So I'm sure some of you glanced at this column, saw the picture of All the Queen's Men , then checked the title to make sure this is indeed DJ Scene. Don't be confused - it is. But like the band's new CD, "Curvy Baby," I'm building a little bridge between live rock and spinning this month.

The band is hoping that its new two-disc CD is literally music to DJs' ears. In addition to a CD full of original signature rocktronica tracks, the release includes a bonus CD of versions of each song remixed for spinning by a crew of international DJs. With styles ranging from progressive to electro-breakbeat to ethno pop to drum `n' bass, the bonus CD is a smorgasbord of club sounds. It's unusual for a band - especially a local indie group - to take the remixing process into its own hands. But the progression comes as no surprise. All the Queen's Men's blend of classic guitar-driven rock over pumping electronic percussion has always created tracks that are immensely danceable.

"We all like to dance," says guitarist Catherine Capozzi, "and we all like rock, so what we have always tried to do is marry the two. But we could only take it so far."

Fans of the band already know from its last release, "Madame Static," that it's not opposed to reaching out to the DJ world. The group didn't have to search far: Vocalist Christine Zufferey's brother, Andy, is half of the Swiss techno duo Hostage. He remixed one track on the last CD. Then the band, liking what they heard, got an idea.

"It was just a baby idea when we did Madame Static," says Christine. "But we thought that it would be really cool to take a whole album and remix the whole thing."

So when the band completed the tracks to "Curvy Baby," it sent them off to Andy, Boston's Bill T. Miller, New York's Salmonella Fitzgerald, and nearly a dozen other DJs from the Zufferey's native Switzerland.
"The really interesting thing about the whole collaboration and giving the DJs our tracks is seeing what elements they pick from them," says Christine. "We didn't give them any directions. It was great to see how our work can inspire someone to interpret our music."

The band goes out of its way to make the remixed tracks accessible to DJs. A simple glance at the back of the CD case gives DJs everything they need to know about the tracks, including the style and beats per minute.

The dance tracks have already been well-received abroad. The CDs' featured DJs have been spinning them to packed houses from Europe to India. Now the band just has to get the word out at home. It's been on a DJ-door-knocking campaign, hoping local club residents will give the CD a listen, and more than one spin.

Tomorrow the band celebrates "Curvy Baby" at Bill's Bar. Also on the bill are the Dresden Dolls and a Boston rock all-star recreation of the classic "Led Zeppelin II."

E-mail Kimberly Atkins at katkins@globe.com

Date: November 14, 2002 Page: 8; Section: Calendar

© Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company.

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