As band logos from the '70s go, Pablo Cruise's famed "sun and palm tree" image is as recognizable as any, outside of say ... KISS, or somebody like that. Undoubtedly, that is why comedian Will Ferrell decided to wear a shirt displaying that design prominently in his upcoming movie, "Step Brothers," due out in July.

For Pablo Cruise, Ferrell's fashion choice couldn't come at a better time. The band, which called it quits in the mid-'80s, reconvened a while back, with three original members — guitarist David Jenkins, keyboardist/vocalist Cory Lerios and drummer Steve Price — and George Gabriel on bass and vocals, and the group has been playing shows again. And now that that t-shirt is going to be splashed across the silver screen from coast to coast, people are bound to start thinking again about Pablo Cruise.

"Yeah, that Will Ferrell thing is kind of a hoot," says Jenkins, in interview today from a vacation hideaway in the Sierras that a dog kept trying to interrupt (when the podcast gets posted, you'll hear what I mean). "All of a sudden, people are going, "What's this t-shirt? Who is this?" Yeah, it was kind of neat ... well, you know, they called after, I guess, he chose that out of wardrobe. He found that and said, "Perfect." So, they called for some of licensing release on it, so we had word that he was going to use it, but we didn't know to what extent. And then, I saw this movie trailer on YouTube and thought, "Oh, man, this is great." Man, I was at the movies last week with my son and for the previews coming up, there was that same trailer and man, it's just amazing. You know, he's wearing that shirt quite a bit in the movie. But, it's just cool to think that so many people will see that movie and see that logo. You never know... it's like, it might get people curious about the band again, you know? And we'll get out there and play some music. I mean, we've been playing shows and the band, right now, this is the best band we've ever had. It's really strong. So, yeah, we might get out and get around to some of these places that we haven't been to in quite a while. That would be fun ... now that travel is so cheap (laughs)."

Pablo Cruise's music was a blend of sunny, California soft-rock and light jazz that went down as smooth as a pina colada, bringing together the harmonic surf paeans of the Beach Boys and the golden, country-tinged melodies of America. And if you say you don't remember "Whatcha Gonna Do?" you're a bald-faced liar, because it's been played to death on the radio for years.

The band's season in the sun in the late-'70s didn't last, but that logo — which also graced the cover of one of the group's biggest albums, A Place In The Sun, did.

"That definitely introduced that visual, that logo," says Jenkins, who shared the story of how that image, and the band's mysterious name, came to be. "Trying to name a band is always a trick anyway. And then, we just kind of chose that name. A friend of ours, who's not with us anymore, died a few years ago, but he had this nickname that ... him and Cory were hanging one day and they chose these nicknames, and we just chose that for the name of the band and you know, basically, you've got to make the name. You just got to go for it and see what happens, you know? But, there was something about the logo... this artist that we knew ... I don't know if you're listeners know Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen ... anyway, George Frayne is the guy, [he's] Commander Cody, but Chris Frayne, his brother, is a great artist, and he came up with that logo. We just kind of told him what we wanted, and he went for it, and ... so, he came up with that logo. And it just kind of evokes escapism and the vacation kind of thing, islands and just getting away from it all, which is what I'm doing right now. It's been a strong logo and yeah, it is one of those things; it's kind of iconic, and it's been one of those things from the late '70s that has remained, you know? You know, kind of a period thing."

Keep an eye out for a longer feature on Pablo Cruise in an upcoming edition of Goldmine and watch the multimedia area of the Goldmine web site for a podcast of my interview with David Jenkins.

To get up to date on what Pablo Cruise is up to, visit www.pablocruiseband.com