For years, Freebo was content to stay in the background. A bass player who's most high-profile gig was with Bonnie Raitt's band, he was fortunate to be able to tour the world and live out many of his dreams. Part of him, however, yearned for more. "It's the box we put ourselves in," Freebo says of being a sideman, "and it's our choice to get out of that box." The Pennsylvania native -- he was born in a small coal mining town near Scranton -- did just that a few years ago. Since then, he's released two solo albums, which will be featured at his gig tonight at Club Cafe on the South Side. Freebo's second career began in 1999 with the release of "The End of the Beginning." It was a matter of pride, yes, but also survival to strike out on his own. "I call it slow quicksand," he says. "At some point you realize you're there and slowly spiraling downward. You realize you're stuck ... and the first step is realizing you're stuck. The second step is realizing you need to move, and the third step is taking the step." Fortunately, Freebo was able to call on friends to help extricate himself. Guitarist Albert Lee, Paul Barrere and Sam Clayton of Little Feat, and vocalist Valerie Carter all contributed to the album, as did Raitt, who sings harmony vocals on "How Do I Say Goodbye." Incorporating everything from jazz to Dixieland to rock and blues, the album's release was both a musical and personal statement. "A lot of people said, 'I didn't know you could do this,'" Freebo says, noting that the perception was that he played bass and nothing else. "Well, nobody knows you if can do something until you do it. ... And it's not just simply a transition from sideman to frontman. It's much deeper than that. It's being able to express yourself." There were doubts, he says. But the alternative was growing old, waking up one day in bed and wondering what if he never took the chance. "All of a sudden you rise to the occasion," he says. "You've done it." Freebo's second album, "Dog People," is a bit different. As the title indicates, it consists of songs about man's best friends. "First of all, there's the unconditional love thing, which we struggle to do," says Freebo, who has a golden retriever named Garbo. "They really seem to have that down. And even a little more subtlety but just as important, that Zen thing of being in the moment, where we are all trying to get. Life happens in the moment, the past is regret and shame, the future is worry and obsession, and there's nothing real about anything other than the moment that is happening now. Dogs are simply there, all the time." Even in song. Additional Information:

If you go

When : 7:30 tonight Admission : $6 in advance; $8 at the door Where : Club Cafe, South Side Details : (412) 431-4950 or www.clubcafelive.com

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