SUGAR RAY NOT AFRAID OF THE '80S.

Byline: Sandra Barrera Staff Writer

Sugar Ray was working on its new album, ``In the Pursuit of Leisure,'' when singer Mark McGrath got wind that somebody at the label thought he had a voice like Joe Jackson.

McGrath, 35, was honored, to say the least.

``All those great songs of the '80s, be it from Duran Duran or Adam Ant or Joe Jackson, they were part of the soundtrack to our lives growing up,'' he says. ``They all have an important place in our hearts and, of course, the song 'Is She Really Going Out With Him?' was one of those songs.''

A reworking of Jackson's hit about a foiled romance appears on the new album by Sugar Ray, who appear in concert Saturday at Staples Center opening for matchbox twenty. According to McGrath, he expects the flash from his past to precede the booty-shaking ``Mr. Bartender (It's So Easy)'' as the next single.

Releasing a cover to radio could be a first for Sugar Ray, who as it happens started out playing recycled tunes at bars and clubs throughout Southern California. These days the band that signed to Atlantic Records in 1994 and is now five albums deep is a household name, revered for its carefree, dancehall-inspired pop anthems triggered by the whirlwind success of ``Fly.''

That 1997 song has since been followed by a series of hits, including ``Every Morning,'' ``Falls Apart'' and ``Answer the Phone.'' Like its predecessors, the current Sugar Ray single evokes California sunshine.

``There's not a lot of angst walking up the boardwalk at Newport,'' McGrath says, referring to his band's home turf in south Orange County. He also gives credit to Rodney Sheppard's islandy guitar strumming, which he honed during a brief reggae band stint.

Sugar Ray's members - bassist Murphy Karges, drummer Stan Frazier, turntablist DJ Homicide, Sheppard and McGrath - are still disciples of the reggae beats as well as punk, new wave and rock they heard as teens on KROQ-FM.

For this reason, the band often experiments with '80s tunes. A version of ``Stand and Deliver,'' the Adam Ant hit, was featured on the 1997 breakthrough disc ``Floored.'' Two years later, Steve Miller's ``Abracadabra'' was included as part of the ``14:59'' set.

John Rubeli, vice president of artists and repertoire for Atlantic, says Sugar Ray is a band always on the lookout for a good cover.

In some cases, the songs find the band.

``The thing about Sugar Ray is they're completely omniscient,'' Rubeli says. ``When you have such a pop-cultural, iconic-type band, they creep under your skin somehow.''

Rubeli is speaking from experience. Three years ago, while he was listening to some old records, he came across Jackson's ``Is She Really Going Out With Him?''

While listening to the song, he noticed Jackson's voice cracks in the same endearing way as McGrath's. ``Dude,'' he recalls thinking to himself, ``that sounds just like Sugar Ray.''

The suggestion was slow to reach the members of Sugar Ray, who jumped at the chance to include an old favorite on their latest release.

``One of the great things about going into the studio is experimenting and re-recording songs you like on the label's nickel,'' McGrath says. ``And David Kahne, our producer, really added some interesting touches to it.''

Like?

``Putting a drum loop in the verse and kinda tweaking the melody at the end,'' adds McGrath. ``We wanted to add our flavor to the song but still maintain the integrity of the tune. I think we did that.''

Sugar Ray performs tonight on NBC's ``The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.''

Sandra Barrera, [phone]

sandra.barrera(at)dailynews.

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Orange County-based Sugar Ray brings the flavor of Southern California to its music.