E-Mail This Article to a Friend Rock-and-roll dreams The Von Bondies and Auf der Maur live out their own BY SEAN RICHARDSON

Most rock fans know all about the connection between the Von Bondies and the White Stripes. Three years ago, the two bands shared a label (Sympathy for the Record Industry), a producer (White Stripes frontman Jack White), and loads of acclaim. Their professional fortunes have continued to rise, but their friendship has gone sour: in a headline-grabbing incident from last year, Jack White assaulted Von Bondies frontman Jason Stollsteimer at the Magic Stick nightclub in their native Detroit. White later pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge and agreed to take anger-management classes, but the bad blood between the pair remains.

The Von Bondies have yet to equal the platinum success of their rivals. But their current Sire debut, Pawn Shoppe Heart, is an infectious bid for mainstream acceptance that brings two more big names, A&R person Seymour Stein and producer Jerry Harrison, into the fold. That pair first worked together in the 1970s with Talking Heads, for whom Harrison played keyboards and guitar. The Rock Hall-of-Famer has also visited the top of the charts as a producer: he played that role on one of the biggest rock albums of the 1990s, Live’s Throwing Copper (Radioactive).

When I get Stollsteimer on the phone from the road, he confesses that when he first hooked up with Harrison, he wasn’t exactly a diehard Talking Heads fan. "Meeting Seymour was the same as meeting Jerry — I didn’t know who they were," he laughs. "My music collection is not as vast as some people’s. Jerry is not one of those people who would introduce himself as, ‘I’m Jerry from Talking Heads.’ He just said, ‘I really like your band, and I’d love to work with you.’ He was so modest, and that’s what helped us pick him. We learned so much, and it was so much fun. Everything he learned when he was in a band, he put into our record."

The first single from Pawn Shoppe Heart, the explosive two-minute rave-up "C’mon, C’mon," has gotten some airplay on rock radio and MTV. And right now, the Von Bondies are out with Auf der Maur on a short tour that comes to Axis this Friday. It’s their first road trip since the departure of bassist Carrie Smith, who’s been replaced by Yasmine Smith (no relation), a veteran of the Starlite Desperation. Stollsteimer says the transition has been painless: Yasmine is an old friend who had been offered the position the last time the band found themselves without a bassist.

The Von Bondies’ line-up is rounded out by guitarist Marcie Bolen and drummer Don Blum. Like most garage-rock bands, they like to share vocal duties, and that gives a raucous girl-group vibe to the proceedings. Stollsteimer and Bolen play an urgent game of call-and-response on "C’mon, C’mon," which underscores its ecstatic groove with a recurring line of regret: "Things were good when we were young." " ‘C’mon, C’mon’ is about a person who had always been in abusive relationships and had always been taken advantage of by guys," Stollsteimer explains. "The lyrics I sing are her voice; the backing vocals are my voice telling her to move on."

Stollsteimer may share a general stripped-down æsthetic with Jack, but on the whole, his writing style is more personal. "It’s me watching people go through their lives. I saw them screw up, and it helped me make decisions throughout my life. I’ve made a lot of mistakes, and hopefully my friends can learn from them. I work out my demons by writing. Some people paint, some people sculpt, some people do poetry — I write songs. Before I was in a band, I was a different person. I was a lot more uptight, and this made me a lot more open to life. If I didn’t have this, I’d probably revert back into my little shell."

Although he’s no stranger to slick production, Harrison does not try to steer the Von Bondies in that direction: Pawn Shoppe Heart is one of the grimiest major-label albums of the year. The opening "No Regrets" sets the tone with its lurid portrayal of scenester debauchery: "So shut off your days and turn on your nights/’Cause the chance is for the takin’ and the takin’s right." Stollsteimer and Bolen are unpolished guitarists with keen ears for feedback; Blum is a manic drummer who worships at the altar of the Who’s Keith Moon.

Art imitates life on the frantic "Tell Me What You See," which chronicles a deteriorating friendship: "When will I know it’s the end/When there’s nothing left for me and you." Stollsteimer sinks into the depths of despair on "Mairéad," a gritty blues jam. The girls bring the party on the second half of the disc: Carrie delivers a coy lead vocal on "Not That Social" and Bolen leads a delirious chant on "The Fever." Stollsteimer goes back to the gutter on the closing "Pawn Shoppe Heart," on which he tips his cap to Detroit rock godfather Iggy Pop.

One of the highlights of the Von Bondies’ young career was sharing the bill with Iggy himself at a home-town show last year. "When I got brought back to meet Iggy, he had just met my brother, who looks a lot like me," Stollsteimer recalls. "My brother had brought back records for him to sign. So I came back there, and little did I know that Iggy had told my brother, ‘Man, great show. I really loved you guys. You reminded me of us when we were young.’ My brother was being a jackass. When I went back there, Iggy was like, ‘Hey man, do you want another autograph?’ I was like, ‘What are you talking about?’ He’s a nice guy. He’s like a kid, so excited about music."

Although he’s wary of all the hype surrounding the Detroit scene these days, Stollsteimer remains proud of his roots. "One thing I’ve noticed is friends of ours who are starting new bands, they’ve been together three or four months and they’re already talking to lawyers and managers. We were a band for three years and we never even thought of having a manager. It’s one of those cities that’s just far enough off the map that a mainstream fad doesn’t even find its way in there. People don’t start bands to sound like Creed or Korn, not in the city. They just do their own thing, and America picks up on it. If it’s not techno, it’s Eminem. It’s always something."

WITH A RÉSUMÉ THAT INCLUDES STINTS WITH HOLE and the Smashing Pumpkins, Melissa Auf der Maur was dealing with misbehaving rock stars back when the White Stripes were nobodies. The bassist is on the road in support of her first solo album, Auf der Maur (Capitol), on which she makes her debut as a lead singer. No Courtney Love or Billy Corgan cameos here — instead, she calls on writer Josh Homme and producer Chris Goss, both of Queens of the Stone Age and Kyuss fame.

With those two on board, it’s no surprise that Auf der Maur is bottom-heavier than anything in Melissa’s past. In the video for "Followed the Waves," she strikes all of her trademark rock poses and uses pirate-ship footage to enhance the track’s stormy vibe. There’s plenty of melody beneath the sludge, and she gets flirty on the bridge: "I’m gonna shuffle his deck clean." She wrote that song by herself, but Homme had a hand in building its Led Zeppelin–style wall of guitars.

Of all the collaborators on the album, the only one on the road with Melissa is guitarist Steve Durand, a friend from her pre-stardom days on the Montreal scene. Those two share a writing credit on the epic "Real a Lie," a brisk rocker with a lush chorus. They keep the tempo up there on "Skin Receiver," which approximates the relentless gallop of Heart’s "Barracuda." Melissa’s breathy vocals come from the Breeders/Belly school of alt-rock, a perception that’s reinforced by her stream-of-consciousness lyrics.

Auf der Maur is a dense album, one that sometimes gets weighed down by plodding stoner-rock trifles. So it’s nice to see Melissa joining forces with Hole guitarist Eric Erlandson on the insecurity anthem "Would If I Could," which recalls the straightforward power pop of their work together on Celebrity Skin (Geffen). But her two writing collaborations with Homme are the main reasons rock fans should check out this disc. "I’ll Be Anything You Want" is the lightest thing here, a close relative of the jaunty Queens smash "No One Knows." "Lots of fish in the sea, but is it her or me," Melissa asks, later smirking her way through a line from Black Sabbath’s "Paranoid." The closing "I Need I Want I Will" is a loving take on the Kyuss legend of Southern California "generator parties": "Off they went following a dirt desert path/A brand new beginning for lovers of sound." When the track fades on one of Homme’s signature psychedelic vocal hooks, it’s the sound of Melissa living out her latest rock fantasy.

The Von Bondies and Auf der Maur perform this Friday, October 1, at Axis, 13 Lansdowne Street in Boston; call (617) 262-2437.