In some ways, singer Curtis Peoples' story is typical of that of most musicians: Struck by the music bug in junior high, he took lessons for a few years and started a band.

But in other ways, it diverges widely from the beaten path.

To start with, the San Diego native -- now living in North Hollywood -- admitted in an interview that growing up in the University City neighborhood east of La Jolla, "I always wanted to move to L.A." Not many San Diegans would admit to such a thing, even were it true.

And there's also the solid business acumen that Peoples has shown throughout his career. While most musicians plying the local scene and trying to build up a fan base tend to focus on the music almost to the exclusion of the business side of things, Peoples has always been organized, polished and professional in his dealings with the press: His self-released CDs are sent with the kind of supporting materials (biography, photo, press clippings) one expects from the major record labels but rarely sees from independent artists.

As he sees it, though, he has the most riding on his own success.

"I love music and I love entertainment so much, that every week I go on billboard.com and see who's on the charts," Peoples said by phone last week. "I find it fascinating. I like the idea of knowing what's going on with my own career. No matter what people you have behind you, at the end of the day nobody cares more about your career than you. If you don't do everything you can to make it happen, it's never going to happen as good as it should."

The oldest of two boys, Peoples said his music talent comes from his father.

"You know, my dad played when he was younger. During Vietnam, because he played in the Army band, they sent him to Korea instead of Vietnam.

"He's pretty musical. I will one day get him a saxophone and make him play it again."

While attending the old University of San Diego High School (since relocated and renamed Cathedral High), he and two friends formed their first band, Three Little Words.

"We recorded a few records. I gotta say, there was a lot of potential there. We started to develop a little fan base when we were seniors in high school, but when our drummer went to USC, we kind of floated and never got back on track."

Peoples said it was Three Little Words that provided him much of his musical education.

"Uni didn't have a school band. Our band was like the band -- we played all the festivals at school, the parties. I took my music pretty seriously back then."

It was with Three Little Words that Peoples played his first gigs -- and got his first paycheck from music.

"We played our friend's birthday party once and there were six of us -- but our first real show was at the Epicentre. I was a senior in high school and I was 18.

"We actually had a packed house. … I was like, 'Wow -- rock 'n' roll is really fun.' I remember being really excited that we'd sold a bunch of shirts and a few CDs."

After graduating Uni, Peoples said he attended community college before realizing music was where his heart was.

"I went to Mesa for a little while, but thankfully I have extremely supportive parents. I've wanted to be a musician since I was 12, and by the time I was 17 I was pretty set on it."

With Three Little Words on hiatus, Peoples set out on the solo career that's seen him release two CDs to date (and that brings him to Lestat's on May 1).

He said he's still supporting last summer's release, "Curtis Peoples," and recently got a couple of songs from that album placed on TV shows -- but is writing songs for his next CD.

"I go to Nashville now to write, because some of the guys I wrote my first record with moved there. So I go there and I write with them and we're starting to get our ideas together. Next year, I'll definitely have a new record.

"It never gets old, realizing that somebody bought something I made."

Curtis Peoples

When: 9 p.m. May 1

Where: Lestat's, 3343 Adams Ave., San Diego

Tickets: $10

Info: (619) 282-0437 or lestats.com

Web: curtispeoples.com