Steve White & the Barstool Pigeons play top-flight blues

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These guys have been around a long time — since Moby Dick was still a minnow — but don't take them for granted and don't miss their monthly wingding at BlackBeard's BBQ at Ventura Harbor on Saturday night. And what a great name: Steve White & the Barstool Pigeons. Not only do they know a lot of songs, they also have several originals. Plus, frontman White can do Sam Cooke, Otis Redding and all the cool soul stuff and pull it off with ease.

These Pigeons play the same old songs — lots of them — in fun and interesting ways, which probably explains why the boys in the band have been at this for so long, attracting scores of fans. Guitar player Mike Fishell and White have known each other since they were kids growing up in Oxnard and have been in numerous bands over the years, many with such funny names as the Ordinaires and Steve Egg White & the Poachers. The result is one of the best bar bands around.

More than a decade ago, they put out their one and only CD, "What's a Man to Do?," a smooth, bluesy collection of originals. Now well rested and ready to go, White and the band are threatening a sophomore effort.

Go listen: It's worth the drive to Ventura Harbor for the barbecue grub; by Saturday evening, parking hell has gone away; and the Pigeons do a killer cover of a killer song by one of the best bands ever, "Time Has Come Today" by the Chambers Brothers.

White discussed the latest during a recent phone chat.

Hey Steve, how's the music biz treating you?

Real well, real well. We've been keeping busy and we play the first Saturday at BlackBeard's. And we've actually been working on a new CD.

Wow. It's been a while.

Yeah, we didn't want to rush into anything, but we've just got to put some finishing touches on the new one. We've got some new songs.

Has "What's a Man to Do?" made you guys rich rock stars?

Yeah, it's hard to find places to keep all that money. The good news is that even though it's out of print we still get to sell copies on iTunes and other online outlets, so it's still moving.

When can we expect a new CD?

Nothing firm yet, but we're hoping to get it out this year.

How long have you guys had this gig at Blackbeard's, and even before when the venue was something else?

Well, we started it when it was still the HiCees, so it's been a number of years now.

I remember when the Ventura Keys was an airfield, Ventura Harbor was still the city dump and there was one sandy paved road leading to the jetty. You guys have been around for a while, too, so how have the venue and the harbor itself changed?

The venue itself is changed quite a bit — the new owner, Mark Iverson, has made a lot of improvements. He took over the business next door and knocked the wall out, so now it's twice the size. Now there's actually room for people.

Yeah, it's been a while since I've been down there, but it always did seem pretty crowded.

Now there's actually people inside other than just the dancers, so that's great. And they have a liquor license, so that's good news for all the whiskey drinkers.

So you played when nobody was there, and now everybody's there?

Well, there were always people there but they were all pretty much on the patio before — and it still has a lot of folks out there, now nicely covered (another new improvement).

It seems like it's always a hassle to try to find a parking place at the harbor, right?

Yeah, it can be tough on the weekends, but usually on Saturdays by the time we play, it's thinned out quite a bit. We play 6-10.

Do you guys have just this gig once a month, or do you play elsewhere?

We do a few casuals here and there, and we do play other places once in a while, but this is home base.

How's the food?

The food's good, man, barbecue — good pulled pork, killer ribs. I've tried just about everything.

Who are the boys in the band this week?

Oh, it's the same guys we've had in the band forever. Mike Fishell on guitar and vocals, Bernie Travers on bass, Kelvin Ammons on the drums still, and me — the same guys that have been playing together since the '70s.

That '70s show since the '70s? Wow, do you remember your first gig?

Actually, our first gig with this band was at the Santa Barbara Cajun Festival, I think. It went well, so we decided to keep doing it for a while.

How many instruments don't you play?

I don't play the bagpipes.

Excellent. I shot a guy once at a Civil War re-enactment for playing the bagpipes. I hate those things — what were they thinking?

Sounds like someone is stapling cats together. But mostly it's the bread-and-butter instruments for me — keyboard, sax and harmonica, and I've got a guitar. They can't stop me.

I remember a great gig you guys played with Willie Chambers a long time ago at Nicholby's in Ventura.

Yeah, that was a fun gig and the band has actually opened for some pretty cool people over the years, so it's been a lot of fun. We got to back up Joe Houston and we backed up the Drifters. In fact, we used to tour with the Drifters back in the '70s; that's when Kelvin first signed on. Our drummer quit when we were getting ready to go on the road, so we stole Kelvin from another band.

Where did you go with the Drifters?

Oh, everywhere — down South, up around the Great Lakes. We played a lot of those oldies extravaganzas. We backed up all the acts on the bill like Mary Wells and Rosie from Rosie and the Originals.

How many Barstool Pigeons songs are there?

Oh, hundreds — at least hundreds.

Do you guys take requests?

Yeah, and sometimes we even give them back.

How many originals?

Oh, we have a couple dozen.

What songs make people go a little extra nutty at gigs?

We do "Time" by the Chambers Brothers — that one usually gets it hopping.

Each of you wonderful guys has a day job, I would assume?

Yeah, I think we all have day jobs now. Mike's still teaching, and I think Kelvin works as some sort of high-tech consultant. Bernie's a salesman.

Who would you pay to see — alive or dead?

Oh jeez, that's a tough one on, but I sure would love to see Muddy Waters. That would be cool.

OK, one more easy one: Why do you have to do this?

If I didn't do this, I don't know who I'd be.