Tuatara, the moniker Screaming Trees drummer Barrett Martin and Luna bassist Justin Harwood chose for their new endeavor, is actually the name of a lizard indigenous to New Zealand and, supposedly, the last living link to prehistoric times. New Zealand, from where Harwood hails and Martin's parents now live, was one of the things the two found in common when their bands toured together in 1992. They also shared a love for jazz, ancient acoustic instruments and a diabolical glee for sharing crawly tales of spiders and snakes with the unsuspecting.

"Tuatara!" declares Harwood between takes at Seattle's Ironwood studios. "Nice word, huh? It really rolls off the tongue. Of course, the lizard is harmless. There's nothing deadly poisonous in New Zealand. You can sleep naked in the bush and never get bitten by anything. Crowded House did that when they recorded there, the dumb bunch of limeys. They thought it was very inspirational."

"It's really cool," chimes in Martin. "Five of the seven most deadly snakes in the world are there. They're all aggressive, too. They'll chase you down the road or jump in your face."

"And they're everywhere," cackles Hardwood. "You can't stick your hand in the cats' litter box for the black widows. The funnel web spider will kill you in 20 minutes. They live in swimming pools in Sydney and eat kids alive."

When bug buddies Martin and Harwood started working together last year, they instinctively leaned to acoustic instrumentation, the more primitive, the better. They began recording demos for possible movie soundtracks, but Tuatara began to take on a life of its own.

"There's a jazz base," says Martin, "and it's got an African thing to it, but it's really just an experiment. Our original plan was to take it to New Zealand and mix it there, get some Maories to play on it and do their rhythms, body slapping things. But the label just wants to get this one out right away. We'll get to New Zealand on the next one."

Martin primarily plays vibes and bass marimba rather than drums, which are handled by Devilhead's Mike Stone. Harwood concentrates on upright bass and percussion. As the original sessions grew, Martin began inviting other players. Skerit, a free form fusion saxman with Critters Buggin' brought in his horns and stayed. Scott McCaughey of the Young Fresh Fellows, Los Lobos' Steve Berlin and Pearl Jam's Mike McCready, also Martin's mate from Mad Season, contributed as well. Peter Buck, who was looking for an outlet outside R.E.M., came in last.

"It really is bunch of white guys playing ethnic instruments," says Buck, "but it's consciously not world music. Every one but me has kind of a jazz background and we attempt to utilize some Eastern influences but in a very Western way. It's not like African, where a piece goes on for 40 minutes. We write songs with a beginning, a middle and an end. And there's a lot of room for solos, like with Skerit you never know where the fuck he's going, but it's still pretty arranged, so everything is good. It's kinda cinematic."

Stylistically the tracks travel the globe. "Serengetti" is African, "Nusrats Muskrat" Pakistani and "Cuba" is self-explanatory. The more world influenced tracks are, in turn, tempered by the cocktail jazz of "Smoke Rings" and bluesy feel of "Dirty Shuffle." But for everything it is, it isn't rock.

For the most part, those who've heard the band have reacted favorably. The band's live debut at Seattle's Crocodile Cafe in October was well attended by musicians and lay persons alike, most of whom listened attentively, even applauding solos. One wag suggested the music would be better heard sitting at a table with a drink, but it was a minor complaint. When the band played the Mayfair ballroom in The Benson Hotel during Portland's North By Northwest convention, it became a must-see show. Many gathered on the dance floor and made dance moves usually not seen outside a Dead concert. The band plans to play again in December and, with the record out on March 18, there's a possibility of a small tour.

"With me having a family and everybody having two or three bands it's a little difficult," says Buck, "but my impression is we might do something up and down the west coast. I'd be ready, after all, I don't really have a job right now.

"I guess we'll see what happens, but I'd love to take it to New York, too. Just fly to the city, do three dates, play Conan O'Brien and come h