THE Blake Babies, who broke up in 1991 after Juliana Hatfield left and became a big star, secretly reunited and recorded their new “God Bless the Blake Babies” in ten days in 1999.
If they hated it, they would have shelved it.
But they discovered the jene sais quoi, which is the Blake Babies hadn’t left, so the album’s out tomorrow.
“We were pretty amazed how much it sounded like the Blake Babies,” said guitarist John Strohm. “It’s a chemistry thing.”
The alt-rock pop trio, which formed when the members were only 19, already had a cult following before Hatfield’s rise. But then the Beantown trio of Hatfield, Strohm and Freda Boner, became more popular than ever.
The band plays at Knitting Factory (74 Leonard St., at Church Street, [212] 219-3055) Saturday.
Former Lemonhead Evan Dando, who appears on the album, could be a surprise guest. “We have an APB out for Evan,” Strohm says.
Starlight Mints, an Oklahoma pop band with an album with a lovely name, “The Dream That Stuff Was Made Of,” open.
* TOMORROW: If you’re still in the money, the legendary pop star Patti Page will be at the Feinstein’s at the Regency (540 Park Ave., [212] 339-4095) Tuesday through Friday.
She’s come a long way from being an Okie from Muskogee to the biggest-selling female singer of all time, with chart-toppers such as “Doggie in the Window” and her biggest hit, “The Tennessee Waltz.”
She just released, at age 73, “The Brand New Tennessee Waltz” with other country stars such as Emmylou Harris and Trisha Yearwood on Pat Boone’s Gold Label.
* WEDNESDAY through FRIDAY: Michelle Shocked, who last put out a record in 1996, returns with all her quirkiness and spontaneity to the Village Underground (130 Third St., at Sixth Avenue, [212] 777-7745). The 39-year-old Texan will also preview her new album, “Deep Natural,” which her manager/husband says is “all over the map, as it is for Michelle typically,” mixing up blues, gospel, R&B, all in the singer/songwriter vein.
* THURSDAY: Ours, whose shy frontman Jimmy Gnecco’s high-pitched voice eerily reflects the late Jeff Buckley mixed with a rock dose of Led Zep, will bring its moody melodies to the Bowery Ballroom (6 Delancey St., at Bowery, [212] 533-2111).
* SATURDAY: The Donnas, four female punk rockers from Palo Alto, have been playing together for 20 years – since they were age 14. Coming off their new album “Turn 21,” they’ll bring their Ramones-esque power chords to the Bowery Ballroom Saturday and Sunday.
Walkman, the new band created from the ashes of East Village quintet Jonathan Fire*Eater, casts its dark spell (blended by the Doors, Leonard Cohen and Nick Cave) at Brownies (169 Ave. A, at 10th Street, [212] 420-8392).
* SUNDAY: Minus Five, the band of the Young Fresh Fellows’ Scott McCaughy, has had a few incarnations. This one includes R.E.M.’s Peter Buck. The band hits Maxwell’s (1039 Washington St., Hoboken, [201] 798-0406) on Sunday with Brit singer/songwriter John Wesley Harding.
