For Easdale, the Drama Lies in Fresh Material

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO —  In a career spent mostly leading the commercially underappreciated rock group Dramarama, singer-songwriter John Easdale has created vivid character sketches of people teetering on society’s fringes, searching for acceptance and meaning. The plight of these weary souls is often tied to the choices they make at key junctions in their lives.

The La Habra resident reached one of those junctions himself in 1994, when Dramarama disbanded. Since then, he has refused to be idle; to the contrary, he’s formed a new band, produced recordings for a couple of other local groups and is producing a radio program called “Rotten Day” and hosted by former Sex Pistol John Lydon (it airs on San Diego’s 91X-FM).

In what turned out to be a promising showcase for some unrecorded new material, Easdale and his four-man band built their 85-minute set Friday at the Coach House around songs unfamiliar to the audience.

Sure, the quintet dropped in a few old favorites, including “Last Cigarette” and “Anything Anything (I’ll Give You),” as well as some choice Dramarama selections, including the show-opening “Some Crazy Dame” and a haunting, emotionally packed “Would You Like.”

What made the biggest impression, though, was the passion and determination that fueled the eight new numbers.

Wearing a tight-fitting black T-shirt, occasionally smoking a cigarette and with his eyes hidden behind sunglasses, Easdale appeared most comfortable operating on the rather detached side of cool. But festering beneath was vital music that was sharply played and emotionally wrought.

At his best, Easdale draws the listener into his mini-dramas as he constructs conflict (frequently without resolution) within his contradictory tales of despair and ultimate hope.

His distinctive, earthy vocals resonate with a biting, hungry edge, typified by his angry snarl during the night’s first new number, “Breaking Things.”

Other songs revealed varying shades of Easdale’s emotional ambiguities. None working better than “Bright Side,” a bouncy, pop-rock number in which moods change in a heartbeat.

Most of the evening’s rock ‘n’ roll was immediate, fast and noisy. The concert’s pace slowed briefly for the riveting experience of a new, acoustic-tinged ballad entitled “Drown.”

This melancholy song of heartache and loss featured the piercing guitar lines of Mark “Mr. E” Englbert, the only other holdover from Dramarama, and the plaintive vocals of Easdale, who eerily sang: “I couldn’t believe the leaves were turning brown / When you sent me off to drown.”

Playing musically leaner and harder-edged than Dramarama’s alterna-pop leanings, Easdale’s fine band served each song well, segueing nicely from pop-rock to ballads to edgy rock ‘n’ roll.

Mr. E’s melodic flair and economical guitar soloing seemed to inspire his mates: rhythm guitarist Craig Ballam, bassist Charles Barnao and drummer Tony Snow.

Easdale himself, however, needs to step forward and connect on a more personal level with the audience.

Appearing uneasy as the focal point onstage, Easdale rarely engaged in dialogue or between-song banter and only introduced a couple of the new songs.

Instead, he let the new music speak for itself. In this case, a more relaxed, conversational approach would not only have offered a warm hand, but would have worked well as a means of sharing information with his fans. Some people in the audience were heard asking one another whether Easdale has released a new record or signed a new recording contract. (The answer to both is no, although Easdale said before the show that he’s aggressively shopping his new songs to record labels.)

In any event, he needs to loosen up a bit. Yet, sonically and thematically, Easdale left no doubt that he’s a viable force on the contemporary rock scene. With the recent critical and commercial success of bands like Collective Soul, the Dave Matthews Band and Seven Mary Three, there’s no reason why he can’t also break through to a significant audience.