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If nothing else, hooking up with Starbucks was worth the free coffee for the members of Low Stars.

Actually, the coffee is just one of many perks that the California-based band has enjoyed since becoming the third artist to be featured in the Starbucks Hear Music Debut CD series. And while Low Stars member Dave Gibbs acknowledges that such a move might have prompted cries of "corporate sell-out" a few years ago, all bets are off in this topsy-turvy world of getting music to the masses by any means necessary.

"The music industry has changed so much, it seems like it's a sinking ship these days," Gibbs told The Daily Times this week. "Starbucks offered us an opportunity for us to do our music the way we wanted it. We wrote it, we recorded it, we mixed it — the whole nine yards. They just left us alone and told us to give it to them when we were done.

"That was something that was very appealing to us. They basically said, just give it to us and we'll sell it, and these days, there are more Starbucks than there are record stores out there. So this is a chance to get our record out all across the country. Ten years ago, it would have been a very different thing, but we feel like we've made the right decision."

For fans of roots-oriented, harmony-driven folk rock, it was a good decision by both parties. The band's self-titled debut isn't a corporate gimmick or a pre-fabricated record by a group of baristas who moonlight with acoustic guitars on their days off. Each of the four members of Low Stars have street cred: Gibbs was a founding member of the Gigolo Aunts, an indie act that gained critical acclaim, and has recorded background vocals for such acts as Counting Crows, Lisa Loeb and Matthew Sweet; Jeff Russo was the lead guitarist and co-songwriter in Tonic, which scored with modern rock hits "If You Could Only See" and "Open Up Your Eyes"; Chris Seefried was the lead singer of Gods Child, which scored a modern rock hit with the single "Everybody's 1"; and Jude (one name only) is an accomplished folk poet with several albums under his belt.

They came together in Los Angeles, when Gibbs was putting on a benefit for the Audrey Hepburn Children's Fun. Seefried was on the bill, Jude showed up to play at the last minute, and after the gig, they talked about singing together. Russo was brought on board, and the quartet started out playing together on Russo's front porch in Laurel Canyon, up in the Hollywood Hills above L.A.

"It was basically just the four us sitting on the porch, harmonizing and drinking beer," Gibbs said. "It was kind of nice. I think we're all products of what we listened to growing up. Let's face it — we're four white guys who play guitar, so The Beatles are obviously a huge influence on all of us. Otherwise, the thing about this band is that it's four different people with four different voices, and not just sonically — different opinions and different approaches to how we do things.

"We all share a love of good songwriting and good singing, and when we got together and first started singing together, it was just so enjoyable. It felt so nice to be with guys who are really good singers and writers and players, and it was a really nice musical chemistry. If you can get four singers who are good, the trick is to get them to harmonize well together, so that when their voices blend, it's a nice chord.

"That's a little harder to do," Gibbs added. "We found that we made a nice, harmonious chord together, and we jumped all over it and said, 'Let's exploit this.'"

The band's album was produced by George Drakoulias, whose work here is eerily reminiscent of the chemistry he helped conjure up during recording sessions for two seminal albums by The Jayhawks, "Hollywood Town Hall" and "Tomorrow the Green Grass." Low Stars bridge the gap between the Midwestern folk of that group and the Southern California rock of The Eagles and Crosby Stills Nash and Young. Throw in a pinch of the Gin Blossoms and the Goo Goo Dolls, and you've got a sound that's anchored in tradition but contemporary in feel.

Jude's attorney liked what he heard of the band's material, and when someone suggested teaming up with Starbucks, he went to work. A few weeks later, Gibbs said, some Starbucks representatives approached the band after seeing Low Stars perform at a small label showcase.

"They left us alone completely while we were making the record," Gibbs said. "That's something we're not used to. In our other projects, we're used to having an A&R rep breathing down our necks, saying 'write a hit single' or 'write a song 14-year-old girls want to buy.'

"We've all been on major labels and indie labels and everything in between, and we didn't want that kind of pressure. We don't want to be pushed to write hits or go in directions we don't want to go."

Thursday, Low Stars will perform on Market Square in downtown Knoxville, as part of the kick-off for the 2007 Sundown in the City concert series. (Other acts on Thursday's bill include Antibalas and Edwin McCain.)

"We'll probably be the quietest act on the schedule all year," Gibbs joked. "Just four guys with four acoustic guitars and vocals — it's been a long time since people have heard music like that."

Sundown in the City 2007 lineup

April 19: George Thorogood and the Destroyers with The American Plague

April 26: Scott Miller and the Commonwealth with Anne McCue

May 3: The Wailers with Brett Dennen

May 10: The Brazilian Girls with Christabel and the Jons

May 17: Gin Blossoms with Vertigo

May 24: Corey Smith with Jennifer Niceley

May 31: Ozomatli with Toubab Krewe

June 7: The Avett Brothers with Mad Tea Party

June 14: John Butler Trio with Artvandalay

June 21: Drive-By Truckers with Dixie Dirt

June 28: Tony Joe White with Dave Barnes