Jason Falkner
Photo: Elektra

Air can do strange things to people.

Not the air we breathe, but Air the band. And they've taken three imaginative musicians — singer/songwriter Jason Falkner, occasional Beck drummer Brian Reitzell and Moog Cookbook keyboardist Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. — back to 1980.

The guys, who spent much of the last two years contributing to Air's 10,000 Hz Legend (see "Air Find Power In Messing With Beauty On Second Album") and touring to promote it, are moving ahead with their new wave trio, Softcore (see "Jason Falkner Goes Softcore With Manning, Reitzell"), now that the sounds of New Order and Gang of Four appear to be experiencing a renaissance.

"Everything, in my opinion, is sort of in," Reitzell said from his Los Angeles studio last week. "The Strokes are '79, and they're huge. Dance music is also. I know people who love the White Stripes and Kylie Minogue. The '80s thing is just another sort of thing you can use."

Softcore's origins date back to Reitzell and Manning's 2000 electronic pop experiment Logan's Sanctuary, the "soundtrack" to the imaginary sequel to "Logan's Run" that features guest vocals from Falkner, Manning's former Jellyfish bandmate.

"Roger and I were in Paris recording with Air and we got the final mixes of Logan's Sanctuary," Reitzell said. "He came up to my hotel room and we listened to it and said, 'What do we do next?' "

After recording with Air, who were dedicated fans of Logan's Sanctuary, the three musicians spent two days writing and recording 10 new wave tracks.

"We took it around to a few different record labels, and people didn't understand why we were doing what we were doing," Reitzell explained.

Then, suddenly, artists ranging from No Doubt to the Bloodhound Gang decided to expose their new wave obsessions.

"Now, turn on the radio and it feels like the heyday of KROQ," said Reitzell, who recently drummed on some demo tracks for Beck's next album (see "Beck Entering Studio To Work On Acoustic-Based LP").

Having returned home from the Air tour, Softcore are re-recording their as-yet-untitled debut album and shooting for a late summer release. Labels are interested this time around, though the group will likely stay with Emperor Norton Records, the progressive indie that released Logan's Sanctuary.

"I want to support them as they've supported me ... they let me do weird sh--" Reitzell said. "My only concern is that it came out a lot better and certainly more commercial than we imagined, and we want to give it a fair shake."

Whether Softcore succeed at radio or develop the cult following of Logan's Sanctuary, the trio will cherish the experience for allowing them to explore their true influences.

"I've just always been a huge fan of Human League," Reitzell said.

• Jason Falkner

Jason Falkner
Photo: Elektra

Workaholic singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jason Falkner, soon to be heard on Air's long-awaited LP 10,000 Hz Legend, is once again up to his elbows in projects, including one reuniting him with a former bandmate.

Dubbed Softcore, the mini-supergroup finds Falkner playing alongside Beck/Moog Cookbook keyboardist Roger Manning Jr., with whom he worked in the candy-colored power-pop band Jellyfish, who scored a small hit in 1990 with "Baby's Coming Back." "Every time I would run into Roger, we would say, 'We should do something post-all-the-Jellyfish drama,' " Falkner said.

Additional seeds were sown by Falkner's work with a more recent collaborator, ex-Redd Kross drummer Brian Reitzell. Having crossed paths in Air's atmosphere — Reitzell played on the band's score for "The Virgin Suicides" and also appears on the French duo's next LP — the drummer invited Falkner to sing on Logan's Sanctuary, a faux-soundtrack album concocted by himself and Manning.

"It was so much fun, we said, 'We should do this again. Do something early Gary Numan and just take it to an extreme,' " Falkner explained. "[Softcore is] definitely kind of a nod to late-'70s synth-power-pop, like early Cars, but more angular and cold. So I guess it's sort of more British. "Some of it's a nod to early Heaven 17 or Duran Duran, but none of us wanted to make it a joke record, like, 'Look at those guys reliving their John Hughes period.' I think it's a very original record, but it has nods in those directions." Falkner said Softcore is currently trying to decide "the scope of the thing" before committing to a record deal — the band is shopping labels and has one offer on the table — or to live shows. "I don't think we are going to go play Branson, Missouri, or anything. People would be upset," Falkner said, laughing. "We'll definitely play some dates when the record is released." In other Falkner news, obsessive collectors will be turning to Japan in March when a double-disc B-sides/rarities compilation, Everyone Says It's On, is released on Airmail Records. One disc comprises a previously unreleased all-covers album recorded by Falkner at the tail-end of his tenure with the Grays, which also featured Jon Brion.

"I did it in '94, so some of it is kind of old for me," he said, "so I included a newer cover of a Left Banke song ['Pretty Ballerina'] and a cover of 'Photograph' by Def Leppard that I did for a metal compilation [1998's 'Metal Rulz']. Some of the other covers are Joni Mitchell's 'Both Sides Now' and [Brian] Eno's 'Burning Airlines.' I'm sure it will make it over here as an import." The other Everyone disc features a smattering of songs Falkner recorded at home. Some of these tracks will be combined with more unreleased home recordings for a domestic compilation, "Necessity - The 4-Track Years," which is scheduled to be released on spinART Records in April.

Even with the flurry of releases in the pipeline — and just weeks away from going in for shoulder surgery — Falkner was busy in a friend's studio working on new material.

"I'm super-excited, because I have a bunch of great new solo things," Falkner said. "I'm trying to do five or six songs before I'm laid out for two months, so I can be shopping while I'm down."

• Jason Falkner
• Redd Kross

Fans of intelligent pop got a special treat recently in Los Angeles, as multi-instrumentalist/singer-songwriter Jason Falkner wowed the crowds at two club dates that debuted a crop of new songs as well as a band of familiar faces from the worlds of power pop and roots rock.

"My friend started booking a night at a small club called Three Clubs here in L.A.," Falkner told MTV News of how the idea came about. "He really wanted me to play sometime, and after seeing Elliott Smith play there solo, I decided I wanted to rock the place with a full band."

The band, which featured Dave Gibbs (Gigolo Aunts) on bass, Jason Sutter (Jack Drag, Ben Lee) on drums, and keyboardist Chris Joyner (Soul Asylum and The Wallflowers, to name just two) came together almost by accident.

"I had recently seen Dave Gibbs at a party, and he said he wanted to get together and play," Falkner said. "I called Sutter, who recently moved here, and he was into it. I've known Chris for years. The whole thing fell together pretty easily.

"The original idea was just to throw a lineup together for a small club gig," he added, "but when we started to play, it was sounding so good. I originally intended the band to be pretty loose, but my perfectionist tendencies started to kick, so I thought, 'Let's book another show, a real show, and use it as a showcase.'"

Falkner, whose history includes stints as a member of pop legends Jellyfish, The Grays, and The Three O'Clock (as well as a sideman for the likes of Chris Cornell, Rufus Wainwright, and Eric Matthews), recently parted ways with his record company, Elektra Records, which released his solo LPs "Jason Falkner Presents Author Unknown" in 1996 and "Can You Still Feel?" in 1999. Despite overwhelming positive press and a solid fan base for both records, artist and label ceased to see eye to eye.

"In many ways, it's the typical story," Falkner said of his former label. "Not long after my first record, the people who signed me left the label. It wasn't a matter of the label not liking my music; there just weren't the right people in the right places championing it. Times have really changed, and right now most labels are only interested in releasing stuff that is extremely obvious.

"I've spent my whole life trying to develop music that is challenging," Falkner explained. "My next label is going to have to be one that is interested in something challenging, because that's what I do."

Quite a few labels appear to be interested, judging by the number of reps in attendance at Vinyl, the site of Falkner's second, and much larger, L.A. show.

"There were at least ten labels that I saw people from," he noted. "But I was really happy to see so many fans." Among those fans were members of Counting Crows, Fountains Of Wayne, and Weezer, as well as "Mr. Show" comedian David Cross.

The crowd enjoyed a nice mix of rockers and ballads, songs from Falkner's previous albums, and a number of super-catchy new songs such as "Start All Over Again" and "Do The Runaround" which suggested an evolving sound for the singer-songwriter.

"I've been trying to make my songs a little more direct, for better or worse," Falkner said. "I always try to write very honestly, but in the past I have woven a fair bit of abstraction into my music, both musically and lyrically. For some reason, the new songs are sounding best more stripped down."

Judging by the enthusiastic crowd reaction at his recent shows, Falkner seems to be on the right track, both with his new material and his onstage recruits.

"I play everything on my records, so I never really need a permanent band. It's kind of too bad," he said with a laugh. "Playing with these guys is really fun. It sounds like a real band."

• Jason Falkner