Suzie Harrison Outside there’s a row of...

Suzie Harrison

Outside there’s a row of Harley’s parked, as there is every Sunday

afternoon.

The roar of the engine can be heard as each one rolls in. Inside,

the bar is packed. The crowd waits to hear its favorite local band,

the Missiles of October.

Playing at the Marine Room Tavern has become a regular gig of 12

years for the band, Sunday afternoon and Thursdays, when they play

“unplugged.” The Missiles have a faithful following -- an eclectic

crowd from bikers to beach bums to yuppies of all ages come weekly to

hear them play what the band calls “American music.”

“We play American music,” Poul Pedersen, the band’s founder,

singer and songwriter said. “It’s a melting of all the music that’s

American -- blues, rock, country and jazz.”

He said that it has a roots kind of feeling with all various

flavors. The Missiles have two CDs, their first, “Tropic of

Soulfolk,” and “Hope,” which was released about two years ago. The

band plays a lot of their own originals as well as popular covers.

The music draws in the fans, who are either singing along, dancing

or just enjoying the music -- often there is a line outside the

Marine Room.

Bryan and Debora Buljat used to come every weekend when they lived

in San Diego. They were home from Boston for the holidays and had to

see the band. They even had friends drive two and a half hours to see

them. Debora said she has seen them more than 20 times.

“We have a buffer crop of fans,” Pedersen said. “We’re really

fortunate to have a following -- and to last this long, bands don’t

usually stay together that long on this level.

The band is composed of musicians in their 40s looking the part of

Bob Dylan or Van Morrison, two of the singers they borrow from when

they’re not playing their originals. Pedersen is wearing a weathered

black leather coat, jeans and a cowboy hat.

“They’re the tops, they’re the best,” fan Theresa Puiak said.

“They run the gamut of blues to rock to western and they become finer

the more they age.”

The Laguna band has four members, bassist Jimmy Perez, drummer

Frank Cotinola and Richard Bredice on guitar.

Perez said the best thing about the band is the camaraderie

between the players. It’s an essence easy to notice.

“We have a camaraderie, an understanding when we play,” Perez

said. “It’s a real easy band. We’ve been together for so long, and

you don’t get that unless you’ve played together a long time.”

Perhaps what keeps the fans steady is that the band is always

evolving and adding something new.

“We change from year to year, which revolves around a big part of

the music,” Perez said. “It’s really song oriented, and the

musicianship is such a good quality.”

They’ll be playing at the Jazz Festival in New Orleans. Their next

endeavor is to make a live CD.

“I think a live CD is probably what everyone is waiting to hear,”

Perez said. “We owe it to our fans to record a lot of it here.”

Besides playing at the Marine Room, the band has been known to

play fund-raising concerts for Lagunans in need. Sadly, this time

they will have to raise money for one of their own -- Jimmy’s wife,

Darnell Perez, who has lymphoma.

The concert is Jan. 31 at the Coach House.

“It’s really heartwarming, Perez said. “It’s really cool when

people come together. We try to do as many benefits as we can.”

For information, call the band at 322-7008 or go online to

www.missilesofoctober.com.

* SUZIE HARRISON is a reporter for the Laguna Beach Coastline

Pilot. She may be reached at 494-4321 or [email protected].