Reinventing the (former) Wheel

When Rob Dickinson embarked on his solo career, the former frontman of British rock band Catherine Wheel set his standards high. “For me, Peter Gabriel is the bar,” Dickinson said before the fall release of his debut album, “Fresh Wine for the Horses.” “To leave a band of such stature and continue to flourish and prosper, that’s the goal, isn’t it?”

With those lofty aspirations came well-founded euphoria. Invigorated by five years on the sidelines -- Catherine Wheel disbanded in November 2000 -- Dickinson displayed on “Fresh Wine” a deft touch for songwriting and crafting soaring anthems. And while perhaps not chart-smashing, the release showed promise, as well as offering a fix for fans who followed Catherine Wheel’s five-album, eight-year career.

But with the collapse of Sanctuary Records’ stateside label operations (he continues to be handled by that company’s management arm), “Fresh Wine” has foundered, selling about 6,000 copies. Instead of the full-band tour he envisioned in the fall, Dickinson is drumming up support with solo acoustic dates, including Tuesday at the Hotel Cafe.

“Sanctuary is in a royal state at the moment; all spending on my record is over,” he said this week. “But we’ll just carry on.”

Even worse, on a recent date in Portland, Ore., Dickinson’s car was burglarized. “That’s life on the road,” he says with surprising cheer. “Obviously I’m embracing life from the positive aspect right now. I’m still convinced the record’s a hit, and other people are as well.”

It was a long time in the works. His post-Wheel life found him living in a SoHo loft, where he built a studio -- “a free-standing cube that looked like something out of Stanley Kubrick,” its gear spattered with Post-It notes on which he scrawled song ideas.

“I started 2001 very focused. Then we had September 11 and nothing seemed quite good enough,” Dickinson said. Finally, the material took shape “once I adjusted to the idea I didn’t have a band around to bounce things off.” For now, he is stuck with that feeling again.

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-- Kevin Bronson

Rob Dickinson, Hotel Cafe, 1623 1/2 Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood. 9 p.m. Tuesday. $8. (323) 461-2040.