One of San Diego’s longest-lived bands, Private Domain has been wowing audiences in the area for more than two decades. Currently featuring founders Jack Butler (guitar) and Paul Shaffer (vocals, guitar) alongside bassist Dean Smith and drummer Jake Najor, the band was formed from the ashes of early ’80s favorites Bratz.
The group’s pedigree is impressive. Butler was a member of legendary ’70s group Glory, while Smith spent time keeping the bottom end steady for Captain Beefheart. Meanwhile, Najor has drummed for numerous local combos, including The Incredible Moses Leroy and Bad Credit.
Private Domain first hit area stages in 1985, and their success was almost immediate. A cut from their debut disc, “Absolute Perfection,” with a toasting overdub from reggae artist Pato Banton, became a hit almost immediately upon release, peaking in 1987, when the track was included in the cult-classic film “Back to the Beach,” starring Pee Wee Herman. Signed to A&M Records, the band did additional soundtrack work, notably the Jim Carrey vehicle “Once Bitten,” and issued a few more discs, but nothing captured the attention of radio programmers like that first hit.
Though the major-label buzz eventually faded, the group hasn’t slowed down one bit. Today, they remain one of the busiest groups in town, regularly performing three or four nights a week. In fact, they have been a house band at Dick’s Last Resort for the last 15 years, with a regular acoustic gig every Wednesday night in March. This month, the group releases their third album, “Great Leaders.” Though the band is best known for its classic rock and party-all-night work ethic, the new disc does have a slightly political edge to it.
“We have always written songs with social or political themes,” said Butler. “After all, Paul was once a political science high school teacher.” Although seven out of ten songs on the CD do have social commentary, there is still plenty of humor to take the edge off. According to Butler, the writing process is a 50-50 effort. “Paul wrote most of the words for the new CD. I came up with most of the music, but Paul often comes up with some great chord progressions himself. So we co-author everything 50-50 to make it simple,” he explained.
Live, the band mixes it up between cover songs and occasional original material. “At our live gigs, we always include other artists’ songs that ‘don’t suck’ to keep the party going,” he said with a laugh. “Although we have enough originals in our catalog to play a whole gig, we have no illusions of being Bruce Springsteen,” he quipped. “Even he throws in rockin’ covers in his four-hour shows.”
Private Domain will be promoting the new album at their upcoming shows. But interestingly, though they are proud of their hit single, they have been a little reluctant to play “Absolute Perfection” live “” until now. “We have only been playing the song when it is requested,” said Butler. “But with the new CD release, we expect a lot of fans that we have not seen out for a while to start popping up, so we plan on re-adding it to the set list.”
Pausing to reflect on a lifelong career in local music, Butler is happy to bring the tune back. “Since we dropped it for a long time, it seems fresh again,” he remarked. “A good song is a good song, especially when people dance to it.”
Private Domain plays every Wednesday night in March at Dick’s Last Resort, 345 Fourth Ave. Ages 21 and up.
