The Push Stars With The Churchills. 7 p.m. Sunday and Monday. Club Cafe, South Side. $8 and $10. (412) 323-1919.

The Push Stars' story reads more like an episode from the canceled NBC series 'Freaks and Geeks' rather than 'Felicity' or 'Dawson's Creek.' 'I grew up singing in a barbershop quartet, probably one of the geekiest things you could do in high school,' says the band's lead singer-guitarist Chris Trapper. As bassist and keyboardist Dan McLoughlin notes, however, it's always the weirdest kids in high school - the outcasts and loners - who become the creative lights of the next generation. And if The Push Stars have yet to find their place in the ever-morphing world of pop music, well, that's fine by them. 'We don't feel too much like we're a product of this time, or a part of this time,' McLoughlin says. 'We're not too connected to what's going on right now in music.' That's because the Boston-based group is a pop band in the best sense of the term: gorgeous melodies, killer hooks and soaring choruses that seem rooted in another age. And while The Beatles and music of the '60s and '70s are touchstones, of course, it turns out McLoughlin, Trapper and drummer Ryan MacMillan take much of their inspiration from sources that predate the Fab Four. 'We weren't hip teen-agers,' McLoughlin says. 'Literally, we used to listen to the Ink Spots and Sam Cooke when we were 15. Not only that stuff - we listened to Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith, too. But we also loved doo wop.' 'Sometimes we do feel like we've just walked out of a time machine,' Trapper adds. Diversity might gain a band friends among rock critics, but radio programmers shy away from groups that tend to show a modicum of creativity. During their short period with Capitol Records, Trapper says, The Push Stars had to fight to prevent the band from being marketed and recorded as an alternative rock band. The one thing Capitol did do, however, was find alternative outlets for the band's music. Go into a grocery store or fast food restaurant, and it's still possible to hear their single 'Any Little Town.' 'We hear our music at McDonalds' and at truck stops,' McLoughlin says. 'But it's kind of frustrating to hear it over a loudspeaker and not hear anyone say, 'Hey, that was The Push Stars, go see them tonight.'' The band also benefited from some savvy salesmanship that's placed their music on television shows ranging from 'Malcolm in the Middle' to 'All My Children,' and on soundtracks for movies including 'Say It Isn't So,' 'Something About Mary' and 'Me, Myself & Irene.' 'We'll be playing outside at places and people will stop and say 'Hey, I know that song,'' McLoughlin says. 'But they won't know the name of it or who we are right away.' McLoughlin and Trapper, though, refuse to complain about the lack of name recognition. With 'Opening Time,' their latest album, they've regained complete control of their music. And via steady airplay on noncommercial radio stations (McLoughlin particularly lauds WYEP-FM as being instrumental in the band's local popularity), they've slowly built a small but loyal fan base. Then, there are always the geeks. 'The one thing that's really important to us is that if we see a shy kid, who's maybe 16 and an awkward person, we'll talk to him for a half-hour after a show,' McLoughlin says. 'That's our revenge for high school: talking to the geeky kid for a half-hour.' 'I'm always looking for that person who was me or Dan or Ryan, the guy in the corner of the club who's watching us,' Trapper says. 'The kid who has a different sort of passion beyond being a party person. Someone who waits to hear the ballads in our set.' Regis Behe can be reached at (412) 320-7990 or rbehe@tribweb.com .

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