NO doubt about it, getting laid off during the worst downturn in decades can give a middle-age man the blues. When it happened to Jeffrey Levine of Basking Ridge, NJ, who in October lost his job as sales and marketing director for a high-tech firm, he came up with an antidote: play some blues.

Levine, 50, is the founder of the Just Laid Off No Job in Site Blues Band, a traditional Chicago-style combo whose members are all victims of the current recession. Like Levine, they’ve found themselves with a spike in free time that allows them to indulge a love of music that at some point took a back seat to making a living.

“I played drums professionally when I was younger, but I gave it up to have a career,” says Levine, a native Long Islander. “Now I’m back to the blues” — which, he notes, “certainly resonates with today’s economic mess.”

The band started when Levine put an ad on Craigslist calling for members who fit several conditions: They could play, they loved blues and they were out of work.

“The response was unbelievable,” says Levine, who heard from players from across northern Jersey and New York City. Some were small-business owners whose businesses had failed; some were consultants who couldn’t find work. There was a wallpaper hanger and there were real estate executives and sales and marketing professionals.

Among them was Al Simpson, 55, of Morris Plains, NJ, who last year lost his job in residential property management and signed on as the band’s keyboard player.

Simpson says the band offers a welcome break from the grim realities of the job hunt.

“You have a strike against you when you’re over 50,” he says. “They just want young people who will work for nothing. I still have a lot to offer, but things are really bad out there.”

He’s echoed by the band’s guitarist, Tom Thomas, also of north Jersey and in his late 50s. A former account manager for a computer parts manufacturer, Thomas has been out of work for more than a year.

“No one wants to hire older people,” says Thomas, a lover of B.B. King and Howlin’ Wolf who played in classic rock bands when he was younger. “You send off resumes and it’s like they go off into a black hole.”

When Levine called Thomas to set up an audition, “He asked me if I was working,” Thomas says. “I told him I didn’t have a job and he said, ‘That’s great.’ We both started laughing. I guess this is all a sign of the times.”

Levine is still searching for the right singer, but in the meantime the band is getting together for basement rehearsals, and hoping to book some gigs in the near future, including fund-raisers for nonprofits that support the unemployed.

According to the rules of the band, any players who find work have to quit, though they can stay on as “alternate members” says Levine, who already lost one guitarist when he landed a full-time job.

Meanwhile, Levine himself is still hunting. But working on managing and marketing his band “is becoming like a full-time job,” he says. “It’s not so different than corporate life, only no pay.”

Not that they’re harboring visions of stardom, or otherwise expect the band to become more than a fun diversion from a difficult situation.

“This is all about enjoyment of music and camaraderie,” says Thomas.

And as a creative outlet, the blues are just the ticket, adds Simpson. “They really grab you where it counts,” he says. “It’s perfect for people who’ve lost a job. You’re not feeling green or red, you’re feeling blue.”

He’s echoed by guitarist Tom Thomas. A former account manager for a computer parts manufacturer, Thomas has been out of work for more than a year.

“No one wants to hire older people,” says Thomas, a lover of B.B. King and Howlin’ Wolf who played in classic rock bands when he was younger. “You send off resumes and it’s like they go off into a black hole.”

When Levine called to set up an audition, “He asked if I was working,” Thomas says. “I told him I didn’t have a job and he said, ‘That’s great.’ We both started laughing. I guess this is all a sign of the times.”

Levine is still looking for a singer, but in the meantime the band is getting together for basement rehearsals, and hoping to book some gigs in the near future.

According to the rules of the band, any players who find work have to quit, though they can stay on as “alternate members,” says Levine, who already lost one guitarist when he landed a full-time job.

Levine himself is still hunting. But working on managing and marketing his band “is becoming like a full-time job,” he says. “It’s not so different than corporate life, only no pay.”

Not that they’re harboring visions of stardom, or otherwise expect more than a fun diversion from a difficult situation.

“This is all about enjoyment of music and camaraderie,” says Thomas.

And as an outlet, the blues are just the ticket, adds Simpson.

“It’s perfect for people who’ve lost a job,” he says. “You’re not feeling green or red, you’re feeling blue.”