Portishead is catching on to fans

Portishead is one of the music business' oddities.

A mix between rock, jazz and trip-hop, the British quartet mixes highly produced tracks with stripped-down music to create one of the most interesting sounds in music.

But there is a big difference between Portishead in the studio and Portishead live.

The live version plays, according to guitarist Geoff Barrow, is the scariest time for the band.

``It's nice to see your songs stand on their own without production, '' he says. ``We played a KROQ thing last year, with just a bass, acoustic guitar ... it was tough, but it turned out great.''

Maybe the reason Portishead is so difficult to pin down is because of the very different backgrounds of the band's members.

``We're all from our own sides of music,'' Barrow said. ``Jazz, hip- hop, rock, blues -- it makes for an interesting mix.''

That mix has earned the band acclaim for its self-titled sophomore album. Critics across the country (including this one) called the album one of 1997's high points. Even MTV has started playing Portishead videos.

All of that scares Barrow.

``We're massively uncomfortable with the rock star thing,'' he said. ``I'm not just out to get girls. But if we don't sell records, we can't do the stuff we want to do.

``Even though we don't like the situations, it's not to the point of shunning the business.''

That may be true for Barrow, but Portishead singer Beth Gibbons seems to be shunning as best she can.

Gibbons is legendary for avoiding and walking out of interviews. Barrow says her mystique is just something writers have created.

``Beth is a very happy person,'' he says. ``She just puts so much of herself into the lyrics that she doesn't feel the need to explain it to everyone.''

Sound weird? It's not to Portishead.

But Barrow often mentions how weird he thinks the music business is. He accepts his duty to sell records and do interviews, but he has a hard time dealing with some of the people he meets -- especially in the Southland.

``L.A. is just (expletive) weird anyway,'' he says. ``It seems like with music people here, the more drugs you do, the more popular you get.''

But not every L.A. trip is bad.

``We really enjoyed it last time we were there,'' he said. ``This DJ showed us a good time. Really standard things to do, too.

``It's amazing how unqualified in general life I am for a guy my age.' '

What Barrow is qualified to do is make records. And he hopes Portishead keeps making them for a long time.

``I'm not qualified to do anything else,'' he said. ``It's like, if I can't do this, where can I go?'' Copyright 1998, Gannett News Service, a division of Gannett Co., Inc