COUNTING JOES; LOCAL BAND RECORDS ON DURITZ'S LABEL.

Byline: Fred Shuster Music Writer

It often takes talent and an unusually lucky rabbit foot to propel a band to notice. In the case of local quartet Joe 90, it required a crow - a Counting Crow to be exact.

Things started rolling for Joe 90 last year when Counting Crows singer Adam Duritz inexplicably began dropping by their frequent gigs at Hollywood's Opium Den.

Duritz was launching his own label, E Pluribus Unum Recordings, and looking for acts to sign. Joe 90, formerly known as God's Child, fit the bill.

``He asked us up to the house where Counting Crows were making their new record and told us about the label,'' said Chris Seefried, Joe 90's singer-guitarist. ``He had us see the way they record. What happens is, they rent a house, put their gear in and start working in a very low-key way. So, we found a guest house, brought our gear there and created our own studio to make our record.''

The result is Joe 90's recently issued debut album, ``Dream This'' (E Pluribus Unum/Interscope). The band appears Oct. 16 at the Downtown Alive '99 street fair to celebrate the opening of Staples Center.

Joe 90 - the name stems from a '60s British kids' TV show - will open Counting Crows' winter tour that includes dates Dec. 6 and 8-9 at the Wiltern Theatre. The Crows' ``This Desert Life'' is due in stores Nov. 2.

Seefried sang on the Crows' album track ``I Wish I Was a Girl'' while Duritz returned the favor on Joe 90's ``Drive'' and ``Dream This'' opener ``Ferris Wheel.''

Produced by Seefried and Joe 90 drummer Adam Hamilton (and mixed in part by Tony Visconti, who's worked with David Bowie, Paul McCartney and T. Rex), ``Dream This'' is notable for its sunny melodies and dark lyrics.

``We would've gone to a studio but we saw how intimate and cool the Crows' recording scene was,'' Seefried offered. ``We didn't face any time factor. We weren't watching the clock and we had all this time to make things right. We could spend a week on the basic tracks on a single song. We didn't have any pressure.''

Seefried was a founding member of God's Child, which released an album in 1994 on Qwest/Warner Bros. The self-produced disc spawned the track ``Everybody's 1,'' which landed on the modern-rock charts.

The band relocated to Los Angeles in 1995 to make a second album and eventually morphed into Joe 90.

``There's a real communal feeling to the scene here,'' Seefried said. ``Adam gave us lots of good advice, like you should always live your dream and make the record you want to make. And these days, we're producing Jennifer Stills, daughter of Stephen Stills. We like that sense of community we've fallen into here.''

THE FACTS

Who: Joe 90.

Where: Star Lounge stage, Downtown Alive '99 street fair, Figueroa Street, between Ninth and 11th streets.

When: 1:30 p.m. Oct. 16.

Tickets: No charge.

CAPTION(S):

Photo

Photo: Joe 90 - Gary DeRosa, left, Chris Seefried, Adam Hamilton and Craig Ruda - will open for Counting Crows on the Crows' winter tour.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer