E-Mail This Article to a Friend Biomusicology 101 A Ted Leo primer BY MIKE MILIARD

Six things you should know about Ted Leo, who comes to Matrix next Sunday, March 28, with his band the Pharmacists:

1) Although he’s a Jersey native and made his bones in Washington, DC (with mod-punkers Chisel), he lived in the Hub for three years and loves it here. "I lived there from spring of ’97 to August or September of 2000. I lived in JP, Inman Square, and then a loft in Chinatown. I used to have a routine every day of buying the Times and then reading it at [sadly defunct Boston Common coffee shop] Curious Liquids. . . . During that time, I made most of my Boston friends: I’m really tight with the Secret Stars and Karate people and also always got along well with the Damn Personals. One of my favorite bands in the world now is Helms. Victory at Sea: I love those people. I’m sure I’m leaving people out."

2) The Irish accents in his music — the frenetic electric jig in the middle of "Timorous Me," the references to "the graveyard at Inchigeela" in Hearts of Oak (and the green football jerseys on the album cover?) — are no blarney. "I’m mostly Irish . . . so there’s definitely a Celtic influence. I’ve always kind of gone to that well for musical inspiration, though probably never as explicitly [as recently]. Those sorts of melodies that seem to cut right to your heart and carry at least as much meaning as the lyrics are something that I try to tap into more and more."

3) He really is as fond of Thin Lizzy and Dexy’s Midnight Runners as his propulsive, multifarious melodies and heart-on-sleeve lyrics would suggest. "It’s true. It’s the same thing I love about Van Morrison — which, if we’re gonna be honest, both Thin Lizzy and Dexy’s were trying to be. That openness to mixing cultures musically, just kinda finding what’s real about R&B and soul and tapping into that, then bringing some of your own background to it. For me, 20 years down the line, I’ve got punk rock to add to the mix. One of my favorite Thin Lizzy songs is called ‘Return of the Farmer’s Son.’ It’s a really heavy, stomping rock song that’s based around this jig-like riff. That was the song that opened my eyes to what they were all about, when I first understood, ‘Ohhh, this is hard rock, R&B, and Irish.’ "

4) He has impeccable taste in covers. His recent solo EP, Tell Balgeary Balgury Is Dead (Lookout!), boasts stripped-down versions of Ewan MacColl’s "Dirty Old Town" and the Jam’s "Ghosts," among others. Live, he’s been known to do Mission of Burma’s "Academy Fight Song" and Springsteen’s "Dancing in the Dark." But recently Blender magazine enlisted him to learn a few of its "50 Worst Songs of All Time" (Starship, Color Me Badd) and busk them in NYC’s Union Square. "I’ve never busked before in my life. I was insanely nervous. It’s way different standing out in the middle of the street and starting to sing. Once I started playing and you could see people’s faces, they were mostly sorta snickering, because it’s really cold, and here’s this guy standing out there playing Bette Midler’s ‘From a Distance.’ Having done that, I actually now am kind of interested in busking. It was fun! Maybe I’ll try it."

5) He thinks his new DVD, Dirty Old Town: Live at Coney Island (Plexifilm), is beautifully shot but wishes his voice had been in better shape. "That particular day, it was one of my first shows back on stage after I’d lost my voice last spring. I had to be silent for weeks. I strained my vocal cords, my larynx got incredibly swollen and just closed up in my throat from stress and overuse. My voice just sort of gave me the finger and collapsed on itself."

6) He’ll keep singing in that quavering quasi-falsetto, even if it means he might one day lose his voice again. "You can get more volume at a higher pitch. But it’s also just . . . if that’s where the melody takes it, that’s where I try to go."

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists play Matrix, 275 Tremont Street in the Theater District, next Sunday, March 28. Tickets are $10; call (617) 931-2000.