Charity Could Begin at Home

GARDEN GROVE —  David Turbow grew up here in the bosom of the Orange County dream, in a large, lovely home on a quiet, well-kept street. Now he lives a life of struggle on the wrong side of the tracks.

No, this isn’t the story of a rock ‘n’ roll fall from grace via drugs, drink and indolence. Turbow, 28, still lives in the house where he was raised by a physician father and a mother with a doctorate. He has been a university science lecturer for four years and is about to begin work on a doctorate in environmental studies.

On a warm, sunny day recently, Turbow sat in a backyard favored with a swimming pool, tennis courts and citrus trees, talking quietly about adversity and hard times--the story of his life in O.C. rock ‘n’ roll.

Since 1992, when he started his band, Supernovice, Turbow has followed his muse, and his muse has led him to the shantytown district of the local rock scene. Never mind that Supernovice has four strong CDs, with songs typically oscillating between soft, wistful lyricism, a la Lou Barlow of Sebadoh, and more biting, Nirvana-like surges of aggression. This is Orange County, and alternative rock bands not firmly rooted in punk, ska or metal styles might as well be on public assistance for all the chance they have to win a substantial audience and plum gigs.

There is an honor roll of local true-alternative bands that includes Supernovice, Willoughby, Standard Fruit (now South), Liquor Giants and Lunar Rover, all of which have consistently, over a long haul, written excellent, memorable songs. Yet all remain neglected, lacking the in-your-face impact and theatricality or hip-scene cachet that has benefited the abundant local ska and punk corps, or launched successful metal bands such as Korn, Sugar Ray and Hed(pe).

Turbow is a quiet, mild-mannered fellow without the glibness or public ease and extroversion that can help push a rock career. He punctuated an interview with long, eyes-averted pauses while thinking how best to answer questions, and during a photo shoot he joked nervously about his tendency to appear “like a deer caught in headlights.” But in his way, Turbow says just what he thinks, and he thinks the state of the local rock scene stinks.

“It’s a mixed blessing that there’s a national focus on the Orange County music scene. It gives opportunities for unknown bands to get a record deal quickly. The negative part is that there’s . . . what’s the word for it? Inauthentic? There’s a lot of bands out there just trying to cash in instead of trying to forge their own sound. The clubs are being monopolized by concert promoters who will only book punk bands or ska bands. There is so much more to the Orange County music scene than what is being represented.”

Turbow nods and smiles when asked if he’s a tad bitter. “To a certain extent. I’m definitely a frustrated individual. I’m one of the only outspoken critics of what’s going on.”

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Frustration boiled over into inspiration one day when Turbow called a promoter, trying to get a gig at the Back Alley, a small club in Fullerton. “He said, ‘Do you want me to put you on a punk show or a ska show?’ I said, ‘Well, neither.’ I’d watched a lot of bands copycatting each other, groping, trying to make a quick buck, and I had to write a song about it.”

The song, from Supernovice’s most recent and best album, “Timely,” is “Liverwurst,” a funny, cutting satire on the O.C. ska-punk scene. Scenesters won’t fail to catch lyrical allusions and bits of musical parody poking fun at such O.C. faves as Reel Big Fish and Save Ferris, whose juvenile, annoyingly catchy song, “Spam,” gave Turbow his title.

Besides taking potshots at what he dislikes, Turbow has taken constructive steps to promote the music he believes carries real merit. Onset Records, the label he started in 1994 to put out Supernovice’s music, recently released a stylistically diverse compilation of 23 area bands that Turbow likes. It includes some ska and punk, along with stuff more akin to what Supernovice plays. Turbow said that its title, “Set On It,” was not meant to parody “Step On It,” the name of a popular compilation culled from “The Ska Parade” radio show on KUCI-FM. Just a coincidence, he said.

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It isn’t impossible for a band such as Supernovice to get national notice and a substantial following--witness such kindred true-alternative bands as Sebadoh, Pavement, the Lemonheads, the Breeders and Luna. But, in addition to the difficulty of growing such a band in the inhospitable soil of O.C., Supernovice has faced chronic personnel changes. Turbow, the band’s singer-songwriter and lead guitarist, has been the only constant.

“It’s difficult to establish credibility when people continually quit,” he said. “For the most part, there aren’t any bad feelings. It’s always been my belief that you should let people go where they’re happiest in life, and it’s better to have people who are enthused about what they’re doing.”

Now Turbow finds himself looking for a new drummer. He thinks members tend to leave because the band hasn’t developed any steady momentum toward success, not because he is difficult. “I think it’s reflected poorly on me, but unfairly, [as if] I’m some kind of musical dictator.”

Turbow denies any tyrannical tendencies, and he hardly can be accused of limelight-hogging on “Timely.” On some of the most beautiful songs he wrote for the album, notably the bittersweet gem “Stay for the Winter,” he relinquishes the microphone to new member Johnna Corbett. All the lineup-churning may ultimately prove worthwhile, because it led Supernovice to discover (via bassist Pasquale Talarico’s habitual hobnobbing in Internet chat rooms) this strikingly talented 18-year-old singer.

Turbow says he hasn’t courted big labels or the well-positioned independents, except for about nine months during 1996 when he had a manager who tried to land a deal for Supernovice. He figures the record companies will find the band if they think its music can sell. On its own, meanwhile, Supernovice doesn’t sell bundles. “I was shooting for 5,000 copies [sold] for ‘Timely,’ but we haven’t even gone through the first pressing of 1,500 yet.”

Touring, the best promotional vehicle on a grass-roots level, isn’t an option until the lineup stabilizes. In the mean time, Turbow hopes Supernovice can find a well-known mentor to point a spotlight on the band.

“Whenever I go watch bands that are high profile, I give them our music. I sent a CD to Bob Mould (of Husker Du and Sugar), just hoping. When I saw Matthew Sweet at the Coach House, I pitched one on stage to him.”

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Yes, life gets desperate on the wrong side of the tracks. But at least those with nothing to lose speak freely. Turbow showed off a design for a T-shirt that he intends to market, with the slogan: “S.O.S.: Sick of Ska.”

If Turbow can’t change the musical environment, he might still do a good turn for the Earth’s after completing the doctorate he will start next month at Claremont Graduate University. He plans to keep Supernovice going. It won’t be much different, he says, from the hectic time in 1994-95 when he was teaching full time at Chapman University in Orange, playing with the band and starting Onset Records.

“I tend to write songs when I feel the inspiration, regardless of how busy I am,” he said. “Some of my most prolific periods have been when I’m most busy. Sometimes I write songs at 3 a.m. or 4 a.m., from insomnia.”

Turbow figures he eventually will wind up focusing more on science and teaching than on rock ‘n’ roll, even if Supernovice has a change of luck. But he doesn’t see giving up rock as an expressive outlet.

“One of the most gratifying moments came about two months ago, when I wrote a song about how much I was missing my girlfriend [a student at Chico State]. She called me up crying, telling me how much she liked the song. That was one of my biggest moments. Songwriting is something I want to continue throughout my life.”

* Supernovice and Glitter play tonight at Club Mesa, 843 W. 19th St., Costa Mesa. 10 p.m. $5. (714) 642-8448.