Joe Lally should need no introduction. As one half of one of the most rock-solid and inventive rhythm sections in rock and roll, he spent the better part of two decades playing the part of unshakeable anchor for Fugazi's storms of dueling guitars. His fluid, rolling bass lines have been often imitated, and, in one case, appropriated for the unlikely purpose of rallying fans at sporting events.

With his former band in the midst of a very long, and very indefinite hiatus, Lally found himself with a whole lot of those bass lines and nowhere to put them. The purpose he did finally find for them was in an album of his own, released on Dischord Records late last year, called There to Here. If there are surprises to be found on the record, they are in the near skeletal arrangements, centered around Lally's bass, vocals, and minimal percussion, with bare guitar flourishes added here and there. One song even dispenses with instruments altogether, as Lally delivers an earnest a cappella testimony on political doublespeak.

At the Black Cat backstage last week, it becomes apparent that the songs as they appear on record are really blueprints of a sort. They exist as an end in themselves, but they also are a framework for improvisation and interpretation, Lally's bass providing the iron girders for other musicians to build on as they see fit. Like a jazz bandleader, Lally is able to tour with a ton of different musicians, and find new ways of playing his songs with every group. On Monday, his band was comprised of the Oberlin College-based Capillary Action. Their own show, which preceded Lally's, revealed them to be an insanely talented instrumental ensemble that would have done Frank Zappa proud, switching tempo and genre on a dime as they gave the illusion of riding the cacophonous edge of disaster. When they changed roles to become Lally's backing band, they faded into the background, displaying restrained musicianship, allowing Lally's soft voice and lyrical bass to remain in the foreground as they filled in the gaps.

The sum total is a project that demands to be heard live, and heard live multiple times. Lally's songwriting is elegant in its economy, and has an eerie beauty in the simple vocal melodies his bass winds its way in and around. But hearing the same song interpreted differently by whichever musicians Lally brings with him on any given tour is just as fascinating as the songs are enjoyable.

Visit Joe Lally online at: http://joelally.com/

See him live next: You're out of luck for the near future unless you happen to be in Europe during February and March.

Buy the album at: Dischord Records

You've been touring with a lot of different backing musicians. I was really impressed by the touches that Capillary Action brought to the material. How much does the same song change depending on who you're playing with?

I'd like the music to change a lot but it depends on who I'm playing with and how we all work together. The songs should sound more like the players I'm with than the record.

How much rehearsal time do you try to have with a new set of musicians before playing out?

It would be nice to practice at least three or four times but it hasn't worked out that way yet. I'm lucky to get one practice in before a tour.

When you decided to do a solo project, did you already have material lying around that you could build on, or did you basically start fresh?

When Fugazi stopped working I began saving different bass lines and a number of lyrical ideas. I began putting them together or completing them as I could. I had never written by myself before so it was a process that started then and continues to this day.

You played some new songs on Monday. How much do you write when you're on the road? Are you already thinking about another record?

I don't get to write much on the road but I did get to some of the new ideas on this tour with Capillary Action. I want to begin recording the next record in April, we'll see.

While your solo material is, on the whole, a pretty far departure from what people are accustomed to from you, those bass lines are still instantly recognizeable as Joe Lally. Were you at all worried at the outset that maybe the style you've developed might not fit into a different context? Have you had to make any subtle changes to the way you play?

I just went with what came naturally so there wasn't much to worry about. The hard part was completing songs on my own. I was used to working the only way I knew how, with the other members of Fugazi. It took a lot of work to complete songs that I only had a vocal melody for. Fugazi always wrote the music first so I had to figure out how to get to the end in a completely different way.

How have crowds been? Any guys at the back of the room calling out requests for "Waiting Room," or have they been pretty much into seeing what you're doing now?

No one has asked for Fugazi songs. The fact that people have come out to see me at all is great.

Maybe the most important question: are you enjoying yourself? Are you finding life as a solo artist suits you, or are there still days when you miss the band dynamic?

I'm enjoying this and I am looking for more people to be involved live because I miss the interaction with more instrumentation. It started out with just me, then me and a drummer.

Any thoughts on this week's debate over underage people going to bars, particularly as regards your own experience with all ages shows as a kid, or the softened direction the regulators seem to now be headed towards with the legislation?

We all know that all ages shows work just fine, in a bar or any other venue. It's been going on for so long now. The rest of it is just trying to find a quick remedy to show they have responded to the tragedy and should keep their place in office.