Still Wearing a Label of Independence : Rock: X co-leader Exene Cervenka and Dream Syndicate alum Steve Wynn are carving new musical paths with their solo careers--and they find themselves back with an independent record company.

It was a decade ago, give or take a year, that X and the Dream Syndicate burst onto the forefront of L.A.’s alternative-rock movement with debut albums for Slash Records, the city’s independent label that became nearly synonymous with its new-music scene.

Approaching from disparate directions, X’s punk-anthemic “Los Angeles” (1980, Slash) and the Syndicate’s darkly acidic “The Days of Wine and Roses” (1982, Ruby/Slash) gouged indelible marks on the belly of the local underground-rock movement, and beyond.

Having since followed their bands’ ascent to wide acclaim and major-label deals, followed by temporary or permanent breakups, X co-leader Exene Cervenka and Dream Syndicate alum Steve Wynn today are attempting to carve new musical paths with their solo careers. And, they find themselves back with an independent record label.

Cervenka’s first two solo endeavors and Wynn’s debut album have been released by Rhino Records, the quirky, 13-year-old company now aspiring to become L.A.’s leading independent label for new alternative music. Under the auspices of its recently formed subsidiary, Rhino New Artists (RNA), Rhino hopes to emerge as a key player in the new music scene--amid an era in which major labels reign supreme.

Cervenka and Wynn this week begin co-headlining a nationwide tour showcasing RNA artists. The campaign is a throwback to the once-popular package tours--sponsored by Slash, among others--which at once promoted a record label and a sampling of its performers.

The five-week tour, which also features Clive Gregson and Christine Collister (Story, F1), opens with shows tonight at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano and moves Friday to Bogart’s in Long Beach.

During separate interviews this week, Cervenka and Wynn discussed, among other things, the demise of the independent record company as a force in pop music, the new challenges and opportunities their solo careers afford and their return, as solo artists, to an independent label.

Not surprisingly, both decry the growing hegemony of major record companies during the past decade.

“It’s like the (U.S.) automobile industry,” Cervenka said. “You end up with three auto makers and end up with crappy cars, by buying up the competition.”

More pointedly, she said she believes that many new, talented bands may atrophy by signing too early in their careers with a large record conglomerate.

“I like the fact that X was not signed immediately” to a major label, she said. “It was good and healthy. It gave us a chance to develop our sound. Nobody cared about us, and that was fine. I can’t create with all that stupid pressure.”

While acknowledging that the proliferation of high-powered companies has provided unprecedented opportunities for young artists, Cervenka said that, ultimately, she sees the trend as more of a burden than a boon for rising musicians.

“It’s just sad,” she said. “I think major labels (today) sign everybody in sight. They give them two weeks for a record to do well, and if it doesn’t, they’re on them to do another.”

Wynn said he believes that because so much money is riding on a young artist’s every big-label release, “you’re not able to take a chance and (perhaps) make a mistake” anymore.

He noted that, including his former band’s self-titled EP, the Dream Syndicate made its first two records within eight months of forming. “And that wouldn’t have happened if attention had been thrown at us immediately,” he said. “I think it’d be terrible to be starting out right now.”

But, as established artists, Cervenka and Wynn agree they would happily sign with a large record company today if one offered the support, creative freedom and working atmosphere that they say Rhino does.

Wynn, who acknowledges his affinity for making “indulgent” records, said it is essential for him to have the liberty to experiment according to his latest creative whim.

“One of the five or six reasons I broke up the Dream Syndicate is because I found I was only writing Dream Syndicate songs. I had a few Dream Syndicate songs that it seemed I could write: The Dream Syndicate in E-minor, in D and in A-7,” he said, laughing. Now, as a solo artist, he says, “I can write a lot of songs I might not have done otherwise. My only limitation now is me--and sometimes I don’t even worry about that.”

In Cervenka’s solo work, she still collaborates to an extent with X guitarist Tony Gilkyson, who produced and played on both her 1989 debut, “Old Wives’ Tales,” and last year’s “Running Sacred” albums. But, she said, her work with Gilkyson is very different from “the all-encompassing creative thing” that she and John Doe shared through six studio albums with X.

While working with Doe, she said, “We inspired each other a lot. Now, I rely more on myself.” Consequently, her solo material represents “an undiluted vision of what I do” as an artist, she said.

But, as hinted by four local concerts X performed in December, Cervenka said she soon will resume writing and performing with Doe and the rest of her old band.

Upon returning from her solo tour in early May, Cervenka said she plans to move her family into a trailer on Doe’s 2 1/2-acre ranch in Ventura County, where she and Doe will write songs for a new X album. The record would be the band’s first studio effort since 1987’s “See How We Are” and will mark its only work together in more than two years, save last year’s performances.

For three-fourths of the band, Cervenka’s 25-show solo tour will serve as tuneup for the X recording sessions, which she says are planned to begin this summer. In addition to Gilkyson, Cervenka will be joined for these shows by X drummer D.J. Bonebrake. As usual, her band will also include bassist Duke McVinnie.

For Wynn, the upcoming tour similarly serves as a bridge to a critical point in his new career, as well as a reunion of sorts.

His band for the tour will include ex-Dream Syndicate drummer Dennis Duck, their first work together since Syndicate dissolved two years ago. Wynn’s group will also feature bassist Mike Bornes and guitarists Chris Cacavas and Kirk Swan.

Then, upon returning home, Wynn plans to record his follow-up to last year’s “Kerosene Man,” an impressive, divergent solo debut, which sold more copies than any Dream Syndicate record.

His old band may also rejoin to cut a song or two, “but we won’t call ourselves the Dream Syndicate,” he said.

“I’ll probably continue to work with everyone I’ve ever worked with over and over,” Wynn said. “Just like you often stay friends with old lovers . . . you play again with old (musical) companions.”

“But,” he promised, “there will be no reunions.”

He added: “I’ll just wait for somebody to do a boxed set of our work. Then I’ll know I’m dead.”