Danny Wilde

The Rembrandts bear the burden of any one-hit wonder: A smash song brings mainstream fame, massive airplay and a nice payday, then overshadows an entire career. Unlike most musical sensations, however, the Rembrandts' hit happened on television -- and it still gets heard by millions almost every night. "I'll Be There for You" lasts only 42 seconds.

The Rembrandts bear the burden of any one-hit wonder: A smash song brings mainstream fame, massive airplay and a nice payday, then overshadows an entire career. Unlike most musical sensations, however, the Rembrandts' hit happened on television -- and it still gets heard by millions almost every night. "I'll Be There for You" lasts only 42 seconds.

A band named after a famous Dutch painter will be playing at Ventura Theatre on Tuesday. The Rembrandts, touring in support of their third CD, "L.P.," will be joined by the Blessed Union of Souls and Santa Barbara's Zoo Story. Rembrandts' Danny Wilde and Phil Solem go way back. They were partners in a pop-rock group called Great Buildings, which was nearly great 15 years ago.

A band named after a famous Dutch painter will be playing at Ventura Theatre on Tuesday. The Rembrandts, touring in support of their third CD, "L.P.," will be joined by the Blessed Union of Souls and Santa Barbara's Zoo Story. Rembrandts' Danny Wilde and Phil Solem go way back. They were partners in a pop-rock group called Great Buildings, which was nearly great 15 years ago.

*** The Rembrandts, "LP," East-West. Phil Solem and Danny Wilde didn't choose the name of their third album for nothing. From the unspeakably perky theme to the TV series "Friends"--a perfect paean to the Monkees--to a fistful of shimmering songs that might have been outtakes from "Rubber Soul," the duo has brazenly borrowed from the best of the analog era, with happy results.

You have to admire Danny Wilde's persistence. He took his first crack at pop success about a decade ago with the Quick, a local band dispensing stuff that gave bubblegum a bad name. A few years later, he led Great Buildings, one of several L.A. outfits whose Knack for zesty power-pop earned them a large local following and a record deal.

The Rembrandts' current single "Just the Way It Is, Baby" is a gem of a pop record, every measured strum building on a bedrock throb to unfold new emotional layers and raise the intensity. At the Roxy on Wednesday, the Rembrandts had an even better idea: a spoken interlude to lead back into the main chorus. But singer Danny Wilde went about it all wrong, trivializing the song by trying to be cute and casual instead of bearing down on the mood.

Who will be "the male Amy Grant"--that is, the first male white gospel performer to make a crossover to the pop mainstream? It's interesting to watch the gospel-rock chart-jockeying between leading contenders Michael W. Smith, whose thin voice and teen-oriented preachiness are a big hit with evangelical kids but unlikely to make a moment's impact with anyone else, and Russ Taff, who actually has some soul in his soul-searching. It's no contest.

It's not that the Rembrandts couldn't sell a new record on their own, but they're sure getting a lot of help from their "Friends." "Friends," in this case, is the hit NBC sitcom for which Rembrandts singers Danny Wilde and Phil Solem recorded what may well be the catchiest TV theme song of recent times. The giddy theme, "I'll Be There for You," is already shaping up as the Los Angeles-based group's biggest hit, having reached No.

It's not that the Rembrandts couldn't sell a new record on their own, but they're sure getting a lot of help from their "Friends." "Friends," in this case, is the hit NBC sitcom for which Rembrandts singers Danny Wilde and Phil Solem recorded what may well be the catchiest TV theme song of recent times. The giddy theme, "I'll Be There for You," is already shaping up as the Los Angeles-based group's biggest hit, having reached No.