54 Seconds write ‘Postcards’ from the edge

PROFILE. Austin-based rock band 54 Seconds added a tender dedication to the liner notes of its 2007 release,  “Postcards From California.” It simply says “In Memory of Arif Mardin,” a tribute to the late, great jazz and R&B producer. It might seem odd that a rock band from Austin, even one with the pop chops shown on its catchy third album, should name-check an old school music icon like Mardin. But 54 Seconds’ frontman Spencer Gibb grew up watching his father, Bee Gees’ Robin Gibb, make music with such legends.

“I loved Arif,” Gibb says, “and as a producer he was a huge influence.”

He sites the producer with helping the Bee Gees transition into their “Saturday Night Fever” phase.

In many ways, “Postcards” is a transitional record for 54 Seconds. For one thing, it’s the first release on an actual label, albeit an indie. With such a privileged background, you’d expect that Gibb had instant access to major record label A&R men. 

“I never got those kind of hook-ups,” says the 33-year-old in a mid-Atlantic accent that echoes growing up in London and New York. “There’s a lot of stigma. You’ve got those fans and record industry people, who go, ‘Does he sound like his father?’ That’s either good or bad, depending on whether they want you to sound like your father.”

54 Seconds
with Spitzer Space Telescope
Tonight, 9
TT The Bear’s
10 Brookline St., Cambridge
$10, 617-492-BEAR
www.ttthebears.com