CHECKING IN WITH...Bobbo Byrnes:

If you just can’t bear to stay home again and watch Carson Daly and Ryan Seacrest on TV at Times Square (and, let’s be honest, who can?), don’t worry, we have a pretty good idea how you can jazz up that house party. How about hiring a band? This week we check in with Bobbo Byrnes of local rockers The Fallen Stars.

This year you won best acoustic band at the Orange County Music Awards, so tell us the truth, are you still available for booking on New Year’s Eve?

Actually, yes we are! We were supposed to be booked for one, but you know how it is, what with the economy and all...

You were finalists for the OC Music Awards for a few years, right? Did you start to really empathize with Susan Lucci?

Maybe a little! We were finalists in a couple of categories for a couple of years, so it was really great when we won for Best Live Acoustic Band last year. Sandy and the other folks at the OCMAs have been terrific to work with — they put so much time and effort into putting the program together and making the awards night really special.

When you finally won were you tempted to cop a major rock star attitude about it? C’mon, even just a little bit? Maybe in front of the mirror when no one was looking?

That’s how I start every day! In the mirror the daily affirmations — “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough...” We were playing in Phoenix, Ariz., on our last tour and the hotel that put us up was saying “C’mon, be more demanding — you’re rock stars.” So [guitarist] Gregg [Braught] and I started ordering food that wasn’t on the menu, [bassist, singer] Tracy [Byrnes] rustled up a bottle of bourbon, and Brian [Matteson] managed to find volunteers to carry his drums. Then the next day it was back to 18-hour van rides and moving our own stuff.

If someone wanted to hire you to add some zest to their New Year’s Eve party how much would it cost and what’s the best way to get in touch?

Our website is the best way to get in touch with us, thefallenstars.com or myspace/thefallenstars. Facebook or Sonicbids also work. If you Google us, we’re pretty easy to find. As far as cost, well, it would depend if you wanted the full rock show or a small living room concert or something in between. We’re very flexible.

What could they expect from a Fallen Stars show? Tell us your musical styles, tolerance for requests for “Freebird” and what sort of covers you specialize in?

Well, there are different kinds of Fallen Stars shows. We have the acoustic show, which borders on folksy at times, and we have the rock show that is a bit — sweatier. And then we have the long marathon shows, which are our favorites, where we get to do a bit of everything. That’s when we get to play songs from all of our albums and really stretch out. There will be some acoustic numbers with dobro and mandolin and some big rockers with Les Pauls and Hammond organ. We’ll be doing the long set tonight in at the BeachFire in Ladera Ranch.

We do a handful of covers. They wander in and out of the set list. Right now we’re doing some Gram Parsons, Pretenders, Del Fuegos, Clash, Springsteen — just stuff that we like and hopefully others will dig them too. It’s an advantage of not being an actual “cover band.” I mean — no one outside of Boston knows the Del Fuegos, but that’s OK.

Oh man, the “Freebird” request. I know guys who have “Freebird” clauses — they’ll play it but it costs extra! That song — think about it — it’s playing on a radio station right now. Somewhere, someone is listening to it at this very moment. That’s amazing to me.

Tell us some funny “Spinal Tap-ish” stories about gigs you’ve done or rock stars you’ve played with.

Hmm, we were once mistaken for the headliner at a high-profile club and they brought us all this food and drink before we played, and when we came back to the dressing room after we played there was a bill for $95 posted on the door for all the food and a little note, “Sorry, we thought you were So and So.” After a while all the shows start to run together and you’re thinking, “Didn’t this happen the last time I was in Texas or was that St. Louis?” We’ve paid some dues!

We understand you’re in the piano-tuning business. Tell us a little about that.

That’s my day job when I’m not performing. I actually went to school for it — I’m a graduate of the American School of Piano Tuning. I grew up in a house with a very out-of-tune piano and just really enjoy making pianos sound the best they can.

Do you do session work with other musicians? Give us some examples of some more notable musicians you’ve worked with.

Yep, I do both studio session work and live gigs with other musicians, mostly on guitar but also mandolin and pedal steel when needed.

Let’s see, I’ve worked with folks from Crazy Horse, the Wallflowers and the Foo Fighters.

Here in Newport Beach I played on Sue Paine’s latest album. She’s a great local singer-songwriter.

But still the most amazing guitar player I’ve ever played with is my good friend Danny Ott. He’s worked with everyone from Walter Trout and Chris Gaffney to Dave Alvin and Gregg Allman. Seriously — best guitar player ever.

I’ve done some soundtrack work and lots of stuff, man — I’ve lost track! Sometimes the iPod is on shuffle and I’ll hear something and then realize — hey, that’s me playing!

Tell us the truth: All those CDs we have will soon be worthless and we won’t even be able to trade them in anywhere, right?

Ha, that’s funny! Just yesterday I saw a used copy of one of our old CDs online for $2.95, so there are some good bargains to be had.

But we’ve still got plenty of the latest CD, “Where the Road Bends,” to sell before the world goes 100% digital, so come on out and pick one up, but if you’d rather stay home — we are on iTunes as well!