BAND EXPLORES THE TOP OF ROCK ‘N’ ROLL

SAN DIEGO â€”  While most of this town’s original music bands are combing through the roots of rock ‘n’ roll, Playground Slap prefers to explore rock’s uppermost branches.

Let the others revive such vintage styles as rockabilly and rhythm-and-blues--and, in the process, toss out everything but the basics of guitar, bass and drums, said drummer Michael Addis.

His band would much rather play a complex brand of “new music� that is on the cutting edge of 1980s new wave, he said. And they have no qualms about employing computerized keyboards, guitar and bass synthesizers, and other technological marvels of the day.

“I don’t see any point in regurgitating old music,� said Addis, 24. “The roots of rock are fine as they are. I listen to a lot of stuff from the 1950s and the ‘60s, and it still sounds great today.

“So why listen to groups that are reviving the past when the past itself continues to live on thousands of old records?�

“Revival is revival,� added keyboardist Ray DeZonia, 27. “I would think one stands a better chance at longevity--and at making it in the music industry--by looking toward the future instead of dwelling in the past.�

He may be right. Even though the “American roots� fad is the current darling of the rock press, very few of those bands are making it big in terms of record sales and air play.

The bands that are, DeZonia said, are more ambitious groups like Talking Heads and Shriekback that relentlessly shoot for rock’s outer limits.

“Just the other day, somebody came up to us and said we remind him a lot of the Talking Heads,� DeZonia said. “He said it’s not because we sound like the Talking Heads, but that it’s because we’re making music that is inventive and takes full advantage of modern technology--even though the big fad right now is to get away from all that.�

Addis said: “We like to think of ourselves as playing music that’s exciting and new. Our music is very high-tech, but it’s built around a very funky, danceable beat.�

Addis and DeZonia first assembled Playground Slap five years ago with singer-guitarist Marcelo Radulovich, 22, and bassist David Ybarra, 23.

Since then, the band’s line-up has remained the same, except for the recent addition of a second guitarist, Bill Poschman, 21.

Because of the band’s eclectic “new music�--and its refusal to jump on the “American roots� bandwagon--the group plays around town infrequently, generally no more than once every two weeks.

“But that doesn’t mean we have gone downhill,� Addis said. “It’s just that virtually every other ‘new music’ band in town has disappeared because there are so few places left to play.

“A couple of years ago, there were several clubs that regularly showcased original music bands. But now, most of them have gone either disco or Top 40, and about all that’s left is the Spirit.�

As a result, Addis added, Playground Slap has been keeping busy in other ways. At least once a month, they perform in Los Angeles at such clubs as the Music Machine.

The rest of the time, they’re in the studio, trying out new material and recording demonstration tapes that they hope will attract national record companies.

That’s not to say the band has turned its back on San Diego.

In July, the members recorded their first album at Western Audio in Santee for $3,000. The album is on sale at record stores around San Diego.

To promote the album and their sporadic local performances, Addis said, band members have produced thousands of fliers and more than 600 silk-screened T-shirts.

They do all the work themselves.

“Aside from being a musician, (singer-guitarist) Marcelo is an artist,� DeZonia said. “He does the art work, I do the silk-screening, and (drummer) Michael does the graphics.

“We’re doing all this in the hopes of realizing our eventual goal of landing a record deal and making it big, really big--just like the Talking Heads, who started out much like we did.

“And even though success isn’t rolling at our feet just yet, we enjoy what we’re doing. It’s all we know--from the music, to the fliers, to the T-shirts, to the gigs.

“If we make it, it will be through our own efforts. And we have no inclination to quit. We have buckets of patience, just lying around, waiting for us to throw them out.�