Trans Am revs it up

Call it rock, call it electronica, call it a soundtrack to an old Atari game: no matter how you try, it's hard to put the music of Trans Am into words. It's kind of like trying to describe a bagel with cream cheese and lox to somebody who's never tried it: you know it's good, it's just hard to describe.

Magazines have compared Trans Am to Tortoise, Devo, Pink Floyd and BruceSpringsteen. Since 1992 Trans Am has been creating music using guitar, bass and a number of ancient budget keyboards which, to protect the originality of their sound, they refuse to release the brand names of. They've released four albums, each one decidedly different from the other, yet they all fuse rock with electronic and sampled sounds.

Trans Am, which includes members from Oberlin College, started off as three guys wanting to play guitar rock. Not one of them could sing, so their first three albums (the first of which is rumored to have been recorded at WOBC's Studio B) have no vocals. Futureworld, the latest Trans Am invention, includes what they call "electronic vocals." No matter what they add to their music, or what they call it, Trans Am is constantly pushing the envelope of what rock is and where rock should go. In an age where most rock bands have either dissapeared or turned into boy-pop, Trans Am is keeping rock alive and well.

The kids are originally from Washington DC, but they are undoubtedly part of the Chicago scene. As a part of the Thrill Jockey family they are often clumped into the "post-rock" category, a label the band resents. They are, however, comparable to many of their Thrill Jockey brothers in that a lot of their work is instrumental, and all of it rocks.

Trans Am appears with The Champs at the 'Sco tonight at 10 p.m., in a joint production by WOBC and Concert Board. $3 OCID, $5 others.