For most Lawrence bands, the quickest route to fame is to tour relentlessly. Start with the Midwest, maybe hook up with a bigger band to hit the East Coast and do your best to make friends along the way.

Unless, of course, you happen to be The Hefners.

In that case, you mount a 19-date European tour without ever playing outside of Lawrence and Kansas City.

“The kids (in Europe) listen to so much house music they’re starved for rock and roll,” drummer James Hefner joked.

And who better to bring rock and roll to the starved European masses than The Hefners, a no-frills, soul and R&B-inspired Lawrence group that feathers its sets with covers of obscure Dutch beat bands from the ’60s and loves to play well past last call (on New Year’s Eve it played a house show that began at 2 a.m. and ended at 4 a.m.).

“It’s always better when there are more ladies than dudes out there and people are dancing and getting loaded,” singer/guitarist L.J. Hefner said. “And there’s nothing wrong with buying us shots.”

In truth, The Hefners’ two European tours were less a strategic move than a function of chance. The band signed to Middle Class Pig Records — a startup label based in Southern Germany — in 1996 after being together for only six months. Label owner Erik Bauer, a former KU graduate and host of KJHK’s “Alternative Flashback,” signed the band after chancing upon its set at The Replay Lounge during a visit home.

“He showed up here in town for family reasons, saw us and The Masons (from Kansas City) and signed us both that night,” L.J. said.

The current Hefners lineup includes (from left) L.J Hefner, Chris Hefner, Bryce Hefner and James Hefner.

The band came up with its name during the first practice.

“We didn’t end up practicing because we were watching the two-hour A&E documentary on Hugh Hefner,” L.J. said.

In hopes of one day being invited to the Playboy mansion, the original members — L.J. on guitar and vocals, Bobby on drums and Billy on bass — adopted “Hefner” as their last names. The ploy almost worked: Playboy mentioned the band in its Nov. ’99 issue but neglected to invite the act to the mansion.

The Hefners recorded their first record for Middle Class Pig in 1996, a 10″ split with German “psychotic surf” band Schwarz. After adding Bryce Hefner on keys, the ensemble recorded the full-length “Lay Off, This is the Old Man’s Private Poison” and embarked on a European tour.

“The whole tour was kind of a fly-by-the seat of your pants operation because it was the first band that Erik did a tour with, so we were kind of the guinea pigs,” L.J. said.

“Even the worst shows would have a happy ending. We’d play this ill-attended show with bad food, and then we’d get a five-star hotel and this huge breakfast layout … We saw our first live sex show, too. That was fun.”

Membership drive

For its second full-length, “Repop!” the band dug deeper into its soul and R&B influences and attempted to capture that feel by recording live in a Salina church. The Hefners returned to Europe in fall 2000, but internal stress was signaling the end of the original lineup.

“I think by the end of that tour there were some differences that were making it into the musical performance,” Bryce said.

“We were all good friends and it was definitely not the easiest decision even though it was unavoidable,” L.J. added.

After graciously parting ways with Bobby and Billy Hefner, L.J. and Bryce reformed with drummer James Hefner and bass player Josh Hefner. James had barely clocked two months with the band when the boys hit Billy’s “Crabbey Road” home studio to record a third full-length, “Through the Night.” The album, which came out in August, packed 16 originals into 37 frantic minutes.

Since the album’s release, The Hefners have gone back to what they do best: changing band members (Chris Hefner replaced Josh in September) and rehearsing new songs in their practice space above the Antique Mall.

“It’s covered with porn and beer cans,” James said.

Bryce added: “You should rehearse the way you play.”

The band members hope to align with an American label for their next record but are not yet actively seeking one. Instead, they are focusing on developing a new batch of songs and playing at their favorite venue, The Replay.

Even if Hefner-mania never quite matches Beatle-mania in the states, The Hefners seem content to concentrate on smaller victories.

Said James: “I kind of have this goal that some day some nerdy rock kid will put on a Hefners record 20 years from now and be like, ‘Those guys were pretty cool.'”