Spend any period of time with LA band Bubble and at least three things will happen.
You will hear about the Bubble plan. You will see the desire and focus burning in the four music-industry veterans to get it right this time. Most of all though, you will have fun.
The Bubble plan, sort of a rock n’ roll mission statement, laid out the band’s goals for the next few years. High on that list is finishing up their debut album for release on Valentine’s Day 2000.
This LA "gang o’ punks" once lived like gypsies in the music industry palace complete with platinum records and world tours. This time around Bubble is outside the gated walls of the music industry kingdom, reveling in the merry racket they’re creating.
"It isn’t just a band, it’s also like a gang. We hang out. Go to dinner or a bar." said bass player Eric Stacy.
Bubble’s music is an infectious blend of snotty punk rock and plain ol’ rock n’ roll. Music that makes anyone who has ever picked up an air-guitar go back into the closet and dig it out again. Or as drummer Bam puts it, "Music to shag to."
Live, Bubble seethes with the stored intensity of highly tuned musicians ready to rock. Their forty-minute sets are tight, well-planned energy fests that are winning over even the jaded LA audiences.
"We just play to get our rocks off on stage and hope that the audience is having a good time with us." said Share.
In their candlelit LA rehearsal studio Bubble gathered on a chilly December evening to discuss their serious side, the plan; and the fun side, the music, that make up Bubble.
Originally just a two-piece with former Dogs D’Amour drummer Bam and former Vixen bassist turned guitarist/singer Share, they gigged around Hollywood for awhile eventually becoming the house-band at LA-club Goldfinger.
"We got frustrated because we couldn’t find a guitar player and finally he (Bam) just said why don’t you play guitar," said Share.
Actually it was "Play that fuckin’ guitar," chimes in Bam.
The band went through various third and fourth members till former Faster Pussycat bass player Eric Stacy auditioned for them and brought with him fellow Pussycat Brent Muscat.
"Eric brought me a tape, he met with them first and then brought a tape over and goes ‘hey, check out this,’ and that sounds great, you know what I mean. Here bring them my picture, I want to jam with them too." said Brent.
The Bubble line-up intact, the band focused on its goal, their new album. With the new album to be released on Bubble’s own Basement Boy records Bubble is in the enviable position of being able to express themselves without the outside influence of a record company. While not thumbing their noses at major labels, the band is also not waiting around for the majors to take an interest in them to put out their songs.
Attuned to recording industry politics Bubble is content to keep doing it on their own unless a major is willing to "see it our way" and let them keep creative control. With their rehearsal space doubling as a fully functional recording studio Bubble can record, press and release their own albums without waiting for a major label to come throw a ton of money at them.
"It’s part of the Bubble mission statement too is that we’re going to do it ourselves and hopefully someone will come along." said Eric.
By handling their releases directly they might not post the numbers their once multi-platinum bands did, but they will see a bigger return on their investment.
"The major labels are like a glorified bank with a high interest rate number two and number three absolute 90 percent input in your career, in every decision you make. If you can get rid of that instead of taking a dollar a unit sell less units, but take nine dollars a unit." said Bam.
The explosion of the Internet has opened new avenues for Bubble to get its music out to people. To further spread their music, Brent, who speaks Japanese, is working out the logistics of a Spring Bubble tour of Japan. He had just posted an updated Bubble web-link to 500 Bubble fans in Japan. They have also been a featured artist on http://www.riffage.com and http://www.iuma.com. Their MP3s are available for downloading from Riffage.com and MP3.com.
The new Bubble web-site http://www.planetbubble.com , which should launch before the end of the year, will be complete with flash graphics that tells a story of the friendly Planet Bubble and its monstrous inhabitants. The new album, when released, will be available on their site.
With songs that celebrate the rock n’ roll lifestyle, Bubble keeps on boppin’. Bubble will play its last gig of 1999 at the Pretty Ugly Club, Wednesday, Dec. 29, at Hollywood’s Dragonfly. E-mail the band at bubblehq@earthlink.net for tickets and information.
"It’s not about the money, it’s about having a good time." Brent said.
Yes indeed.

As always we asked Bubble to give us the line up of their perfect fantasy gig. Here are the results.

1.Early 70’s Bowie
2.Iggy Pop
3.1978 Kiss
4.Early 80’s Miles Davis
5.1972 Rolling Stones, Exile on Main St. (When Keith was on smack)
6.First US tour Led Zeppelin