Mo Bigsly returns to Ocean Thunder with their blend of funky, party, dance rock.

A couple months ago I watched a music video titled "Booty Kiss." It was shot in an ''80s style-one of those nostalgic house-party scenes where the band plays on an outside stage, surrounded by hungry fans and puffy-haired women. The band is somewhat of a calico cat-a mixture of funk and glamour rock, with wild hair, pink disco lights, and Spandex. It was so funny, so strange, and so absolutely absurd that you had to get into it.

It could have been a videotape lost from the archives of MTV, dating way back to when Ronald Reagan still ruled the world. But it wasn''t. It was a tape of the Santa Cruz-based band Mo Bigsly--and they''ve only been around for about three years.

In those three years, Mo Bigsly has developed a pretty good following at the north end of Monterey Bay, they currently get airplay on KMBY, and they''re beginning to get a reputation at this end of the Bay. On Saturday, they return to Ocean Thunder, bringing with them the funky-fresh feeling they exude.

The band wields an arsenal of songs provided by guitarist Steve Clem, bassist James Landry, drummer Will Vance, keyboard player Gary Goldsworthy, and a truly soulful singer Suzanne St. John.

"As a band we all have different influences, I definitely bring a sort of Janis Joplin quality." says St. John. "The four of them have known each other for years--they''re just like four big brothers."

By the way, St. John isn''t kidding when it comes to the quality of her vocal performance. She used to sing for the group Mississippi Funk and became a family friend of the Hookers--as in Mr. John Lee Hooker.

"I kind of became friends with the family," says St. John. "Everyday he (Hooker) would be in three piece suit, wingtips, drinkin'' a Michelob. Hard to understand, very cool, very sweet." St. John also went on to describe the one time she sang for Hooker, "He said, ''You sound like that Janis.'' I will never forget that, I can even remember the look on his face, it''s one of those things you engrave on your brain."

On Saturday night, St. John will actually be doing double duty. She''ll not only be getting funky with Mo Bigsly but she''ll also be up on stage with her second group, the Pearl Alley Band, which is just plain southern rock.

"I''m really interested in developing my southern rock/blues roots. That''s the direction I''m going in," says St. John. "Bigsly is my fun group, the other one is what I throw my soul into."

Soul matters aside, some people just want to shake their ass like they have a rat in their pants and Mo Bigsly provides the type of music that makes you want to dance, shake, and drag your date to a cheap motel. It''s music that achieves greatness in a different realm--the freak-zone--where the only requirement is to have a good time.

Mo Bigsly''s current CD, Let''s Just Cuddle, is representative of a group of well-rehearsed musicians who can throw their souls into other projects while they use Mo Bigsly as a way to just have fun. New songs playing on KMBY such as, "Like No Other" and "Do You," are a bit harder than the songs on the CD, and that''s just fine.

It would seem harder in a way to find a group who remembers how to bring a crowd to ecstasy in a fun way, like the B-52s or the guys from Spinal Tap can. A good band with a battery of songs does not necessarily need to contain a political or personal message to get a room dancing. Mo Bigsly represents part of what is missing in a lot of music today--a fun, adolescent spirit with a thumping rhythm section.

On one hand you can thumb your nose at Mo Bigsly, call them cheeseballs and be done with it. On the other, we can embrace the cheese, wrap our souls around a well pocketed groove and get freaky. Either way, on Saturday, Ocean Thunder will provide a place to explore two forms of musical expression.