Never out of style

If a recording artist survives long enough, there may come a day when he has to decide between playing what he's into, or doing the songs fans want to hear.

(For instance, when Linda Ronstadt played the 2006 Diamond Head Crater Festival, she not only appeared to be performing on autopilot, but also omitted most of the '70s vintage rock remakes that her long-time fans were there to hear.)

'That Big '80s Show' Featuring Atlantic Starr, Stevie B and Angel "The Original Cover Girl" On stage: 9 p.m. Saturday, doors open at 8 p.m. (18 and over) Place: Pipeline Cafe, 805 Pohukaina St. Tickets: $35 presale and $45 at the door, available at the Blaisdell Center box office, all Ticketmaster outlets including Times Super Markets and BYU-Hawaii Call: (877) 755-4400 or online at ticketmaster.com

So even though Stevie B released a new album last year, don't expect to hear any of it at Pipeline Cafe this weekend at "That Big '80s Show."

"I'll get the classics in there, but I don't tend to force anything (new) down the fans' throats," Stevie said by phone last Friday.

"If I go see one of my nostalgic groups, I really don't go there to hear a new song; I want to hear my favorites. It's like going to your favorite restaurant and ordering your favorite dish, and all of a sudden the chef brings out something completely different."

That's good news for everyone who enjoyed Stevie's 1990 chart topper, "Because I Love You (The Postman Song)," plus a list of other enduring favorites that includes "Spring Love," "I Wanna Be the One" and "I'll Be By Your Side."

Also performing at "the Pipe" on Saturday is Atlantic Starr, remembered two decades later for "Always" and "Secret Lovers," and Louise "Angel" Sabater, a founding member of the Cover Girls, a late-'80s girl group that scored three Top 40 hits between 1987 and 1990.

Asked about his inspiration as a self-taught musician and singer/songwriter, Stevie replied that all his songs are the work of "a hopeless romantic."

"I never wrote songs that weren't real. I didn't write fiction, I wrote real stuff, and a lot of times the stuff was personal. ... If there was any fiction, it was about the hope of something happening (in the future).

"I believe in love. I believe that it's the kind of thing that can grow, and if it grows correctly, it can mean something. When I have the opportunity to express it musically, I try to make it as real as possible, because I want it to be sincere."

Sincerity and well-crafted lyrics never go out of style, but the music business has changed tremendously since Stevie first made the Billboard Hot 100 with "Dreamin' of Love" in the spring on 1988. These days he's marketing his new music -- including his newest single, "Running for Miles" -- online at www.myspace.com/steviebmusic and selling it as downloads at www.hottunez.com.

"I think that's where most of the artists are headed, and that's where new artists today should focus themselves," he said. "Kids aren't listening to radio like they used to, they're iPoding and they're downloading and they're going online."