Popular music has had its fair share of second-generation musicians. Some, like Lil' Romeo, son of rapper and failed WCW wrestler Master P, struggle to keep the proverbial flame alive. Others, like Anoushka Shankar, daughter of sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar, add a fuckload of kerosene. By all accounts, Rami Perlman, youngest son of legendary violinist Itzhak Perlman and front man of Los Angeles-based Something for Rockets (SFRx), belongs to this latter, more accomplished category.
Rami stands out next to his band mates in candid group photos on the SFRx website. His receding hairline, eccentric curly hair and scruffy beard could potentially complement a classical-music background that includes singing in the children's chorus of the Metropolitan Opera and studying trumpet at the Manhattan School of Music. Picture him in a tux, and he looks like some screwy conductor directing a particularly dramatic movement of a particularly dramatic Beethoven concerto. Picture him in jeans and a hoodie with a guitar strapped onto his shoulder, however, and he looks like your average wayward Brown student.
Which is exactly what Rami was when he met Josh Eichenbaum, a computer music and composition student with whom he recorded during senior year. Following graduation, the pair moved to Los Angeles, where they hooked up with ex-Mori Stylez drummer Barry Davis. The debut SFRx record, recorded during the fall of 2003, blends minimal electronic beats with upbeat indie rock. Think of Postal Service but with more live instrumentation and less manic depression.
Since then, SFRx have created somewhat of a buzz, playing to huge crowds at the Knitting Factory, the Echo and LACMA. They have been featured by BMI as Band of the Month, and have received considerable attention from Steve Jones at Indie 103.1. Can a Lil' Romeo collaboration be that far behind?
Something for Rockets with Fielding and DJ Sean Harris at Orange County Museum of Art, 850 San Clemente Dr., Newport Beach, (949) 759-1122. Thurs., July 20, 8 p.m. Free.
