Music that really fizzes

A dark, mystical air hangs thick as a hot night on the bayou when Soda and His Million Piece Band convene. And with echoes of Dr. John’s Cajun honky-tonk and Nick Cave’s raw tales of woeful life and love, the eight-man-plus band’s self-titled debut could serve as a dusty, horn-and-mandolin-filled soundtrack to “Carnivale.” That it comes as a brainchild of Soda -- former guitarist of the mid-’90s MTV flash Wax, a band best known for its Spike Jonze-directed video of a guy on fire running -- could come as a surprise.

But not when Soda describes his interim period, including a two-year trek through the South, playing bluegrass and roots music on back porches, and the family tradition of polka and orchestral jazz he grew up with. “I think that’s why it’s easier for me to have a big band,” he said.

There are drawbacks -- “It takes about an hour and a half to call band practice” -- but you get a distinct, multilayered sound, drawn from a collection of vintage instruments he refers to as “pretty much all garbage-picked.”

After a cruise through Las Vegas for two shows this weekend, Soda & Co. return for an all-ages show March 5 at the Farmers Market on Fairfax, as part of that spot’s Homegrown Concert Series.

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Fast forward

* So a handful of people were dancing Monday night at the Silverlake Lounge, and we owe it all to the San Joaquin Valley. Or at least to the town of Porterville. The trio by that name, which finishes its February residency with a free show Monday night, favors headbands and sportswear, not to mention sloppy, euphoric, ‘80s dance music. And speaking of San Joaquin Valley expatriates, Earlimart wraps a three-night stand at the Silver Lake bar tonight.

* More just-plain-fun: Tokyo’s Polysics come to the Southland for shows Monday at the Knitting Factory Hollywood and Wednesday at the Galaxy Theatre in Santa Ana. The foursome, who dress like robots and acknowledge their indebtedness to Devo, play breakneck synth-punk that overcomes any language barrier. Their cover of “My Sharona” isn’t bad, either.... At once calamitous, catchy and comical, the San Diego collective Bunky is releasing its debut, “Born to Be a Motorcycle,” on Asthmatic Kitty Records. Bunky performs Tuesday at Tangiers in Los Feliz.

* Now this is clever: The pop-punk quartet the Randies is four dates into what they’ve christened their “Calling L.A.” tour. By March 25 they will have played seven Southland area codes -- but what’s this? No dates in the 213, 818 or 951? And what about the fashionable 949? The Randies will be at Tremors in Riverside on Saturday, but obviously they have some booking to do.

* Two bands that made critics’ end-of-the-year lists slip into town this weekend. Of course, those lists were a couple of magazines’ compendiums of “music you missed” (shame on us), and now the bands are trying to get some mileage out of being noticed for being overlooked. If you get the drift. The Comas, from North Carolina, bring their gauzy indie rock to Spaceland on Sunday and CineSpace on Tuesday. And fast-talking Brooklynites the Hold Steady play the Knitting Factory on Friday.

* Some websites erroneously listed Tsar as playing at the Viper Room tonight; the L.A. quartet’s show celebrating its deal with TVT Records is Friday night at El Cid.... And the premiere of the documentary “We Jam Econo -- the Story of the Minutemen” happens Friday in the pioneering punk band’s old ‘hood -- at the Warner Grand Theatre in San Pedro. Band members Mike Watt and George Hurley join director Tim Irwin and producer Keith Schieron for a Q&A; after the 8 p.m. screening.

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-- Frank Farrar and Kevin Bronson