FREELOADERS' PERSISTENCE GETS THE GIG.

Byline: Fred Shuster Daily News Music Writer

By day, they deliver pizzas for an Italian restaurant. By night, the unsigned Woodland Hills blues-rock quartet called the Freeloaders snags high-profile gigs without so much as a glossy photo.

How do they do it? It must be the music.

``What happened was, we put together a tape we gave to all the clubs,'' explained pianist Adam Merrin. ``And once we played one show, they'd ask us back on the weekends.''

In the nine months the band has been performing, the Freeloaders have scored prime nights at name clubs like the Troubadour, the Whisky, the Alligator Lounge and Jack's Sugar Shack. The band's next date is Dec. 13 at the Troubadour in West Hollywood.

``In general, it's very difficult for new bands to get good bookings,'' Merrin, 23, said. ``I've learned that persistence and following up is important. Getting things done in a positive way. In the beginning, when we wanted to play the Troubadour, we had to keep calling back for four months.

``But word of mouth has played a part, since we bring in a lot of fans. The clubs make good money on the nights we play.''

The Freeloaders - Keith Slettedahl (vocals-guitar), Carlos Torres (bass), Mark Vasapolli (drums) and Merrin - boast an energetic, bluesy sound that draws fans to the dance floor.

``We have no management or lawyer at the moment,'' Merrin said. ``We're doing everything ourselves. Our goal is to play the House of Blues and the Palace, but we'd really like to go on the road opening for a major act. And hopefully, we'll have our own tour one day.''

Merrin and Slettedahl share a job delivering Italian food throughout the Valley. It's the ideal survival job for a working musician, they say.

``It's perfect hours,'' Merrin said. ``I deliver and get to put up fliers for our shows wherever I go.''

The Freeloaders draw inspiration from everyday life. One of the songs on the band's self-produced tape is titled ``The Grocery Queen,'' dedicated to a particularly friendly clerk at the Pavilions store in Burbank.

``We see her whenever we have a band rehearsal, since we buy beer there,'' Merrin said Tuesday. ``We gave her a tape and she liked it a lot.''

Recently, tragedy struck as Merrin was moving his unusually heavy Yamaha keyboard set-up home after a gig.

``We accidentally dropped it on my roommate's toe,'' the pianist said sheepishly. ``He's been on crutches for the last two weeks.''

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Photo

Photo: The Freeloaders, a Woodland Hills-based blues-rock band, are Adam Merrin, left, Carlos Torres, Mark Vasapolli and Keith Slettedahl.