Please, Please, Sylvia, Let Tom Racer Play

Sylvia was hoping she’d put a stop to her noisy neighbors when she called the police to complain about the band next door.

But what she ended up with was a catchy rock song named after her.

“We would ask her, ‘You know, is there a problem? You don’t want us to practice? If it’s too loud, we’ll turn it down,’ ” Jon Elliott, drummer for the band Tom Racer, says of the neighborhood dispute. “She would always be like, ‘Oh no, I didn’t call the cops.’ ” Uh huh.

So like all good musicians, the band’s singer/guitarist Erik Newton turned their strife into lyrical fodder - and the song “Sylvia” became one of the coolest tracks on the band’s already well-done CD.

In her apartment, she sits at home all day. It makes her happy, when she won’t let us play … Please, please Sylvia, let us play in our garage.

Tom Racer (a band name derived from a sound made on the drums, not from a person) is a trio of power-pop rockers from Pasadena, Calif. They perform at The Fort Spokane Brewery Saturday night.

Elliott’s brother, Mike Elliott, rounds out the group on bass. The two boys got their musical introduction at an early age. Their father was publishing manager for the Beach Boys and personal manager for Mike Love. People like Lyndsey Buckingham and David Crosby circulated through their young lives.

Despite such big-name connections, Jon points out, “For the longest time music was just kind of background noise. Only when I got into junior high did it start really hitting me, affecting me emotionally.”

To form Tom Racer, the brothers joined with their longtime friend Erik. Together these boys not only know their way around a melody, they also tweak their songs with just the right dose of crunchy guitars.

Their CD - “The Secret’s Out” - is laden with a rough-hewn power pop reminiscent of Weezer. “Kilometer” starts the disc with a fuzzy guitar punch comboed with clean, three-part vocals. “Never Make A Sound” is an endearing look at a young musician’s insecure beginnings.

A Nirvana tribute of sorts, the song sprung from Jon’s initial dislike of the Seattle group.

“I didn’t like Nirvana because they were the big thing. Then I heard ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ for the first time. I remember them coming on the radio and I just got chills on the back of my neck,” he says. “At that time I was a guitar player trying to be really fast and all of a sudden this guy is playing four chords and it’s blowing my head off. Hearing somebody so good made me want to give up because I thought I’d never be able to make any worthwhile contribution.”

Fortunately for Tom Racer - and pop rock fans - Jon got over his early fears. (Although, perhaps Sylvia isn’t so grateful.) The band performs at The Fort Spokane Brewery Saturday. Cover is $4. Music starts at 9:30 p.m.

Girl Trouble

They like to refer to themselves as “the band that nobody can seem to get rid of.”

After all, this Tacoma, Wash., quartet has been around since waaaaaay back in 1984.

Just think of how many music trends have come and gone during those years. And all along Girl Trouble has kept on dishing out their garage rock, playing countless punk rock joints across this country (and several others), and outlasting nearly every other Northwest band around.

So, the fact is, we don’t want them to go away. We want them to keep playing their surfy garage punk.

Girl Trouble will do just that tonight when they drop by for a visit at Ichabod’s North. The Fumes and Jimmy Flame and the Sexy Boys open the show. Cover charge is $5. Music starts at 9:30 p.m.

Still swinging

I dropped by Harry O’s Groove Gallery on a recent Thursday to check out their swing night. Looks like this place has the right idea: half-price martinis and cigar specials (just wait until after 10 p.m. to light up). For those who just don’t get the swing thing, there are dance lessons at 8 p.m. High marks go to Spokane group Casey MacGill and the Spirits of Rhythm. After the lessons, this band laid down some cool swing grooves.

Next Thursday catch New York Jimmy and the Jive Five at Harry O’s. This six-piece band is from - no, not N.Y. - but Bellingham, Wash., and plays with a fiery retro intensity.

“What our band tries to do is incite the crowd to a dancing frenzy,” Jimmy himself says. If their six-song EP is any indication, they should have the entire crowd bopping, jiving and Lindy Hopping with abandon Thursday.

Music starts at 9:30 p.m. Admission is $4. Dance lessons will not be held this week.

At the concert club

Here’s this week’s lineup at Swackhammer’s Concert Club; tickets for these shows are available at G&B Select-A-Seat outlets.

Fishbone takes the stage Sunday night, playing a brand of ska, funk and punk that goes back to the early ‘80s. They are one of the truly innovative predecessors to the hordes of bands dishing out ska these days. Spokane’s ska/reggae band Civilized Animal opens the show. Tickets are $15. Music starts at 8 p.m.

The 1980s new wave band Missing Persons will be found at Swackhammer’s Monday night. The band is best-remembered for its pop-rock hits “Words” and “Destination Unknown,” as well as for singer Dale Bozzio’s campy sci-fi look. (Think plexiglass bras and hot pink hair.) Music starts at 8 p.m.

And to finish off your footloose stroll down ‘80s memory lane, Loverboy performs both Wednesday and Thursday at Swackhammer’s. Based on their dismal performance with ZZ Top last year, I can’t give them a high recommendation. However, if you’d like to relive those infamous ‘80s tunes - “The Kid Is Hot Tonight,” “Turn Me Loose,” and “Working for the Weekend” - why not give them a try. You might end up lovin’ every minute of it. Tickets are $17.50. Music starts at 8 p.m.