Morningwood heats up to the `Nth Degree'

ALTERNATIVE-ROCK BAND COMES TO SANTA CRUZ

By Jon Matsumoto

Special to the Mercury News

The New York alt-rock band Morningwood has a spitfire lead singer, Chantal Claret, a '70s rock-pop sound, and a major-label debut with amped-up tunes such as ``Nth Degree,'' ``Jetsetter'' and ``New York Girls.''

On stage, the band lets the good times roll. Some fans consider the song ``Take Off Your Clothes'' an invitation to do just that, egged on by sexy, fun-loving Claret.

``Chantal started going out in the crowd and finding a cute boy or girl to make out with during that song,'' says bassist-songwriter Pedro Yanowitz. ``Now, there are people who just come up on stage voluntarily. Sometimes nudity happens spontaneously. It can get crazy. I don't even really watch it anymore. It's its own thing.''

Morningwood, which plays Saturday at the Catalyst in Santa Cruz, has been warned by police in some cities where it has played about the consequences of breaking decency laws. Claret has responded by checking IDs of the fans who come on stage to make sure they aren't minors.

Yanowitz realized the singer was something special when he met her in 2001 at a birthday party for Sean Lennon in New York. The son of the late Beatles member asked each of the partygoers to sing a song, impromptu. Claret floored the others with a number reminiscent of Billie Holiday, something she said she had come up with in the shower during high school. At the time, Claret was a film major in college with no plans to go into music.

``It all happened very, very quickly,'' says Yanowitz of getting her involved in the band. ``I called her up a couple of days after the party. . . . I told her I was looking to start a band. We talked on the phone all day and laughed a lot. We became fast friends. Almost as an afterthought I said, `Do you want to be in the band?' ''

Now in his late 30s, Yanowitz is the musical architect of the group. Claret, 23, writes the lyrics.

Claret loves being constantly in the limelight. Yanowitz, previously a drummer for the Wallflowers, Money Mark and Natalie Merchant, switched to bass so he could play a bigger role.

``I got to the point where I thought, `I can just be a drummer in somebody else's band, or I could start my own band and start writing songs,' '' he says. ``It was my natural progression to grow. I'm so excited to be out from behind the drum kit. I had to teach myself how to play bass. I never had a lesson.''

Even though he's doing what he likes, Yanowitz feels new pressure as the band's main songwriter. He points out the group had three or four years to accumulate quality material for its major-label debut, but now it must come up with material for a second disc in about half that time while simultaneously touring.

``Bands have a long time to write their first record, and then they are expected to write their second record in an incredibly busy year or two years,'' Yanowitz says. ``It's like you hope you're truly open to the creative spirit wherever you are, whether it's in a hotel room or on a stairwell. It's like cramming for school. But sometimes those late nights staying up before the test really pay off.''Morningwood

With the Lashes

Where: The Catalyst, 1011 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz

When: 9 p.m. Saturday

Tickets: $15, $12 advance

Call: (831) 423-1338