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Stroke of good fortune

With a single in heavy radio rotation and an MTV-friendly look, Stroke 9 could easily be perceived as a teeny-bopper band - one of the ready-made, disposable pop sensations that record labels seem to churn out by the dozens.

The band says that perception would be wrong.

"We've been at it for like 10 years," said drummer Eric Stock. "As soon as you start doing well and no one's heard of you, they immediately want to badger you and call you a one-hit wonder."

In that decade, the group has risen from a humble beginning - their first demo was done in 1990, as a senior project for a high-school class called "Rock Band."

The single "Little Black Backpack," from the album Nasty Little Thoughts, is currently at No. 13 on Billboard's Modern Rock chart, having risen as high as No. 6.

Stock said he was optimistic about future radio play of other songs on the album.

Stroke 9 will release their next single, "Letters," next week, and Stock said future opinion of the band may hinge on the success of the single.

"That's when you get people to start respecting you in the industry," he said. "I think we've got three, maybe four singles on there. The label thinks more. They're really excited about this."

Though Stroke 9 is receiving lots of attention from alternative radio and college audiences, their label had plans for marketing them quite differently.

"We were worried about them marketing us in a boy-band fashion. They definitely thought they could do something like that - they had crazy stylists and makeup floating around the photo shoots, stuff like that," laughed Stock.

Band members rejected the marketing scheme, saying it was inappropriate. Though most fans don't realize it, the band has a textbook indie-rock background - the members are college graduates, inclined towards literature and slacking.

Their name comes not from a prurient joke, but rather from T.S. Eliot's poem "The Wasteland."

As an independent band, Stroke 9 spent a series of years playing tiny clubs, releasing their own recordings - one of which, Bumper to Bumper, has sold 10,000 copies without the benefit of a major label - and garnering a faithful local following in their native area of San Francisco.

"We rented a house north of San Francisco and played every day, recorded demos, jamming songs, getting stuff together," Stock said.

After much hard work, the band started getting media attention and several high-profile gigs, including one at San Francisco's Fillmore Auditorium. A major label-bidding war ensued, and Cherry/Universal Records won.

The band has since earned a nomination for Outstanding Debut Album by the California Music Awards (formerly known as the Bammies).

"Little Black Backpack" followed shortly afterwards, as did an appearance in the film "EdTV."

"That song ("Little Black Backpack") is about the time those little black backpacks were hot, and just how ridiculous pop culture is. (Lead singer Luke Esterkyn) saw his ex-girlfriend at a party with her new boyfriend, and in a jealous rage wanted to rip off her backpack," Stock revealed.

After completing their American tour, Stroke 9 will embark on a short European tour, then may return to the recording studio.

"We've got no plans on recording immediately. We've never been to Europe as a band, so that'll be cool," said Stock.