Tim Smith, singer and songwriter for Denton, Tex. folkies Midlake keeps the Internet at a distance (that's where the critics are) but he doesn't think it makes him special.

He knows that for every cardigan-sporting Apple fanboy, there's a flannel-draped beardster cultured and affluent enough to adopt minimalism as a hobby.

To wit: Smith barely has a cell phone ("though I can maybe see myself getting an iPhone... one day"), and to this day refuses an e-mail account.

"Yeah, somebody in the band signed me up for my own e-mail as a joke," he said. "I actually got kind of upset about it. I canceled it, but the label sent me all these e-mails like ‘Oh great, we can finally talk to you' and I was just like, no, we can't. I don't want to check that every day."

Midlake & Rogue Wave wsg Peter Wolf Crier Ladies Literary Club, Grand Rapids Sept. 22, 8 p.m. $20 public, $10 with Calvin ID calvin.edu/admin/sao, (616) 526-6282

He swears his quasi-Luddite lifestyle, like his band's straight-from-the-Shire aesthetic and admittedly retro sound (Google automatically fills in "Fleetwood Mac" as a keyword search companion) isn't intended as a social statement or an attempt to turn up its collective nose to flavor-of-the-month indie-rock.

It's just that for every mostly positive review of its spacey Euro-folk meets ‘70s soft-rock, like the A- that the AV Club gave its breakthrough album The Trials of Van Occupanther, there is a mostly depressing review, like the 3.6 (out of 10) Pitchfork gave its latest album The Courage of Others.

"The other guys aren't as affected by that stuff, but I try to steer clear," he said. "It's not that we're out of that [indie-rock blog] scene, either. I mean, we're in it. I would look like a cliché indie-rocker if you saw me walking the street. The hair is getting longer; I've got a beard, plaid shirts. We're not trying to escape that, we just do what we like to do."

What the former North Texas University jazz students like to do, says Smith, is to be completely unoriginal -- and to be honest about it.

"I don't know man, it's tough, but I just feel like everything has pretty much been done and that the canvass is pretty well messed up by this point," he said. "To be original is virtually impossible nowadays. I can't tell bands apart. Everyone sounds the same. I don't fault striving to be original, but it's hard. We don't claim to be original. We just flat out tell people who our influences are and what we love and that we're just trying to make that kind of music to the best of our abilities."

In 2006, the so-old-it's-new hooks of "Roscoe" fit in with enough of what people were into to make it one of that year's most blogged-about songs.

"Yeah, before [The Trials of Van Occupanther] came out some reviewer got a hold of it, and leaked it online," Smith said. "I think it had 80,000 downloads before the album even came out. It didn't make any money. It was passed out for free, I guess. But that was really what did it for us ... that was really huge for us. I'm really thankful for it."

So that's one good thing about the Internet, right?

"Yeah," he says. "I guess."

Smokey Robinson, Iggy Pop, Madonna, Bob Seger, Eminem. Since the inception of pop music, the east side of Michigan has produced many a rock and roll star.

For the last several years, Muskegon rock band Pop Evil has been working to ensure that West Michigan gets its fair share of attention. Through almost constant touring, and significant radio presence with songs like "100 in a 55," Pop Evil has garnered plenty of attention. On Sept. 11, Pop Evil is headed back to its home in West Michigan after touring the summer festival circuit, playing the Rock the Felt Festival in Saugatuck.

Rock the Felt, featuring The Guess Who, Pop Evil Sept. 10-12, 7 p.m. Friday, 1 p.m. Saturday $10-$60, $10 a vehicle for onsite parking rockthefelt.com

"We really love playing Saugatuck," Lead Singer Leigh Kakaty said of his band's performance at the upcoming show.

With a new album on the way, War of Angels, Pop Evil will be using the Rock the Felt show to debut some new songs.

Having spent much of the last two months touring the Midwest and finishing the new album, Pop Evil loves coming home to friends and family.

"There's a different kind of energy in West Michigan," Kakaty said.

Pop Evil has experienced the extreme highs over the past year that all rock bands dream of. Having been signed by Universal while touring for their previous record, Lipstick on the Mirror, Pop Evil was finally able to record its new album as full-time musicians.

"We've really become our own band," Kakaty said. "[The] highs are becoming a rock band and rock stars, low is being away from home and family ... Coming home can never be the same."

The frontman said fans of the band can expect the homecoming show at the Felt to be full of energy and passion.

The Felt Mansion, located between Holland and Saugatuck in the Shore Acres Township Park is sure to be an idyllic setting for the three-day festival.

To complement the outdoor atmosphere, the festival is using all local vendors and sponsors, including Saugatuck Brewery, The Gilmore Collection, and 25 Kitchen & Bar. Felt Promoter Jon Meyer says next summer, The Felt Mansion will be hosting a regular concert series with acts such as Kid Rock, Bob Seger, and Ted Nugent.

Paleface and Mo wsg Grrropolis and The Fainting Generals Sept. 2, 9:30 p.m. Founders Brewing Co., Grand Rapids foundersbrewing.com, (616) 776-1195 –Free!–

Paleface is something of a legend to a lot of singer/songwriters. Initially discovered by Danny Fields within the New York anti-folk circuit, he's a personal friend of Daniel Johnston and let Beck sleep on his couch. He inspired musicians at the infamous Lach's Antihoot including The Moldy Peaches, Regina Spektor, and Langhorne Slim, as well as local acts Grropolis and Chance Jones. He's put out more than a dozen records, toured with Billy Bragg, and currently travels across the country playing music with his girlfriend/drummer Monica "Mo" Samalot.

"A lot of clowns think that they wanna be rock stars and live the high life," Paleface muses, when asked about his touring life. "When that doesn't happen in five seconds, they end up bagging groceries. Well, I guess they were in it for the wrong reasons. If they really like what they were doing, they would still be playing music and not caving to some pressures from family, friends, girlfriends or whatever."

PF, his shorter moniker, said he never cared about what anyone thought of his lifestyle, eventually finding a kindred spirit in Mo. PF does the driving and writes the songs, Mo books the shows and handles the business end of things.

PF describes the circle of musicians influencing musicians as a family tree:

"I met Daniel [Johnston] and he influenced me, then Beck met me and was influenced by what I was doing, then someone like Adam Green was influenced by Beck and I ended up being friends with the Moldy Peaches," he said. "You can trace all these things and sometimes they turn back on themselves or branch out in different directions."

In January, PF and Mo recorded One Big Party, their newest record. Slated for release in mid-October, PF says it's a more polished record than previous release, The Show is on the Road.

The title track was written about a woman with a broken arm drinking malt liquor midday who PF met by chance at a laundromat, who told him about her violent "crack-head boyfriend."

"I could kind of relate to her because alcohol took its toll on me and I ended up in unhappy situations and couldn't really see it or find my way out until the alcohol was removed from the equation," he said.

The tone of the subject matter aside, PF said most of the tracks are somewhat upbeat in sound.

‘We like that atmosphere when we are playing live — the more carnival-like and crazy the better for us," he said. "There is definitely a double-meaning. The title seemed to fit."

Photo: Cheater Slicks

Eric Earley is soft-spoken and vague — not what you would expect from a critically successful band's frontman. When answering questions, Earley gives short answers, and in terms of emotion, there's distinct neutrality in his voice.

Instead of speaking for his band, the singer and primary songwriter for Blitzen Trapper lets his lyrics speak for him. Earley writes songs that tell stories of nature, violent crimes and fantasy. The songs are poignant and beautiful not only for their melodies, but because their core lies in the songwriting.

"I feel like music now is nostalgia almost, and that's why songwriting is more important to me than genre," Earley said. "I'm more interested in using whatever genre I feel like in order to communicate a song I'm writing."

The mish-mash of genres Blitzen Trapper creates resembles the classic folk and Americana sounds of the ‘60s and ‘70s, a combination of band influences that ranges from Neil Young, and Townes VanZandt, to the storytelling traditions of country and bluegrass.

Blitzen Trapper Ladies Literary Club, Grand Rapids Oct. 1, 8 p.m. $20 calvin.edu/admin/sao, (616) 526-6282

During shows, it's common for the band to play a cover of one of those influences.

"[Covers are an] us pleaser. I just do it ‘cause it's fun. There [are] certain songs I like to play."

The band, which has been together for 10 years, has released five full-length albums. It was Blitzen Trapper's fourth release, Furr, which started getting the band attention. In June, the band released Destroyer of the Void, which received three and a half stars from Rolling Stone and Alternative Press.

Despite the critical success as of late, Earley, however, has a more humble approach to the album.

"From my perspective, I just see it as the next step of what I'm writing and what I've been interested in," he said. "I don't know if it's better or worse, it's just what I did last year."

The statement sums up Earley's anti-rock star attitude, while his lifestyle only confirms more.

Recently, he bought a '95 Subaru four-wheel drive from his friend who was moving to Europe. He wasn't trying to be ironic — his friend offered him the vehicle for a great price, and he needed something to get him to the river or beach.

Similarly, when asked what his idea of luxury was, Earley said, "I think it would be nice if I had Internet in my apartment ... Maybe when I get back, I'll get Internet."

Ah, the perks of being a rock star.

Photo: Todd Roeth