By CLAYTON PARK

When I first heard singer-songwriter Eric Apoe perform a few years ago, I was immediately reminded of another eclectic, gravelly throated tunesmith: Tom Waits.

Apoe says Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and Billie Holiday have been greater influences on him musically than Waits, but he acknowledges that Waits is an old friend, although it's been a few years since he's seen him.

The two met in the late 1970s and used to hang out together in Los Angeles when Apoe held a job there as a staff songwriter for Chappell Music.

These days, Apoe, a Seattle native and Roosevelt High grad (class of 1970), lives in Wallingford. While his L.A. days are thankfully behind him ("I did my time living 11 years in the state penitentiary for the musically insane," he says), Apoe continues to write songs and perform with his band, They.

In September, he will perform two shows in North Seattle: at the Maple Leaf Grill on Sept. 7 and The Fiddler's Inn on Sept. 20.

Apoe may not be a major label recording artist like Waits, but he has won his share of accolades over the years.

Music magazine The Tentacle once described Apoe as "the proverbial voice crying in the wilderness, daring to tell it like it is in his affecting songs of love and doom. Eric's striking lyrics and hoary vocals cut right to the heart of the human condition, accompanied by the imaginative neo-chamber arrangements of his group They. ... As a songwriter, Eric has forgotten more genres than most people ever master, with a stylistic breadth encompassing folk, rock, jazz, blues, ballads, Celtic music, weirdness and more."

Apoe began writing songs in sixth grade and joined his first band as a drummer at age 13. He later became the original drummer for seminal '70s and '80s Seattle rock band Red Dress and later toured for a couple years as the drummer for nationally acclaimed Cajun fiddler Doug Kershaw.

In 1979, Apoe was hired as the drummer for folksinger Tim Hardin of "If I Was a Carpenter" fame. Tragically, Hardin died the following year.

In 1983, Apoe was introduced to the legendary John Hammond, the CBS/Columbia Records talent scout who is credited with having "discovered" the likes of Bob Dylan, Billie Holiday, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Bruce Springstein.

Hammond took an immediate liking to Apoe, both as a musician and songwriter, and invited him to come to New York to record a demo with him.

Amazingly, Apoe balked at Hammond's offer - a decision he later came to regret.

Ironically, Apoe says, Hammond "wanted me to do what I'm doing now - folk and jazz stuff, but I blew it. (At the time) I still wanted to do more rock."

Apoe finally traveled to the Big Apple in 1986 to meet with Hammond, but by then his opportunity had passed.

He returned to L.A. to continue his music career before he decided to return to Seattle in 1992. Nowadays, Apoe works by day as a locksmith while playing music at night. He and his wife Eileen (who works at the Wallingford QFC) are also the proud parents of a 16-year-old daughter, Ireina, who attends Roosevelt High. Ireina is a talented musician in her own right who plays violin and used to occasionally perform with her dad when she was younger.

Earlier this year, Apoe and They released a CD album titled "Radioation," which includes live performances originally broadcast on Seattle radio stations KUOW and KEXP with additional recording done at Jack Straw Studios in the University District. The album can be found in local music stores, including Tower, Borders and Sonic Boom.

On Saturday, Sept. 7, Apoe will perform a "house concert" at the Maple Leaf Grill (8929 Roosevelt Way NE), from 10 p.m. to midnight. Apoe will be backed by guitarist John Olufs (ex-Picketts) and Alicia Allen on violin. Singer-songwriter Carolyn Cruso is also on the bill.

On Friday, Sept. 20, Apoe will perform at The Fiddlers Inn (9219 35th Ave. NE), from 9 p.m. to midnight. He will be accompanied by two other members of his revolving-cast band: Damien Aitken on saxophone and bassist Fred Chalanor.

Big band night at Meridian

The Meridian Restaurant/Bar near Gas Works Park features live big band music on the first Tuesday of every month performed by the Portage Bay Big Band.

Heidi Moon, one of three partners who run The Meridian, describes the Portage Bay Big Band as a 20-25-piece band that plays both classic swing tunes from the 1930s and 1940s as well as newer "retro" swing tunes.

"We've been doing this since January," said Moon, who added that while the band plays in the lounge, "you can hear it all throughout the restaurant."

The restaurant's owners invited the Portage Bay Big Band to play there after learning that one of the band's members, trombone player Peter Anderson, is the father of two of The Meridian's longtime employees: bartender Hannah Anderson and Corey Anderson, a former server who recently left to prepare for her new job as a teacher this fall.

The Portage Bay Big Band's next scheduled performances at The Meridian will be Sept. 3 and Oct. 1, from 7:30-9:30 p.m.

The Meridian is located at 1900 N. Northlake Way.