The Martini Bros.’ front man Deuce Gibb has an on-stage presence that is matched by few in the region — with his swinging hips, jet-black pompadour, and powerful voice, he oozes a certain mix of sexuality and ego — and he very well may be the closest thing this area has to a certifiable rock star.

On the heels of the June release of their sophomore album, Trans Mission, Gibb and his cohorts, bassist Mike Mead and drummer Rej Troup, are in the midst of a crazy next few months, as they perform in support of their newest disc. With recent successful performances at the Celebration of Life benefit concert at ABC and the American Music Fest under their belts, the band is preparing themselves for their upcoming dates, which include a concert at the Whitaker Center on August 11.

Recently, MODE Weekly did a few dishes and cleaned the pond filter with Gibb and got the low-down on what it’s like to be him: a husband, a father, a business owner, and, yes, even a local rock star.

Deuce Gibb: You mean collectively? Five years.

Deuce: It was a major loop, actually, because it was more so than he was my drummer, he was my best friend. So I looked at it as losing a best friend before I looked at it as losing a drummer … I don’t say that we’re driven: ‘in the name of Chad Matson, on march The Martini Bros.’ necessarily, but I do feel him with us every once in a while.

MODE: Was it an issue to try to move on and join with Rej Troup, the current drummer?

Deuce: No. Well, at first it was, because for the first two weeks I was feeling guilty about even going on and so was Mike [bassist Mike Mead] … Mike was the one who talked me into actually keeping this rolling, ‘Chad would have wanted it, man,’ that kind of thing and, in fact, I agreed with him. And all these people, when they finally got the nerve to ask me what we were going to do, I realized more people cared about this than I thought. So, yeah, we marched on.

MODE: You’ve just released your second CD, Trans Mission. How hard was it to churn out something original the second time around?

Deuce: Well, it kind of fell together. You can look at the song credits and see just how original it is. We had a little help here and there, which I like to do, because when you have help from other artists, it helps you break out of a mold or a shell ... it helps you grow as individuals … to me, that’s fun. This doesn’t have to be the "Deuce Gibb album" where I write all the songs … I don’t really give a shit about that. I just want some good sounding tracks on our record.

MODE: Do you think it’s going to bring you national acclaim?

Deuce: I don’t know if it will, but it absolutely could. Because of the way the record sounds, because of the songs on it. Track two is a stone cold smash hit. It really is. And then, track number three — I could hear that on the radio. That might be the only thing for radio, but once you’re lured in by track two and three you’ll realize what a good record the rest of the album is. And how actually you can hear how eclectic the influences are as you go track to track.

MODE: Did you put this record together with the goal of getting airplay or national attention?

Deuce: We recorded song two, "Spinning on an Axis," with that in mind, absolutely. I’d be a liar to say no. Yeah, it does sound different for The Martini Bros. but … I think it’s a fantastic song, I love to play it live — you can call me a sell-out or whatever you want to call me because it is very different … but I don’t care if you say that, I don’t care if you’ve been a fan since day one, I love that song and I’m proud to do it.

MODE: What happens if the CD ends up on Napster [an online site that allows downloads of recorded music]?

Deuce: I’m not totally sure. It probably will, but I’m not totally sure if I even fully understand what Napster is. Anybody can upload your CD on Napster and take it for free? … I think I hate that. I think that sucks.

MODE: You don’t make enough to make a living from the music yet do you?

Deuce: No.

MODE: Is being able to do that an honest to goodness goal?

Deuce:I can speak for my bass player, Mike Mead. I’m sure it’s a goal for him.

MODE: And for you?

Deuce: For me? If we’re talking about for-real money, yeah. But it’s not like I’m sitting around saying, ‘yeah, I wish I could quit cutting hair’ or ‘I wish they would give me the big bag of money.’ I would do that if it truly was, in fact, a big bag of money, but if somebody signs The Martini Bros. and says, ‘okay, guys, you’re going on tour,’ and I’m sending home $500 a week to my wife, no. Because I’ve got an established business, I’ve got children I will miss … but I’ll miss my wife and kids if it’s for a big bunch of money — if it’s security for their future. I could miss them sporadically for two years.

MODE: Does your average Martini Bros. fan know you have a day job, that you own a salon in New Cumberland?

Deuce: I think they do.

MODE: Is that something that you promote, don’t care about, or hide?

Deuce: I definitely don’t hide it. I don’t hide anything. I don’t necessarily promote it, either. I don’t care about it. I figure people are going to figure that out if they really care to.

MODE: Does being a hairdresser have an effect on your music?

Deuce: Sure, it has an effect on everything. The cool thing about that is I get to see so many different people … it’s like having a giant record collection with everything in it, because I get to see a different person every half hour, all week long that has nothing in common with the person who just left the chair before them.

MODE: How does the balance of family and work and music work for you?

Deuce: It works okay for me. Because, like I said, we’re not on the road for three months at a time … I might go away for the weekend or go to California for four days, but that’s not big deal. Nobody’s getting hurt by that.

MODE: How long have you been married?

Deuce: Eight years.

MODE: So when you guys got married, did your wife know what she was getting into?

Deuce: When my wife met me 14 years ago, she knew … actually, when my wife met me I was moving out to L.A. with Jeff Gaines [laughs] and a guy called Scott Goddard. We were going to go break into the music scene out there. I don’t know what happened … So she knew it all the while, that this is really my calling, what I’m supposed to be doing, and by me saying that, that doesn’t necessarily mean on a grand level — if this is my level, then that’s fine. I just really enjoy doing it. And if a bunch of people here at home love it, too — hey, you know what? That’s fine with me, I’m happy.

MODE: Do you ever fight with your wife over the music stuff? Like she wants to do something on a Saturday night but you’re booked?

Deuce: Yep. Yes, we do.

MODE: What happens? Does she ever win?

Deuce: She can’t. There are too many other people involved … it’s not like, ‘honey, I’m going to cancel the show tonight so we can go to the drive-in…’

MODE: Does she get jealous of you on stage, acting sexy?

Deuce: No. She doesn’t get jealous like that. She doesn’t get upset if girls think I’m cute … I don’t think she cares, because she knows that I’m not going anywhere. She knows I’m her man and that’s the way it is. But I think sometimes she gets a little — perhaps jealous isn’t the right word — annoyed or envious that it’s not about her. And here she is with the kids … I’ve got to give it to her, there probably wouldn’t be a Martini Bros. if she wasn’t as cool as she is.

MODE: So do your kids know you’re a big rock star?

Deuce: Nah.

MODE: Have they ever seen you play?

Deuce: Oh, yeah. My son plays drums, my son and I have played together in public, when he was like five years old. It’s a neat feeling. A lot of musicians might long to play with a child, but it never happens until they’re sixteen. I played with my son when he was five years old!

MODE: You’re a ham.

Deuce: Yeah.

MODE: Do you have a big ego?

Deuce: I don’t know if it’s big, but I definitely have one —

MODE: Does it get in the way?

Deuce: No, never.

MODE: What would you honestly say, after playing with these guys for five years, that they would say is your greatest strength?

Deuce: [dead silence] I can’t answer for those guys, really, because I don’t know what they would say.

MODE: You play with those guys, surely they’d say that you’ve got a great voice or that you plan ahead, something…

Deuce: You know, unfortunately the thing with The Martini Bros. is we don’t really compliment each other that much.

MODE: So what about you would they say irritates the shit out of them?

Deuce: Maybe that I miss notes once in a while, but, see, they wouldn’t say that either because we don’t care about that — it’s just rock’n’roll so we’re not uptight about it. Hmmm … Okay, I know what pisses them off. Because I’m late all the time for everything. Even in professional life, I’m late all the time. I can’t help it, but it doesn’t mean that I want you to wait on me, like [makes a commanding tone with his voice] ‘you will wait on me, I am the master.’ [laughs]

MODE: Tell us about your documentary directed by Steve Wylam, One Night Only?

Deuce: It’s not my movie … I’m one of the subjects, my music is used, but, I’ll put it this way —unfortunately it’s not my movie, otherwise more people would know about the movie, it would be available at shows. It’s bullshit, really.

MODE: Is it frustrating?

Deuce: A little bit, but I hardly think about it. I look at it as, you took four years of my life, you got the death of my best friend, you got the rebirth of the band, you’ve got a bunch of great shots, and you spent over $10,000. And you’re sitting on it. You could run a bunch of copies off on VCR tapes and sell it at our shows, and guess what? I wouldn’t take a penny. People would pay $25 for that, they would … I don’t understand, because the movie looks brilliant, it really does.

MODE: So what’s your favorite color?

Deuce: Airport lights, the blue of the airport lights. I like that.

MODE: What’s your biggest vice?

Deuce: Probably smoking cigarettes.

MODE: Trying to quit?

Deuce: I’m not trying to quit, that’s why it’s my biggest vice.

MODE: What was the first album you bought?

Deuce: KISS, Dressed to Kill.

MODE: What was the last album you bought?

Deuce: It was Astrud Gilberto, she’s a Brazilian singer that did a lot of compositions by a guy named Antonio Carlos Jobim. It’s a mid-’60s bossanova thing … and she’s got the most amazing voice, it’s totally soothing.

MODE: And we thought you were going to say Christina Aguilera.

Deuce: Well, no, I bought that right before I bought the Astrud Gilberto [laughs].

MODE: What is the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you in your stage life?

Deuce: While on stage? Umm, snot flew out of my nose one time when I was singing, that’s pretty bad … so right after that happened I just spit, to make it look like, perhaps, ‘maybe the guy spit, maybe the guy just spit again.’

MODE: What do you want to say to somebody who’s thinking, ‘I might want to buy that record’?