A new day for Save Ferris as it moves to House of Blues

Kirk Baird

Friday, April 12, 2002 | 9:47 a.m.

B>Who: Save Ferris.

When: 7 p.m. Saturday.

Where: House of Blues at Mandalay Bay.

Tickets: $20.

Information: (702) 632-7600.

There is something to be said for fresh starts.

Politicians regularly employ them as a campaign motto to cover their tracks.

Troubled athletes invariably mention having a "clean slate" when they are traded to a new franchise.

And how many college students didn't at one time look forward to a new semester of classes and grades.

So it goes for Save Ferris, the ska/punk/pop outfit from Orange County, Calif., that performs Saturday at House of Blues at Mandalay Bay.

Perhaps best known for its cover of Dexy's Midnight Runners' "Come on Eileen," Save Ferris first hit it big in September 1997 with the band's major-label debut, "It Means Everything," on Epic Records.

Two years later the band released its second album, "Modified."

And then ... well, there has been some touring, some personnel changes, side projects and a year ago Save Ferris left Epic.

As 24-year-old lead singer Monique Powell put it: "We're doing a complete overhaul right now of our staff. We were like, 'Screw it. New (record) label, new manager, new booking agent ... ' "

So with all this change, it is refreshing to hear optimism in Powell's voice. It is not just with her, she assures, but is indicative of the entire band.

"I think since we left Epic the whole (outlook) of the band has taken a step toward the positive turn. It was something we wanted for a while before Epic released us from our contract," she said in a recent interview from her home in Los Angeles.

"That's not to say it wasn't a good label. The AR (artist relations) guy who signed us is so cool. You sign with a label because you like the people there and you're thinking they are working hard for you. And two years later you turn around and they're not there. It's a difficult situation."

So what is a band to do? In the case of Save Ferris, it keeps playing and recording and working to make something happen again with a new record label.

On the road periodically since the last album, Save Ferris has been working on its next record for two years now, Powell said. In the process, the band has become a bit of a perfectionist about its new sound, which is a little more mainstream than the previous efforts.

"I think it's a little more of a pop direction, but I don't want to scare anybody into thinking we've turned into something we're not, which we haven't," she said. "We've always written good pop songs, or at least tried to. I can't really say it's in a completely new direction, but it's going to be fun, whatever it is."

The same musical direction could also be said of No Doubt, the other female-fronted Orange County ska band to make it big. Both bands have pin-up caliber lead singers and are all over the musical map, but find a way to remain rooted in pop music.

It's little wonder, then, No Doubt is the one band to which Save Ferris is most often compared. At least, it used to be.

"We don't get asked that so much anymore. They're just a whole different generation," Powell said. "I almost feel like ... I don't know, it's a whole different situation. I have to say, growing up in Orange County, it was a lot of fun watching their success from the beginning."

But, she added, the comparison between bands is often made by journalists who cannot think of anything else to say.

"It's easier that way," she said.

Consider this, then, a fresh start.