Former drummer learns to sing, wows South by Southwest, and wonders why some people just don't get it

You might say there's a bit of a mystery surrounding Sparrow. After all, the frontman looks familiar--but didn't he used to play drums? And how come this out-of-nowhere act is suddenly getting all these high-profile opening slots for Stereolab, Guided by Voices, and even, at this year's South by Southwest music conference, '70s legends Big Star?

In answer to the first question, Sparrow lead singer and keyboardist Jason Zumpano has indeed graced Vancouver stages before. Back in the mid-'90s, he kept time in the abominably catchy power-pop group named after him but led by New Pornographer Carl Newman. And that was also Zumpano tinkling the ivories in an early incarnation of Destroyer. But when that band's leader, Dan Bejar, split for Spain in 2000, the drummer-turned-pianist decided that he was ready to front his own project.

Lacking confidence in his vocal stylings, Zumpano formed the Sparrow. The fledgling band played a few shows around town as an instrumental piano-and-strings trio while its leader, in his words, "put together a demo of myself singing just to see if I could do it". How did the veteran sideman overcome his nervousness? "Alcohol," says Zumpano over a coffee at a Gastown café. He has come here to discuss his band along with Sparrow bassist Shane Nelken on a rainy midweek afternoon. (One of his songs does have the line "The bottle is my saviour," but Zumpano's joking about the alcohol. Probably.)

Fortified by liquid courage, Zumpano began warbling and added some more players. From there, things began falling into place, with an organizer at South by Southwest inviting what was now simply Sparrow to the festival based on an early recording. And so, instead of unveiling its sound at some local dive, the band debuted at an internationally renowned music showcase. As if that wasn't enough, the owner of Chicago-based label Overcoat Recordings, home to such indie stars as Richard Buckner and Kingsbury Manx, was impressed enough by what he saw at the 2003 show to release Sparrow's initial studio foray last summer. A warm, fresh breeze of summery pop, the eponymous debut has a lushness that sweetens the upbeat, simple melodies and emphasizes the gimlet-eyed lyrics. But lilting, low-key gems like "Don't Stand on Me" haven't met with universal acclaim.

"The disc has gotten either really, really great reviews or scathing," says Zumpano. "It's like I'm on to something. 'Cause the bad ones are really bad. Every aspect of the band--the name, the picture on the cover--is criticized."

Nelken, who has played in a long list of local outfits that includes the Come-Ons and, with the Sparrow frontman, the Buzzards and the Blue Lodge Quartet, notes that Zumpano's own project has had to withstand unfair comparisons to the singer's other groups. "It's kind of a double-edged sword," he says. "He reaps the rewards of having people link us with those bands, so initially they listen. The downside is we're always compared to them and it's not fair."

"I dunno," says Zumpano. "Maybe the songs aren't obvious."

Whatever the case, the disc has connected with some of the people who count: label owners, promoters, and the tour managers for Guided by Voices and Stereolab, who invited Sparrow to open for their bands in Vancouver. In fact, the woman who oversees Stereolab's North American jaunts is interested in working with the Vancouver group should it ever decide to tour.

But getting a road-ready version of Sparrow off the ground won't be easy. At the moment, Zumpano and Nelken are committed to the idea of a six-piece band, including Rob Calder on trumpet, Kim Koch on violin, Megan Bradfield on cello, and Josh Lindstrom on drums.

"You want to represent those songs as well as you can," says Nelken. "But logistically, and budgetwise, it's difficult to get everyone together. Hopefully we'll get to do it with the next one." In the meantime, Sparrow will make do with shows at home, including its own first headlining gig in Vancouver at the Media Club on July 23. And if its fortunes keep going the way they have been, look for the band in the opening slot on the next tour by TV on the Radio, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, or some other monster of indie rock.