`Play This!' -- Young And Straightforward, Subminute: Radio Is Gaining Popularity

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Subminute: radio, 8 p.m. tomorrow, Off Limits, 311 Puyallup Ave., Tacoma; $6, all ages, 627-6101. 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Moe's; $5, 323-2373. -----------------------------------------------------------------

The rock 'n' roll road to fortune and fame has known more than a few travelers barely old enough to drive. Some even younger.

Brenda Lee was 12 when she started in the '50s. Steve Winwood was singing "I'm a Man" when he was just 15. Even the Beatles were teenagers when they played the cellars of Hamburg.

The five members of the Gig Harbor-based rock group Subminute: radio were 15 years old when band member Ryan Taggart sent a tape of their songs to KNDD-FM disc jockey Marco Collins last year. The tape wasn't even in a case. It simply arrived in an envelope marked "Play this!" in crayon.

"It was totally out of nowhere," recalls Collins, "and it was so good I didn't believe it was them playing, so I made them come to the station and prove it."

They did, and Collins was so convinced of their talent that he became their mentor. He's featured their songs on his radio show and helped steer them to a manager, some Seattle club gigs and a new recording on which he's credited as "executive producer."

"I'm in a position to hear lots of stuff," Collins says, "but it's so worthwhile when you find a diamond in the rough. And the rougher it is, the better it feels."

Everything clicked

Subminute: radio formed two years ago when longtime pals Jake Knuth and Mike Lee began jamming together, Knuth on bass and Lee on guitar. They recruited drummer Taggart, whose dad had been a drummer, guitarist Chad Smith and vocalist Dillon Larkin. Everything clicked and they began writing songs. "Me and Mike had a vision," Knuth recalls, laughing. "We wanted to play original music and write cool songs."

Sitting around a cafeteria table, drinking coffee and munching candy and popcorn, the teens seem nonplused by their sudden success. Already they've been signed by local label Y records (the band's self-titled EP debuted at No. 82 on Soundscan's Seattle-Tacoma Top 100 chart last week) and have played nightclubs that more experienced musicians might never see. Next month they'll be at the prestigious music-industry talent showcase South By Southwest in Austin, Texas.

Locally the group has played both teen and 21-and-older venues, from RKCNDY to Moe's. But they prefer the all-ages shows, the ones for their peers.

"The guy at Moe's will tap his foot," says Larkin. "Or spill his drink on your foot pedals," adds Lee. "But the kids will jump on the stage," says Knuth. "Yeah," says Larkin smiling, "you can see them singing the words."

For guys who still have homework, the teens seem fairly savvy about the music industry.

"Things have been happening pretty fast," admits Knuth. "More in four months than in two years. In that respect, it blows our minds, but we still look back to the time when we practiced all the time for no reason."

More rock than ska, punk

Ska and hard-core punk are the music of choice for many young bands these days, but Subminute: radio is influenced more by mainstream rock.

"We listened to the Seattle thing when we started," says Knuth. "Alice in Chains, Nirvana, Screaming Trees and Soundgarden."

"I was always into classic rock," maintains Larkin. "I liked the Doors and the Beatles. I got some of it from my parents, but I was the one that introduced them to Led Zeppelin."

"For a lot of the kids, ska and punk are like `Star Wars,' " Smith offers. "The parents are like The Empire and the kids are into rebellion."

The band's style of music is well demonstrated on its EP - seven melodic, buzz-edged pop songs as much about fun as angst. The CD, released Feb. 4, is being played on KNDD (107.7) and, more recently, KISW-FM (99.9).

They're also getting recognized on the street. "In Gig Harbor everyone knows everyone from the first grade," says Larkin, "but we're getting, like, noticed at the mall and at movies. People come up to us."

And what about girls?

"Yeah," smirks Knuth. "The 14-year-olds are calling all the time."

Despite the heady buzz that rock 'n' roll success brings, there remain the realities of life: parents and school. (Knuth attends Curtis High School, Smith goes to Gig Harbor High School, Lee goes to Bellarmine Prep and Larkin and Taggart attend alternative schools.)

"My mom is the one that insists we have a chaperone when we travel," says Knuth evenly. "She doesn't trust us." They all laugh.

Larkin and Taggart say they transferred to alternative schools to devote more time to music. "It's a low priority right now," says Larkin of his studies.

"But we think about it," Knuth says. "What happens if suddenly you have no band and you're trying to get into college? What do you put on the application? `Uh, I made a record once.' "