muscle of a major and the focus of an independent, we get the best of both worlds.”

Vagrant president and co-owner Rich Egan says that he’d be thrilled if the new signing helped the company gain a reputation of an artist haven a la Epitaph/Anti-. But the Eels signing was first and foremost about the Eels.

“It was a lot like with Westerberg in that he was looking for a place that would support him unconditionally and let him make his records, and that’s what we always offer,” Egan says. “We’re not going to meddle with the art.”

A double album like this probably would have met resistance at a major label, Egan says, and he notes that Westerberg’s brisk pace of releases for Vagrant could only happen in an independent environment.

“Paul has put out four records since he got here, and he gets to make music and release it quickly rather than spend a year making a record and then a year waiting for it to come out, as it often is at majors,” he says.

As for further expansion with similar artists, Egan is quite open to the idea if the situations merit.

“The constant changing climate at the majors means artists are finding themselves not fitting in anymore,” he says. “And we are able to offer a big enough support system and marketing that they feel the record will get out there.”

On a related front, Vagrant is finalizing a deal to form a joint venture with New York independent StarTime International Records, home to such rising acts as England’s Futureheads, L.A.’s Dios Malos and Washington D.C.’s French Kicks.

“Isaac Green, who started StarTime, has been running the label out of his apartment,” Egan says. “He has great taste and finds great things, and now there are so many avenues to get out music that these bands don’t think it’s major-label-or-bust anymore.”

Digging deep, dollar by dollar

The offer of the all-star performance of John Lennon’s “Across the Universe” as an Apple iTunes download to benefit tsunami relief efforts wasn’t the only campaign at the Grammy Awards seeking to raise charity funds a buck at a time. Christian-rock band Jars of Clay, which served in a presenting role in the pre-telecast segment, used the access to the media as a chance to discuss its new venture to build much-needed water wells throughout Africa.

The 1000 Wells project launched last week, with the goal to raise enough money by Easter to construct that many water supplies. Jars singer Dan Haseltine explained backstage at the Staples Center Grammy show that one dollar is enough to provide clean water for one person for a full year, which led to the rare sight of music journalists actually reaching into their wallets and handing over their own cash. But in a follow-up phone call, he noted that the effort will be an ongoing one.

“To drill all the wells will probably take from three to five years,” he said. “We don’t know the total amount of money it will take. In some places where you’re drilling through rock it can cost $25,000. Other places it’s just $1,500. We’re estimating it could take $5 million. And we’re trying to make sure that we don’t just go in and drill a well and then it falls into disrepair. The communities there have to be trained to take ownership and maintain them. That takes time.”

The project is an outgrowth of the band’s Blood:Water Mission foundation (www.bloodwatermission.org), which was started in 2002 to address needs related to the African HIV/AIDS pandemic.

“This last year’s been a big growth year for us in trying to figure out how to move it to something sustainable and have the most benefit for Africa,” he said.

Jars of Clay has just completed a new album, “Redemption Songs,” which features words to old hymns with new music written by the band. The Blind Boys of Alabama are among the guests on the album, which is due March 22.