OX PRIMED TO PLOUGH.

Byline: Elizabeth M. Cosin Daily News Staff Writer

The threesome that calls itself Babe the Blue Ox left Memphis and headed west Monday with one thing in mind: making the Grand Canyon before sundown Tuesday.

They got there a little after noon. Standing over the rim of the biggest hole in America, Hanna Fox, Tim Thomas and Rose Thomson, must have felt a flashback. After all, it wasn't so long ago they were feeling swallowed up in the music world.

These days, the Brooklyn-based band hovering on the punk side of rock 'n' roll is finding life a little bit easier. In the midst of a nationwide tour that brings them to the Troubadour in West Hollywood on Saturday, and with their first big-label record, they are playing before bigger audiences and receiving rave reviews.

``Really, what we wanted to do was make interesting music,'' percussionist Fox, 31, said from a hotel in Flagstaff, Ariz. ``We never really were consciously looking for a new sound or a new kind of music, we just wanted to do something that excited us. We didn't want to be bored.''

You won't be bored listening to Babe the Blue Ox, a name picked by Thomas, 29, and Thomson, 30, who grew up in the Midwest and thought the idea of a big, dramatic animal like Paul Bunyan's fabled pet fit their music.

The three friends met at Brown University in the early '80s and ended up settling in Brooklyn, where Rose and Hanna built a practice room in their apartment. They managed to record two albums on a small label in New York on a less-than-shoestring budget. Those records had a harder edge than ``People,'' on RCA's BMG label, which has a bit more of a groove to it.

Though the band has disappointed some of their alternative-leaning fans, they weren't looking to do anything but broaden their base.

``We want to make a connection with the audience,'' said Thomas, the band's main songwriter and guitar player. ``There was a time in my life where all I wanted to do was make music that pissed people off. This is not to say the next one might not be different.

``I guess this album is a bit softer,'' he said. ``But we wanted to reach out to a broader audience and bring them into the fold instead of saying goodbye to what we were doing before.''

Tickets for Saturday's show at the Troubador, 9081 Santa Monica Blvd., are $10. Show time is 9 p.m., doors open at 8. Information: [phone].

up & coming

The fifth annual Decorative Arts Treasure Hunt will give art lovers and treasure hunters an opportunity to solve riddles and clues as they explore the galleries of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. This fund-raiser begins at 6:30 today with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres on the Central Court. At 7 p.m., guests begin to solve clues based on visual elements of exhibit pieces. The grand prize is a trip for two to London. Tickets: $60 for the public. The museum is at 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. Call [phone].

Revlon supermodels Vendela and Karen Duffy are appearing at Sav-on Drug Stores on Friday to greet fans, sign autographs and recruit participants for the third annual Revlon Run/Walk for Women to benefit breast and ovarian cancer research. Vendela will be at the store at 511 N. Hollywood Way in Burbank from noon to 1:30 p.m.; and at 14735 Ventura Blvd. in Sherman Oaks from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Duffy will be at 2505 Santa Monica Blvd. in Santa Monica from noon to 1:30 p.m.; and at 13171 Mindanao Way in Marina del Rey from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Revlon consultants will be on hand for personal makeup tips at the Sherman Oaks and Santa Monica locations. Call [phone].

``Mama's in the Bahamas!,'' a three-day Mother's Day festival, will transform Topanga Plaza into a paradise filled with the sights, sounds and tastes of the Bahamas, kicking off with a performance by the Nassau Steel Drum Band from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday in the Center Court. Entry blanks for two vacation drawings will be available starting at 6 p.m. Friday. The fun continues Saturday with a Kid's Art Contest, Bahamian-style horse-drawn buggy rides, craft demonstrations and a special keepsake photo offering by Bahama's Scene Photos. Sunday activities will feature a Bahamian cooking demonstration, a repeat of the performance by the Nassau Steel Drum Band complete with Bahamian junkanoo dancers, a limbo contest and a drawing of the vacation winners. For more information, call [phone].

The Valley College Astronomy Club is sponsoring a planetarium show titled ``The Stars,'' at 8 p.m. Friday in the Planetarium on the campus, 5800 Fulton Ave., Van Nuys. Tickets: $3.50 general, $2.50 seniors and LAVC students, $2 children 8-16. Call [phone], Ext. 335.

``Quilt Faire '96'' will feature more than 100 quilts on display, a quilt drawing, a fashion show, special exhibits, a boutique and a small quilt auction, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at CSUN's University Student Union, 18111 Nordhoff St., Northridge. Donation: $5. All CSUN food concessions will be open. Wheelchair access is available from 9 to 10 a.m. only. Call [phone].

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Photo

Photo: On a national tour, Hanna Fox, top, Tim Thomas and R ose Thomson of Brooklyn-based Babe the Blue Ox hope to widen their appeal beyond the alternative crowd with their ``People'' album on RCA's BMG label.