PBS MAKES THE MUSIC SCENE IN INTIMATE & RAUCOUS WAYS

If you were running a public television station and you wanted to reel in viewers too old for “Barney” but not ready for “Wall Street Week,” how would you do it?

With music--the contemporary kind.

There are two such series airing nationally on PBS: the intimate “Sessions at West 54th” and the raucous “On Tour.”

“From the beginning, the concept was about showcasing artists that typically don’t get exposure on national television,” said “Sessions” host Chris Douridas. These include Paula Cole, Wynton Marsalis, Ben Folds Five, Billy Bragg, Nanci Griffith, k.d. lang, Richard Thompson, Suzanne Vega, Shawn Colvin, the Cuban singer Albita and Keb’ Mo’.

Each hour typically showcases two performers taped in a New York studio, explained producer Jeb Brien. “You’ve seen this room in many incarnations on television. All of the ‘MTV Unplugged’ [specials] are shot here. It’s actually the largest sound stage in Manhattan.”

Still, it’s intimate, he said, and perhaps more importantly, “Production wise, we’re shot completely in digital video and the audience is in surround sound. So audiophiles will see that we’re sparing no expense. It’s all about the music. It’s all about the artist.”

The only drawback of hearing these musicians on television, added Douridas, who interviews the performers between sets, is that the music you hear is only as good as your TV speakers allow.

Douridas is sensitive to this because of his day job: as radio host of Southern California station KCRW’s “Morning Becomes Eclectic.” That show invites musicians to send in tapes for a chance to get on the air, and Douridas also chats with them live.

The between-set interviews would work, he thought, only if they could get the intimacy that radio allows.

While “Sessions” aims for intimacy, “On Tour” wants the all-out concert experience, which attracts an even younger audience than does the studio format of “Sessions.”

“We go out and shoot anyone who’s touring on the road in their own touring environment,” said “On Tour” producer John Diaz. “We shoot whatever’s popular. It just happens to be that concerts are geared toward a younger audience. Especially last summer with all the big tours--Lollapalooza, the Further Festival, H.O.R.D.E. They have a lot of the young talents, as well as the established.”

Diaz and a crew of 40 went around the globe between April and August last year to film at 34 live venues. They taped 93 bands and solo artists.

“We’re all over the place because the idea is not to pick what we like in terms of music,” he said.

“On Tour” follows both big-name acts (Sting, Lou Reed, Smashing Pumpkins) and performers who may not be known to a TV audience (progressive music acts Cibo Matto, Soul Coughing, Amanda Marshall).

So, how will these two showcases both pull in enough viewers to please PBS?

It’s the kind of viewer that matters, according to Niki Vettel, syndicating producer of “Sessions” for American Program Service. And the airtime had to be right: Vettel wanted Saturdays at 11.

“We had looked at Saturday nights [on PBS] across the country and people were doing all kinds of things then, and this really was an opportunity to go for the smart, musically sophisticated and culturally diverse TV viewer to see artists you don’t get to see anyplace else,” says Vettel. “These are not on heavy rotation on MTV. Often, they are just starting out but are not one-song wonders. They show a tremendous amount of promise.”

“If it’s good, we should all have the opportunity to hear it,” added Brien.

“Sessions at West 54th” airs Saturday at 11:00 p.m. and “On Tour” airs Saturday at midnight, both on PBS.