Son of Jonathan Richman?

For Lo-Fi Champion-the title and the band-that's some sweet progress in a relatively short time. But more than anything, Perkins is proof that some of the best songwriters are still locked in their bedrooms, warbling into cruddy tape recorders.

"No one really gives a shit about how good you can play or how great a musician you are in the long run," Perkins says. "People just want a song they can sing or relate to, to pick up a new experience or a new thing."

Something that you want to last forever, in other words-just like a good Jonathan Richman ballad.

Lo-Fi Champion performs with the Bibs and the Len Brown Society at Que Sera, 1923 E. 7th St., Long Beach, (562) 599-6170. Wed., 9 p.m. Call for cover. 21+.