It's Party Time As Jr. Cadillac Turns A Young 21

Jr. Cadillac is Seattle's most beloved band - oops, Ned Neltner hates it when I say that. He says it makes his band sound like a stuffy old relic, which of course it isn't. The remarkable thing about Cadillac is that for two decades it's been rocking like crazy, always coming up with new tunes and retooling its style. The band has never been boring. And it gives great parties. It's annual anniversary bashes have become highlights of the rock year. Tonight at 9 it celebrates its 21st birthday at the Sheraton Grand Ballroom. As usual, it will be a star-studded event, with performances by Little Bill & the Bluenotes, Dave Lewis, Merrilee Rush and KIRO's Monica Hart, who moonlights as a singer. Neltner, Cadillac's lead man all these years, is a cohort of Hart on KIRO-TV's "Inside Line." He's the Hipster Tipster who clues in viewers on such things as classic car lots, unsung musicians, obscure record stores and anything else that catches his fancy. Neltner has other irons in the fire, including a film project on the life of Gene Vincent, titled "Be Bop A Lula." He's signed the William Morris Agency to represent the projcet, and major studios have expressed interest. The party will be hosted by KISW "Twisted Radio" jocks Bob Rivers and Spike O'Neill, who will do one of their twisted tunes. Jr. Cadillac will add a horn section, percussion and backup vocals to their regular lineup. As usual, many local musicians will jam with the band. Tickets are $15 from Ticketmaster.

-- Pearl Jam is on the cover of Rolling Stone. The Seattle band doesn't have its picture there but rather its name in big letters, referring to an inside story - a glowing report in the lead of the Rock & Roll section, with a color picture. The piece raves about the Seattle band's debut disc, "Ten," saying it's "the sort of album that makes you want to stand on a mountain and yell." The quick but convoluted formation of the band is attributed to some kind of divine intervention - it was founded by former Mother Love Bone bandmates Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament, and San Diego vocalist Eddie Vedder and Dallas drummer David Abbruzzesne came aboard through an amazing set of circumstances. The subtext of the piece is that the late MLB singer Andrew Wood, who died last year of a drug overdose, has something to do with Pearl Jam's good fortune. The story also explains the origin of the band's name - it comes from a "hallucinogenic preserve" Vedder's great-grandmother used to make.

-- Heart's new "Rock the House Live!" album is having an inauspicious beginning. It has dropped to No. 143 on the Billboard 200 Top Albums chart, after opening at No. 107. Heart's last three albums all reached the top three. But the band can take heart from the fact that "You're the Voice," a cut from the LP, is the "power track of the week" on rock radio. The cut's exposure throughout the country should translate into album sales. Meanwhile, Nirvana's "Nevermind" jumps to No. 109 in Billboard in its second week on the chart, after opening at No. 144. Interestingly, Soundgarden's new album, "Badmotorfinger" released about the same time, has yet to make the chart. Among other Seattle bands, Queensryche's "Empire" is at No. 51, after having been on the chart for 57 weeks, and Alice in Chains' "Facelift" is at No. 104 after 26 weeks.

-- Back in the early 1970s, Gabriel was one of the most popular bands around here. It was one of few local groups at the time that released albums on major labels - first on Elektra and later on ABC. It was a tight, professional, mainstream pop group that had plenty of strong original tunes. Frank Butorac, who wrote most of the material, still is writing songs - he was a finalist last year in the Billboard Songwriting Contest, and his "It Could Happen to You," was recorded by Eddie Money on his "No Control" LP. Gabriel is having a reunion show at 8 p.m. Sunday at Parker's, along with another memorable band from the past, the Legendary Beachcombers, which goes back even further - to the early 1960s. Known then at the Beachcombers, the group was a contemporary of Kingsmen, the Sonics, the Wailers and other legendary Northwest rock bands of the era. The Beachcombers' biggest single was "Chinese Bagpiper," a typically wacko Northwest rocker. Tickets for the show are $8.

-- Members of Sweet Water, My Sisters Machine, Lazy Susan and others will play at a benefit Thursday at RKCNDY for the funk band Molasses. Proceeds will help the band replace its equipment, lost in a fire earlier this month at its rehearsal space at Third and Washington, a facility that has been used by many bands over the years, including Soundgarden, Green River and Mother Love Bone. Members of other bands are also expected to join in the benefit jam. There's a lot of stuff to replace - Molasses has nine members.