A conversation with the man known as Tommy Tutone can go in several interesting directions. For example, the name is actually the name of the group that was originally named Tommy & the Tu-tones, but so many people have assumed over the years that “;Tommy Tutone”; was the group's lead vocalist, it's a name he'll answer to.

“;Before the band I was just 'Tutone,'”; he explained last month from Tennessee, where Tommy (birth name Thomas Heath) has been working on a new music project he describes as “;soul twang.”; Tonight, though, he'll headline an evening of '80s music at Pipeline Cafe.

“;I lived in a little town in Northern California where everybody had a nickname,”; he continued, sharing the second half of the story. He and the other founding members of the group were going to call it Tutone, but the record company wanted another name. Tommy & the Tu-tones became Tommy Tutone, and as time passed he became Tommy Tutone to the public.

Whatever you call him, fans will be there tonight to hear him sing “;867-5309/Jenny.”; The song reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982, was certified “;gold”; for sales of more than 1 million copies and must have been the bane of many middle school girls named Jenny—and anyone in the country whose telephone number was 867-5309.

“;Sometimes you'll analyze the song (and decide) the guy's really a stalker, but that way I'm singing it is heartfelt,”; Tommy said, adding it's also possible that the guy really cares about Jenny.

For a good part of the 28 years since the song became a musical icon of the era, Tutone enjoyed a low-profile career as a computer programmer. He released a solo album, “;Tutone.rtf,”; in 1998, and since then has become committed to showing people who he really is as musician and songwriter.

“;Back in '78 I had a big ol' band with a horn section and a steel guitar player,”; he said. “;We played everything, and then we got to what I call 'narrow-casting,' where we had to narrow down the focus (in the '80s).

“;That's when people got to know me, but the real me is 'Mr. Variety.' I don't think I ever really got across to everybody what I'm really about.”;

The opportunities for music marketing on the Internet have changed that. Tommy can give his imagination free rein without having to convince record label executives that fans of “;867-5309/Jenny”; will like it.

“;When I set out to write, all this music comes out of me, but (back then) I never could do anything with it. There'd be a rockabilly song, and then there'd be a soul song or a country song and (in the old days) it wouldn't fit on the record.

“;But now that I'm in charge of my own music, I can throw in any kind of music that interests me. ... What I really want to do is come up with something that unites it all.”;

Tommy describes Tommy Tutone of the '80s as “;a character.”;

“;More and more I act like him all the time—(for instance) I wear my shades all the time ... but it's a dual-edged sword,”; he said. “;Everybody knows me (as Tommy Tutone), but then they expect certain things.

“;(Tonight) we're gonna play as long as we can. I'm singing better than I ever sang, and any place I want to go (musically), the band is ready to go.”;