Funny guys, serious musicians.

Byline: Serena Markstrom The Register-Guard

Fact: The title track from this Portland band's latest album, "Astor in Paris," was inspired by Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla.

Torsoism: The band's violinist, Bela Balogh, is a passionate amateur historian who retraced an Antarctic expedition by his hero, Ernest Shackleton. Balogh ended up frozen underwater for two years, surviving only through the kindness of penguins, who brought him fish to eat. (The penguins were extras in "March of the Penguins" and thus used to humans).

The ordeal inspired the song "The Life and Times of Saint Penguin."

The men of 3 Leg Torso have so much fun with what they do, people who find themselves in a room where they are playing live hardly can resist their charms.

The trick is getting people who are unfamiliar with the music into the room in the first place when all they know of the band is that it plays "chamber pop" or "instrumental European folk." Those things just sound kind of boring.

Trust us, 3 Leg Torso is not boring.

Like pure light through a prism, 3 Leg Torso absorbs tango, European folk and other world music traditions and refracts it into music of its own invention. The result sounds as natural as a rainbow looks; it's as if it could have been written yesterday or at the beginning of time.

"We're not traditionalists and we are not trying to re-create anything," one of the band's composers, Courtney Von Drehle, said.

The recorded music is exciting, but it's the live show that tells you who this band is.

Fact: The five-piece band played June 10 at Sam Bond's Garage.

Torsoism: It costs $5 to leave a 3 Leg Torso concert early.

Unusual style draws attention

During a recent Eugene show, two local celebrities made appearances.

Reggae singer Norma Fraser (`The First Cut Is the Deepest') took a seat near the front. She swung her fingers in the air, acting as a mock conductor.

Old Dancing Man was often the only person at the front of the stage. He did his trademark spin moves and graceful glides, occasionally recruiting others to share the dance floor.

But it was Balogh doing most of the moving, while band co-founder and accordion player Von Drehle directed the proceedings through his humorous narration.

Blending serious musical traditions with contemporary sensibilities is what has gotten 3 Leg Torso noticed by such media outlets as National Public Radio, Dirty Linen and Chamber Music Magazine. At Sam Bond's, Balogh's outfit embodied that musical philosophy.

Balogh wore a respectable dinner jacket, black trousers and indoor soccer shoes - the better to do rock 'n' roll jumps for one part of a song, then stand up straight and proper like a stately cartoon character for the next.

When I caught up with Balogh and Von Drehle at a Eugene juice bar on their way south for a swift tour of California, it was Von Drehle who won the fashion prize. He sported a bright green band T-shirt, Crocs footware and a checked green jacket.

The pair, who started 3 Leg Torso in 1996, said the colorful spoken introductions to instrumental music help the audience understand the songs. They also are a way to connect with people while performing music without lyrics.

"We make up things, sometimes on the spot," said Balogh, a third-generation musician.

Sometimes a story inspires a song, but usually the song comes first.

"A lot of it has to do with the title," Von Drehle chimed in. "It fits something, but in a way doesn't mean anything." But stories, such as one about a "Moroccan, Scottish, Sufi dance tune" that the band had to join a cult to learn, keep the audience on its feet.

The length of song (usually three to five minutes), interactions among band members and its musical innovations secure 3 Leg Torso as a "gateway drug" to get younger audiences interested in classical music.

Although the band doesn't play Mozart, it has impressed organizers of the San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival enough to be asked back for an encore.

"What we find, no matter who, if we play the music, they like the music," Balogh said.

Locally, 3 Leg Torso has played the McDonald Theatre, opening for Pink Martini a couple of times, and has headlined Luna and Sam Bond's on numerous occasions.

The band also makes music for movies and commercials. And it collaborates with symphony orchestras and performs in the Oregon Symphony's Chamber Music on Tap pub series.

Fact: 3 Leg Torso makes its Cottage Grove debut Wednes- day.

Torsoism: The song "Bill's Last Adventure" is about a reclusive logger from Cottage Grove.

CONCERT PREVIEW

3 Leg Torso

What: Eclectic chamber pop

When: 8 p.m. Wednesday

Where: The Axe and Fiddle, 647 Main St., Cottage Grove, Tickets: $5

On the Web: Listen to the band at www.registerguard .com/ticketfiles

You can call Serena Markstrom at 338-2371 or e-mail her at [e-mail].