SR-71

Raspy and road-weary, but definitely revved, is how SR-71 vocalist Mitch Allan sounded on the phone. Sure, he was two hours late for our scheduled interview, but when he sheepishly explained the circumstances - a 16-hour bus trip from Denver to Dallas - forgiveness was instant.

Life is a little crazy at the moment for this Baltimore-bred band. After scoring a pair of cheeky radio hits ("Right Now" and "Politically Incorrect") and selling more than a half million copies of their CD, SR-71 was tapped as opening act for Bon Jovi`s current American arena tour.

"The tour is sold out all across America. There`s not an empty seat in the house," Allan enthused.

SR-71 - named after the fastest U.S. military plane ever built - and new pals Bon Jovi shared the stage at Cleveland`s Gund Arena on a recent Saturday night. And yes, the show was sold out.

Q. So what`s it like touring with Bon Jovi?

A. Pretty amazing, I`ve got to tell you. The band couldn`t be any nicer or more generous to us. The first time we met them, we went to a bar and talked for two hours, just swapping stories. We`re basically from the same part of the country - we`re from Baltimore, they`re from Jersey - so we`ve got that East Coast mentality. Jon (Bon Jovi) is full of knowledge, and he`s definitely out to help us. We`re picking his brain every chance we get. I mean, this guy is an icon. He sells out stadiums in Europe.

Q. Are the Bon Jovi fans responsive to your music?

A. We go over great. They are a very different audience for us, but they`re music fans, and they`re loyal. These people have stuck with Jon for 20 years. We come out and play modern rock, and we yell and scream at `em until we`re all worked up into a frenzy. (Chuckles)

Q. I have to ask: Have you seen Heather Locklear (Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora`s wife) yet?

A. Oh yeah. My God. Is she near perfect or what? I wouldn`t dare approach her, though. We`ll have to be introduced.

Q. I love that you guys are keeping the power-pop tradition alive.

A. Thank you. People often ask us what type of music do we play and we tell them we`re like a modern-day Cheap Trick. Or we say we`re like the Beatles meets AC/DC. People get that one.

Q. Where do you guys fit in, exactly? So much of popular music right now is either teen-pop, rap-metal or hip-hop.

A. That all is about to end. Heavy music is eating itself alive, and the kids are finally getting over boy bands. You`re about to see a huge change in music. The next wave is bands that want to rock, but write melodies and have guys who can sing.

Q. Were you a popular band in Baltimore?

A. We had a huge following in Baltimore. We were called Honor Among Thieves. We had to play three hours a night, so we did a lot of cover tunes. We toured up and down the East Coast and we sold 7,000 copies of our indie CD out of the back of a van. We learned how to move a crowd. We had to.

Q. Do you feel your album captures the sound of the band?

A. People tell us the band is a lot harder live and more energetic. The next one will be more about our live sound. Basically, we put out this record, it went gold, and now we`re setting ourselves up for the next one. We`ve begun writing, and we have a lot of different ideas. The goal is to put out a second record that`s bulletproof.

Q. So you`re enjoying all this, huh?

A. We`re having a blast. We`re trying to figure out how you do this for 20 years without killing yourself.

(c) Copley News Service

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Author: Dan Kane