Dubai is an interesting place to grow up -- rich in culture, music and history -- but not exactly ripe for rock stars. Nevertheless, it's where the Jack Drag story begins.

"My dad worked at the American school in Cairo, but during the Arab-Israeli conflict [the Yom Kippur War] in '74, they moved to the capital of the United Arab Emirates," explains John Dragonetti, the name from which his future dreamy-rock outfit would be derived. It was there that young John was introduced to such Arab radio-station staples as the Clash, the Sex Pistols, and Madness. "All these kids at the American school where I went were from Texas - oil money, you know - and they turned me on to Lynyrd Skynyrd. But there was also this British school, and they listened to better music. So I started realizing, wow, I'm in a neat place and there's incredible music around me. And I embraced British culture, and in turn Arab culture."

It was this bizarre cultural chowder that solidified Dragonetti's future. "I started listening to punk rock and Indian music and playing 'Smoke on the Water,' and I wanted to be a rock star," admits the ex-pat. When Dragonetti was shipped to Boston for high school, he quietly planted the roots of Jack Drag in his attic.

Totally unaware of Guided By Voices and the lo-fi, DIY ethic, Dragonetti got himself a basic four-track, some gear, and began laying down tracks in his apartment. He played around town a bit, and while word spread of this solo wunderkind, friends started hooking John up with local Boston musicians. Enter Joe Klompus (bassist, guitarist and organist), who assuaged his musical needs via an outfit called Orangutan, and Jason Sutter (multi-percussionist and erstwhile drummer for Miss Juliana Hatfield), who provided keen interpretations on Dragonetti's multifaceted repertoire. A month after phone calls and introductions were exchanged, a fleshed-out Jack Drag descended upon New York for their virgin show, in June of '95.

"It took about a year to really gel," admits Sutter. "And the first album we put out and the songs we played was all stuff John had recorded [on four-track], so we weren't involved a lot." But by the time they released their critically acclaimed Unisex Headwave (Devil's Weed/Hep-Cat) in 1997, Jack Drag had become a consummate triangle, with each following the line the other had drawn and continuing it past the next corner. ("That's part of it - reading each other's minds," says Dragonetti.) Wrapped within the contiguous Jack Drag line lie the band's influences, experiences, humor and endurance. And though a three-sided shape is generally closed off, Jack Drag's shape is quite pliable.

"Our songs have taken a turn. They're very different in a lot of ways now that we've been playing them onstage. They have a whole other vibe," says Klompus. "The band as well - it's not easily defined."

"I don't ever see a song as being really finished," chimes in Dragonetti. "We're re-recording these songs that we've already recorded, and playing different versions of them, just for singles, for fun stuff, just because we can."

Jack Drag's elastic sensibility is its arsenal. By fusing indie fuzz with '60s pop and Pet Sounds' experimentality, Jack Drag travel all over the musical map without spoon-feeding their pop or undermining their eclecticism. Dope Box (A&M) kicks off with the skittish drumbeats, droning, fuzzed-out bass and dive-bombing guitars of "Debutante", moves into the wobbly bassline and guitar-less "Seem So Tired," and then stretches way out into left field, but without going out-of-bounds.

Which means that Jack Drag claims all sorts of fans, from those they earned while opening for Mike Watt or Dishwalla, to the ones that have been loyal since they released their first 7", "Velour b/w Green Cherries" on Summerville Records in 1995. Obviously, back in Dubai, John Dragonetti didn't think he'd have a choice in who'd listen to his music - he just wanted the opportunity to make it. "We're not aiming for anybody," Dragonetti muses when asked who Jack Drag appeals to. But Sutter, with his graduate degree letters firmly placed after his name (read: Jason Sutter, MFA) has other designs: "Just smart people."

HEIDI SHERMAN