"That's the Hollywood version," Jude admits, speaking by phone last week from a tour stop in Milwaukee. The guitar-strumming singer-songwriter opens for Better than Ezra tonight in the Odeon Concert Club.

"I was an assitant at a casting agency," he says. "I swept the floors once in a while. But I also used to sort through pictures and stull like that."

Jude, 29, is a rarity: A rising star who doesn't believe the hype surrounding him. His press clips portray him as the son of a professional folk singer. Once again, that's not entirely accurate. Jude is only too happy to set the record straight concerning his father.

"He basically bummed around Europe for a couple of years with a guitar. Now he builds houses. But he used to sing around the house. He used to sing us to sleep," says Jude, whose full name is Michael Jude Christodal. He grew up near Boston and now makes his home in Los Angeles.

"People have called me Jude for a long time," he says. "The record label wanted to go with just one name because they thought it was cool."

His major-label debut, "No One is Really Beautiful," was released last September by Maverick Records, the label owned by another economically named entity: Madonna. The album title is taken from the song "Charlie Says," a folk-tinged rocker inspired by Jude's stint at the casting agency.

"I never saw someone not get a job because they were a jerk," he says. "If you looked right, done. Psychopath, cokehead, no problem. It was kind of frustrating to watch because, at the time, I was writing stuff from a very truthful place. I had idealistic visions about art and entertainment in general.

"It's a cliche, but I think we give physical beauty too much credit. It seems like the major goal for teenage girls now is to become a model. That's not a goal."

Jude's ambition is to make honest music that connects with listeners. "I'm just trying to reach a point of emotional communication with people when I perform live and when I write," he says. "I'm trying to reach those moments of clarity. I'm not worried about the other stuff."

So far, the other stuff has taken care of itself. "No One is Really Beautiful" has received positive reviews for its winning blend of folkie sensibilities and pop smarts. "Rick James," the first single, is in steady rotation on radio stations with alternative and adult-contemporary formats. Another track, "I Know," was featured on the multiplatinum "City of Angels" soundtrack.

All told, not bad for a guy who couldn't find work in a cemetery when he was still struggling to make ends meet. "I applied for a job as a grave digger, but somebody else got it," Jude says. "I've had alot of stupid jobs. I deliver things. I washed dishes. I shouldn't say stupid jobs. They were real jobs that supported me at the time.

"For a while I wasn't sure what I was going to do. I didn't know if I wanted to be an artist. I didn't know if I wanted to be in film. I fell in love in college and started writing songs for this girl. That drove me. Once I moved to Los Angeles in 1994, music became the most important thing in my life."

Despite his disdain for the image consciousness of the entertainment industry, Jude is content living in the heart of it all.

"The simple answer that at this point in my career, it makes sense for me to be in Los Angeles a couple more years," he says. "The longer answer is that I feel like I live perched on the edge of a cultural apocalypse. I wouldn't give up my seat for anything. I kind of enjoy watching."