Ex-Monster Forrest Returns Refreshed

In “The Bicycle Thief,” Vittorio De Sica’s 1948 film about working-class struggles, the story’s protagonist, Ricci, rides a bike as part of his job as a movie-poster hanger in Rome. It gets stolen one day, setting off an agonizing and fruitless search by Ricci and his son, Bruno.

In the end, Ricci succumbs to temptation and steals a bicycle himself, thus perpetuating a cycle of crime and poverty. At one point, Ricci says to his son: “You live and suffer. To hell with it! You want a pizza?”

Relating to this simple but enduring tale is easy for Bob Forrest, the former Thelonious Monster front man who has re-emerged after a four-year drug- and alcohol-induced exile from the music scene. So much so that he’s named his new rock band the Bicycle Thief, which also features multi-instrumentalist Josh Klinghoffer, ex-Geraldine Fibber drummer Kevin Fitzgerald and ex-Campfire Girls bassist Andrew Clark (plus touring guitarist Brett Metson).

In September, the quartet released its debut album, “You Come and You Go Like a Pop Song” (Goldenvoice Records). The group plays for the first time in Orange County on Sunday at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano.

“When the guy starts out, he’s optimistic,” Forrest said about the Ricci character, “but he lets this one incident--the theft of his bicycle--basically ruin his life. The parallel to my life is I became obsessed with achieving huge commercial success, and when it didn’t happen, I poisoned my body, mind and soul.”

Although Forrest, who attended Marina High School and Golden West College in Huntington Beach, identifies with Ricci, he’s hoping for a better fate.

With a reputation as the quintessential L.A. loser--well before Beck turned up to snatch the crown from him--Forrest spent several years trying to sober up by working as a messenger and dishwasher.

He says he’s clean and functioning in a more structured environment, and he now lives in Echo Park with his girlfriend, Max, and his 13-year-old son, Elijah.

Despite his exit from the music scene, Forrest, 38, has continued to write songs. He had no intention of making another record when early last year he phoned his friends at Goldenvoice, the concert promoters. He was simply looking for a job and wanted to work his way up as a concert promoter.

Before long, though, executives at Goldenvoice contacted Forrest, telling him they had started a record label and wanted to know if he’d let them hear his new songs. So Forrest and 19-year-old Klinghoffer--a guitarist he met through his girlfriend’s little brother--sat on the floor in a Goldenvoice office and played about a dozen tunes. Six of those can be heard on “You Come and Go Like a Pop Song,” Forrest’s first album since Thelonious Monster’s swan song, “Beautiful Mess” (Capitol, 1992).

“You Come and Go Like a Pop Song” is an often unsettling mix of acoustic and electric rock, folk and blues. Lyrically, the 13 tracks are very Bob-like: autobiographical sketches of pain, isolation, longing, regret and--hopefully--redemption. In a voice ringing with both resiliency and humor, the scraggly-voiced Forrest sings this telling line in the song “Max Jill Called”: “I woke up this morning feeling pretty good/And pretty good is really good for me.”

“As I was cleaning up my act, it was a shock to my system because I had lived a teenage existence until I was 33 or 34. It was really just an extended adolescence.” Even though Forrest is happy to be part of the scene once again, he looks to the future with guarded optimism.

“I’m older and scared. . . . I’m still hesitant about getting in music full time again,” he said. “It’s hard after beating your head against a wall for so long . . . watching your work go virtually unnoticed while the latest flavor-of-the-month [act] rises to the top. That’s still very irritating.

“Still, I love to write songs. It’s exciting because the whole process remains a mystery to me. When I see what Tom Waits, Elliott Smith and Radiohead are all capable of, it’s unbelievably motivating. The joy I feel is worth all of the industry-related frustrations you have to deal with. When you love something, it’s hard to let go.”

If “You Come and Go Like a Pop Song” stiffs, though, won’t he be facing the same kind of disappointment that led to the breakup of Thelonious Monster, the critically praised band that never caught on like two contemporaries, Jane’s Addiction and the Red Hot Chili Peppers? (In an interesting side note, the Bicycle Thief will open for the Red Hot Chili Peppers and 311 at the Forum on New Year’s Eve.)

“I’ll admit, it is a little unnerving. . . . I hope the record will get out to people and they’ll give it a chance,” Forrest said. “I try to stay more emotionally balanced now. We just played 10 shows with Matthew Sweet, and he’s a model of the kind of expectations that are realistic for a band like us. He plays to pretty full houses on the club circuit while selling enough records to keep his label happy. He’s making a decent living without having to compromise himself--why can’t we?”

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The Bicycle Thief, the Hiders and the Frias Bros. play Sunday at the Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano. 8 p.m. $8-$10. (949) 496-8930.