Image isn’t everything

Jonathan Weber

Friday, June 25, 1999 | 3:19 a.m.

First published July 18, 1995.

"We thought if the music was good, people would like us."

Sensible, pragmatic and not too darn bad an answer for 11:30 a.m. (that's about 5:30 a.m. Rock Musicians Standard time). It's also Hootie and the Blowfish bassist Dean Felber's theory behind the band's generally short hair and incredibly giant No. 1 release, "Cracked Rear View." Ultimately, the South Carolina quartet simply doesn't regard "looks" as a top priority.

"We had a friend who said, 'Let the music tell the story,"' Felber said of the band's grungless, unband-like appearance. "Having long hair in South Carolina is hard. It gets so damn hot and humid. It didn't make any sense to us."

Hootie music, now that's another kettle of fish.

In spite of their noncommercial outlook, it's the numbers that tell the story. Five million copies of "Cracked Rear View" sold in less than a year. Three very hum-able singles ("Hold My Hand," "Let Her Cry," "I Only Want to Be With You") have lodged themselves comfortably into the Billboard charts and VH1 rotations. Not bad for a overnight success.

"I don't get mad when you say overnight success," Felber said with a laugh. "Unless you're from the Southeast, you probably haven't heard of us before."

Running around the countryside in sweaters, jeans and a moniker ripe for ridicule -- are these guys are for real or just so extremely well-planned (and groomed) that they appear to be unplanned?

Felber contends you can't be like "this" and not mean it.

"We're very natural people," Felber said flatly. "Most of the time we're very nice. Most people see the media machine. Anyone can dress up for the media. Presidents do it all the time.

"We never had an image. I guess that's our image.

"We can't just arrive early, get out our wardrobe and dress up. Whatever we're wearing that day, that's what we wear onstage. Unless someone's wearing something really stupid. Then we crack on him. I mean, come on. We're used to bars and college parties."

Nearly 10 years of bars and college parties. The standard pay for Felber, lead singer Darius Rucker, guitarist Mark Bryan and drummer Jim Sonefeld (the only member with past-shoulder-length hair) while finishing up at the University of South Carolina: $30 a night and beer.

Several years later, in 1989, things would shape up measurably. With a little foresight and a business degree, Felber engineered Fishco Inc., a fully functional corporation that paid each Blowfish $8,000 a year and health insurance.

"I knew enough to realize that there's too much at stake to just split the money up at the end of the night," Felber explained. "We didn't have that much. We were beginning to grow before we had the money to grow."

Yet without much earnest money or any major label support, Hootie and the Blowfish flourished. In the lean years of the early '90s, the band netted more than $250,000 in T-shirt sales alone, worked a vigorous nightclub schedule and sold 50,000 copies of their self-produced EP "Koochypop."

A lot of activity for a band with a strange name (taken from two of Rucker's college pals, one with big eyes and the other with big cheeks) and a nondescript look.

And finally, someone noticed. Someone who wouldn't mess with their formula for success.

"We couldn't say no to Atlantic (Records)," Felber said. "The people we met, the attitude we got from them, it was perfect. They said, 'We don't want to take you and change you. We want to make sure you don't change.'"

True to their word, Atlantic took on the exotic species of fish-folk rockers, protecting them from eventual extinction in the hazy, independent realm. One year after getting signed, it's still folksy blues rock, just like it's always been. Heck, the guys still like hanging out in local taverns after finishing a set on the current tour, which runs through August.

"We really like doing that," Felber said of mixing with locals after the show. "It takes you away from the stage -- makes you another person. They expect you to be a little rock-starish, but it's not really a problem. Except for Darius, we're not that recognizable. I can hang out and no one knows who I am. That's pretty cool."

In fact, Felber rejects the notion that his band has become a recognizable symbol for American folk rock. He claims it's not the right time for a label like that yet. Apparently using the intuitive foresight that got him this far, Felber is conservative in his predictions for the band's feet-up-on-the-desk success.

"We're so far away from it right now," Felber said, "and that's the thing that separates us from Mellencamp and R.E.M. -- longevity. There are bands who disappear after one album."

But with studio time slotted for September, Felber and company have already written the material for their next album. Frankly, no one in the Hootie camp is overly concerned about equaling the success of previous Southeastern folk legends or even their own recent multiplatinum efforts. For Felber, it's one album at a time.

"It's been our goal to produce and sell more than one album. Ten years down the road and you still want to talk to us, that's when we can say we've done what we set out to do."

Hootie and the Blowfish

WHEN: 8:30 p.m. July 25-26.

WHERE: Hard Rock's The Joint.

TICKETS: Sold out both nights.