Band makes rock simply spiritual.

Byline: LEWIS TAYLOR The Register-Guard

THE HARD ROCK band P.O.D. emerged 10 years ago from the Southern California border town of San Ysidro. Since then, the multiethnic, Christian-crossover, rap-metal band has continued to straddle different worlds.

"I think Californians are a little bit more diverse than people in other places," says Traa Daniels, the band's bass player and backup vocalist, in a telephone interview from the road. "They're more open to other cultures. I think it's one of the things that's helped mold and influence P.O.D.

`I think we're very `from California.' '

Along with Daniels, P.O.D. (Payable on Death) includes Marcos Curiel (guitar, vocals) and cousins Noah "Wuv" Bernardo (drums, vocals) and Sonny Sandoval (lead vocals). The band will be at the McDonald Theatre on Sunday for a show with Fenix TX and Blindside.

Criticized by metal heads for being too religious and chastised by conservative Christians for touring with the Godless rap-metal band Korn, P.O.D. has lost some of its fans by being too many different things at once. Still, the platinum-selling success of the group's latest album, "Satellite," suggests the band is doing something right.

That something, Daniels says, is that the group has remained true to itself.

"I define us as a spiritual band - as a rock band," Daniels says. "We've never really considered ourselves a Christian band, but our beliefs definitely inspire everything we sing about."

Along with rap, metal and Jesus, P.O.D. also mixes in reggae, soul, rock, Rastafarianism and Judaism. The group often performs before a backdrop of a dreadlocked Jesus with brown skin, and the band's musical influences read like a CD-of-the-month catalog.

The new album features appearances by the Jamaican toaster Eek-A-Mouse and by HR, vocalist for the rock band Bad Brains. The first single, "Alive," borrows from the U2 songbook of uplifting lyrics (`I feel so alive for the very first time/ I can't deny you/ I feel so alive/ And I think I can fly').

Another song, "Youth of the Nation," addresses the American plague of high school shootings (`Instead of taking a test/ I took two in the chest'). The group started writing the song after the Columbine High School shootings and finished immediately after the Santana High School incident, which took place in Santee, Calif., just northeast of San Diego and practically in P.O.D.'s back yard.

"That day really made it clear that we needed to finish that song," Daniels says. "It was an easy song to write. When you're writing from something that's real, it tends to be easier to write because it's coming from a place that's not forced or fake.

`That was a very real situation."

Complexity is not something P.O.D. does well, but emotional and lyrical simplicity seem to be part of what the group is striving for. After Sept. 11, Daniels says, the idea of powerful, hard-driving music that's also inspirational and positive is more appealing than ever.

Ironically, Sept. 11 was the release date for "Satellite."

"It was a pretty dark day for us," Daniels says. "It was supposed to be a very important day for us, but music has a tendency to not seem so important sometimes."

Daniels says that while other bands may be trying to exploit the Sept. 11 tragedies by writing songs they normally wouldn't, his band has never changed its course.

"The thing that makes me feel good is that we've always written music like this," Daniels says.

Although P.O.D.'s basic recipe has not been altered, the group's previous release, "Fundamental Elements of Southtown," was slightly less spiritual. The million-selling major label debut, which has been described as a concept album about life in a California border town, showed a grittier side of the band.

` `Fundamental' is a little bit more raw,' Daniels says. `We were kind of in the learning stages. We had just been signed, and we went into the studio and banged it out.

` `Satellite' is a graduation album.'

This time around, the band spent not just hours, but months, in the studio. Many of the songs were conceived and born during the recording sessions. All told, 20 songs were recorded, and 15 ended up on the finished album.

"We were still trying to work jobs back then," Daniels says. "This album, we were so anxious to get in the studio and start writing.

"We were ecstatic."

When Daniels first joined up with P.O.D., in 1992, he wasn't sure he wanted to have anything to do with rock music. Born in Cleveland, he had grown up in Southern California listening almost exclusively to R&B, soul and jazz.

But, he says, he soon realized he was dealing with something other than a typical rock band.

"I still don't really listen to rock music. I don't really draw from rock music. I don't know how to write a rock bass riff. I only know how to write from where my roots are."

While Daniels' roots provide a soulful undercurrent to P.O.D.'s music, other members bring their own varied influences.

Curiel is a former punk rock guitarist. Sandoval and Bernardo were both heavily influenced by a Rastafarian uncle. Curiel lists AC/DC, U2 and Santana as favorites. Daniels praises Marvin Gaye and the Isley Brothers. Sandoval brings up Dennis Brown and Black Uhuru, and Bernardo lists Bad Brains and 24-7 Spyz as influences.

Daniels thinks that the group's wide-ranging musical tastes are a major reason for its musical success. He says rock bands that only listen to rock - and Christian groups that only listen to Christian music - are limiting themselves musically.

"I listen to whatever sounds good," Daniels says.

As have other Christian bands that crossed over onto the mainstream charts, members of P.O.D. do not like to be pigeonholed as a strictly Christian band. Without disavowing his faith, Daniels believes the label is both unfair and inaccurate.

"If you look at the Beastie Boys, they're all Buddhist, but nobody has ever considered them a Buddhist band," Daniels says. "And U2 is always spiritual.

`When P.O.D. started, there was no Christian music scene. It was just us jamming at keg parties. We would play for anybody that would let us play."

Entertainment reporter Lewis Taylor can be reached by phone at 338-2512 and by e-mail at [e-mail].

P.O.D.

WITH: Fenix TX, Blindside

WHEN: 8 p.m. Sunday

WHERE: McDonald Theatre, 1010 Willamette St.

TICKETS: $20 advance through Fastixx, $22 day of show

ALSO: To hear music from P.O.D.'s new album, "Satellite," call GuardLine at 485-2000 from a touch-tone phone and select category 7664

CAPTION(S):

P.O.D. is (from left) bassist Traa Daniels, drummer "Wuv" Bernardo, singer Sonny Sandoval and guitarist Marcos Curiel. P.O.D.'s people