Most musicians nowadays are just a flash in the pan. They get a video in rotation on MTV, Kurt Loder fawns all over them for a couple weeks and then — nothing. Like, who’s gonna remember Beck or Better Than Ezra in 20 years?

Longevity doesn’t seem to be a problem for Little Charlie and the Nightcats. The California-based band has been bustin’ out trail-blazing blues for two decades. They will celebrate their twentieth anniversary and their new release, Straight Up! on Alligator Records, with a live performance at Connie’s Lounge in Des Moines tonight.

“We’ve had a band called Little Charlie and the Nightcats for 20 years,” Charles Baty, guitarist, explained. “There’re only two members, me, the guitarist, and Rick Estrin, the lead vocalist, who have been in the band the whole time. Our drummer [Dobie Strange] has been around for 11 or 12 years, and our bassist Ronnie [James Weber] joined a couple years ago.”

The Nightcats have been together for longer than a lot of college students have been alive. That, and the fact that the band actually pays the bills, still bewilders its members.

“It’s strange to be in the same band for half of your life,” Baty said. “I never thought I would make a living doing this. It was just a hobby, a way to pay homage to my favorite blues musicians.”

Little Charlie and the Nightcats is here to stay, but thankfully not in the exact original form. The band has branched out in the field of songwriting and makes sure that originality tops the list, even with covers.

“We mostly did covers at first,” Baty explained. “Rick, our songwriter, wrote maybe two or three songs in the first five years. He just didn’t realize his talent for it. Now we’re one of the few original blues bands. On this new album, we cover the song ‘Playboy,’ but I don’t remember who did it [before us].

“When we first got on Alligator Records,” Baty continued, “one thing they said was there’s no need for bands to cover songs that’ve been done a million times before, like ‘Sweet Home Chicago.’ Do something that’s more obscure and less heard of, and people might start to identify the song with you.”

Now that Little Charlie and the Nightcats are ol’ pros at this music business thing, they’re ready to release their sixth album, Straight Up!. They have grown and matured during their blues tenure, and the music shows it.

“This album’s different from the others in several ways,” Baty explained. “This is the first record that’s totally produced by Rick and me. It’s also the first album for our newest member; even though our bassist’s been with us for two years, this is his first album, and he’s playing an acoustic bass. It’s a first for that, too.

“And most importantly, this is the first record we really tried to approach in a live way, rather than in layers and parts. There’s the addition of organ and sax on a few cuts. I like the feel of it; it’s comfortable and natural. Modern music is more computerized and a lot more complicated. Our heroes all make records the way we were trying to make this one.”

One thing the Nightcats have learned from their two decades in blues is the absolute importance of touring. This year, for instance, took them to Hong Kong, around the United States on three separate tours, and in October, they’re headed to Europe. Their popularity both in and out of America won them a recent award: Best Overseas Live Blues Performer of 1995 from Australia.

“We play 50 weeks out of the year, and two-thirds of that is touring out of state,” Baty said. “If we travel 200 miles and we’re still in California, I consider that local. If you can get back home in a day, that’s not a tour. When we’re out of town, we’re working six days a week. When you finally get a day off, you spend it doing laundry or sleeping.

“Basically, you have to tour if you want to make a living playing music. You can’t just stay home. And there’s more demand for you to come back to places; we’ve been around for so long we get approached a lot.”

With a solid fan base, down-to-earth attitude and timeless tunes, Little Charlie and the Nightcats will surpass trends and is sure to be around for another 20 years.

“Blues is not a fad; it’s the kind of thing you can grow with,” Baty said. “It reflects your personality. It’s not like disco that’ll be gone in a few years. Who would want to wear those horrible outfits anyway?”

Little Charlie and the Nightcats will perform tonight at Connie’s Lounge, located at 3839 Merle Hay Road in Des Moines. The show starts at 9:30 p.m. For more info, please call 270-0412.