Thurs. May 1

You may have seen  Reid Paley Trio opeing for Frank Black, aka Black Francis, aka the singer of the Pixies. The two are pals; the Pixies borrowed some of stylings with his band the Five, when he wrote Pixies songs. Black's touring without Paley at present but Paley - a former Bostonion, now a New Yorker - comes back to play the Plough & Stars Thurs. May 1.  He and his two bandmates should raise a ruckus with his dark, yet celebratory, raw rock ‘n’ roll. Think of a zone somewhere between psychobilly and punk rock and toss gruff Tom Waits-like vocals in the mix.

Some time ago, Paley formed the Five in Pittsburgh. He moved the band to Boston for about five years  and now lives in Brooklyn, playing solo and with his Trio. We checked in with Paley – who released a CD called “Approximate Hellhound vs. The Monkey Demon” last year -  about what he’s been up to. First we wanted to know what an “approximate” hellhound might be…
“There’s a little more self-awareness in what I do than in the common run of un-self-aware faux rebellion that is being marketed,” says Paley. “I realize the world ran out of irony ten years ago. Irony is being used by too many people, like people too young to handle the ramifications use fireworks. It all started with MTV - rock as a career choice. Architecture or rock? Jazz is based around a unique personality of an instrumentalist. Rock is more song, singer-oriented and hence it’s easier to steal. Most people that are successful in rock are cartoons, you have to be one or two dimensional. People get confused when more than one thing is being said. Everything is styled after advertising. To me, I do what I do. If you have any intelligence, you have to have a fiercely ambivalent attitude toward everything. I don’t specifically dumb it down. People call me cynical, but the least cynical thing you can do is write a song and play it.”Paley’s music cover a lot of turf – smart ‘n’ dirty, raucous and occasionally tender, full-throttle and clanging. “It’s a weird animal, what I do,” says Paley, “but it’s not that weird I think, I  think it’s a good timey fun record. I’m the most good timey depressed guy in the world.” Which leads into a discussion of embracing duality. “Call it manic depression,” Paley says, “or just having a personality.”
    Paley tries to remain as self-contained as possible. “I’ve had labels, booking agents, but it’s usually been better for me to do it my own,” he says. “Every time I let somebody drive the bus I end up on the side of the road with my legs ripped off.” But, he says, there’s really no other choice but music. “I’ve been doing it my entire life, obviously I can’t stop,” he says.  “This is something that chooses you. I never wanted to be a rock star. It’s a pathology, what I do. I beat on an old guitar and yell to a roomful of drunks, they applaud, then buy me drinks and tell me how nice I’m nice I am. I wanna take what I feel in my gut and stick it in yours. And hopefully make you think and walk in my shoes for a minute. I like playing for people, that’s part of it. As long as anybody wants me to play I’ll play.”
Parting thoughts (though he actually said this early in our talk): “Happiness is relative. I never got the whole idea. Back to Sartre: Hell is other people.” It's a 10 pm. show and the cover is just $5. Opening: MG. Lederman.

912 Massachusetts Ave. Cambridge, 617-576-0032 www.ploughandstars.com