Rockers 2.0

From mosh pits to kids' shows and dance companies, these Boston rockers have reinvented themselves

Pop chameleons like David Bowie and Madonna don't hold a monopoly on music makeovers. Plenty of local punks and rockers, whether looking for new challenges or just tired of what their scenes had become, now play in different musical pastures.

Jake Brennan moved from mosh-pit punk with Cast Iron Hike through the roots rock of the Confidence Men to land in "hedonistic soul music" with the Bodega Girls. "I've always done what I felt like at that moment," says Brennan.

When he needs a vacation from hardcore ska-punks Darkbuster, Lenny Lashley goes country with Lenny and the Piss Poor Boys. Alex Grossi, formerly playing bubble-gum pop with Angry Salad, went for more distortion; he's now a hired-gun guitar slinger for '80s metal bands including Ratt and Quiet Riot and on tour with Guns N' Roses' Dizzy Reed.

Here are some other Boston rockers who have reinvented themselves, switched over, branched out, or otherwise replaced "then" with "now." Sometimes, they've found, it's not as different as it sounds.

DAN ZANES

THEN: Guitarist-singer for garage-rock heroes Del Fuegos

NOW: 2007 Grammy winner for best musical album for children

Kids' music conjures visions of silly, sing-song rhymes. But Dan Zanes says that his musical life began in earnest when he started to pursue traditional, "all-ages" folk music.

"When my daughter was born," Zanes says, "I wanted music that could be a shared, fun experience. I wanted an updated, post-rock 'n' roll version of the Folkways music I grew up with - Pete Seeger, Lead Belly, Ella Jenkins - hip and real, but aimed at families."

Other musicians think it's hip, too. Sheryl Crow, Lou Reed, and Kronos Quartet are among those who have joined in on Zanes's CDs, which include the Grammy-winning "Catch That Train."

"As there was with Del Fuegos and the Boston rock scene, there's an inclusive feeling of community," he says. "In a sense, this is a return to an old-fashioned concept of the social, casual music-making of 100 years ago. Today, kids and adults are segregated musically. I'm looking for that shared experience in the middle."

In concert, Dan Zanes and Friends incorporate guitars, accordion, fiddle, horns, drums, bass, and mandolin: "Del Fuegos were a street gang; this is more like a family." Zanes's new all-Spanish album, "¡Nuevo York!," due May 20, carries a pro-immigration message with its celebration of Latin culture.

"The border wall that's being built between the US and Mexico is such a horrifying symbol," says Zanes. "But songs will float over any wall."

Dan Zanes performs his "Pajama Parties" tonight and tomorrow night at 7, with matinees tomorrow and Sunday at 11 a.m., at Somerville Theatre (55 Davis Square, Somerville). Tickets: $22; 617-876-4275 or worldmusic.org.

ROGER MILLER

THEN: Played guitar for punk-era legends Mission of Burma

NOW: Plays prepared piano for Kinodance company; keyboardist with Alloy Orchestra

"There is an openness that suits me perfectly," Roger Miller says of composing music for the Kinodance concerts at the ICA next week. Customizing an 1890 Boston-made McPhail upright to his sonic liking, he has "prepared" it by inserting bolts, screws, and other objects between the strings and will begin the show by hitting the bridge of the piano with a piece of metal. "It will not be pianistic at all, but will sound more like a factory," he allows.

Music for dance isn't completely new to Miller. He played piano for dance classes to earn money in college. "I've just reverted to some earlier interests," explains the pianist-guitarist, whose musical footprints outside of Mission of Burma roam through Alloy Orchestra's live soundtracks for silent films, the modern chamber music of Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, and a host of bands and CDs exploiting experiments with loops and "prepared" devices.

"Composing for dance is an interesting intersection of ideas," he continues, "more 'in front of things' than a film score where you support the action, yet not as 'in front of things' as playing in a band."

Miller says that there is a physicality to sound production, whether he's at a rock concert or sitting behind an acoustic piano, and he's happy working at both. "Basically, I'm interested in sound and how it feels," he says.

Roger Miller performs with Kinodance, along with Lorraine Chapman the Company, next Friday and Saturday at the ICA (100 Northern Ave.). Tickets are $35 at 617-876-4275 or crasharts.org.

GABRIELLE AGACHIKO

THEN: Singer for early-'90s fusion-rockers the Atom Said

NOW: Performing songs inspired by Nina Simone

Gabrielle Agachiko has tried singing in a number of settings. The hyper riff-rock of the Atom Said, which featured David Bowie guitarman Reeves Gabrels. Funk-metal with Shoot That Dog. Steve Lacy's unconventional jazz. The lead role in "Jesus Christ Superstar." Blues rock with Buck Moon.

But she never felt that she had found her voice until she teamed with flutist and saxophonist Ken Field (Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, Revolutionary Snake Ensemble) to arrange and play big-voiced jazz standards and show tunes, Nina Simone-style, for their band, simply called Agachiko.

"I still have rock emotions, but I'm not Tina Turner, who can still put on a miniskirt and belt it out," explains the singer, whose extracurricular activities include the Sly & the Family Stone tribute band Take You Higher. "I really needed an opportunity to grow vocally, and I found that in playing music inspired by Nina Simone - music that she performed or that I think she could have performed."

She adds, "In many ways, these songs are somewhat complicated and the vocals must come from deep places. Jazz plugs me into the universe as no other music does. There is nuance and dynamic phrasing, and real communication between band members - and their audience. It's a chance to explore many more different colors of emotion and circumstance than in a rock project."

Agachiko begins a residency at Toast (70 Union Square, Somerville, toastlounge.com) April 19, performing the first and third Saturdays each month. The band performs at a benefit for the Go Go Project April 13, also at Toast.

MARK CHENEVERT

THEN: Saxman for post-punks Limbo Race, Del Fuegos

NOW: Clarinetist for New Orleans-style Hot Tamale Brass Band

"I like a lot of music that isn't considered cool," says Mark Chenevert. "While I was in [WBCN Rumble winners] Limbo Race and the punk scene, I also played in a band called the Zone who, during that angst-ridden, nihilistic heyday, played mainstream, Van Halen-style rock. I took a lot of crap from both camps. But I felt that good music was good music, style and persona didn't matter."

Working with jazz guitarist Sandy Prager and touring with eclectic jam band Hypnotic Clambake "jolted [Chenevert] out of the dark, angular Boston rock scene" and into less insular musical worlds.

"Modern rock doesn't hold a monopoly on energy or dissonance," he says. "Listen to any of the great symphonies, marches, or jazz pieces, there's plenty of edginess and angst. In any case, I think it's far more interesting to find similarities in seemingly disparate genres."

Today the reedsman's active repertoire includes the French cafe "musette" of Manège à Trois, genre-hopping with the Chandler Travis Philharmonic, jazz standards with Jeannie Flynn & the Strays, and - "perhaps the greatest departure from [his] punk-rock roots" - parades with the Boston City Marching and Concert Bands.

"The clarinet was once relegated to the novelty section of bands' repertoires," he says. "Now suddenly I was in demand for playing a unique instrument. And there are more opportunities to exploit the entire range of the sax or clarinet and not have to worry about cutting through the volume."

The Hot Tamales play at Fenway Park before all Red Sox games.

SARAH BORGES

THEN: Singer with indie-rock band Kipper Tin, which worshipped Superchunk

NOW: Front gal for Broken Singles, a band that adores a good twang

Few locals have made as big a noise when they started traveling country roads as singer-guitarist Sarah Borges. Signed to Nashville's prestigious Sugar Hill Records, which last year released "Diamonds in the Dark," Borges has been named best female singer at the Boston Music Awards and will soon be off on a tour that includes stops in Germany and Italy.

"Kipper Tin is where I learned how to couch any personal feeling in indie-rock metaphor," Borges recalls. "At some point, I realized that it was a lot easier to tell linear stories and state emotions plainly - a hallmark of roots and country music - than trying to rhyme something with 'orange.' "

Borges's band - stuck somewhere between Dolly Parton, X, and a pedal-steel guitar - has a country heart and punk-rock soul. "The Broken Singles are kind of a translation of my personal lyrical and musical soundtrack," she says. "We sound like the music in my head. I never would have learned how to articulate that, nor had the confidence to, if it hadn't been for years of finding my way in Kipper Tin."

The singer says she has found reassurance in how dedicated music fans are, no matter the genre. "As long as you're willing to go out there, play as hard and as well as you can, and be proud of what you're doing, the rewards in terms of audience love are amazing."

Sarah Borges & the Broken Singles play tonight at Johnny D's (17 Holland St., Somerville) and tomorrow at Stone Church Music Club (5 Granite St., Newmarket, N.H.).