One of the great things about music — any music — is that there’s no one way to enjoy it.

For example, it’s not like you had to be a head-banger in your crib to enjoy heavy metal as an adult.

That’s why Phil Demmel of Machine Head is not even a little embarrassed to say that as a youngster, he enjoyed all sorts of pop music — including disco.

Yes, disco.

Sure, today he plays guitar with a serious, hard-driving, sneering metal outfit. But growing up, his love of music was influenced as much by the falsetto of the Bee Gees as the ferocious guitar riffs of AC/DC.

“I listened to a lot of disco in the ’70s. I remember sneaking a tape recorder into (the film) ‘Saturday Night Fever,’ ” said Demmel. “A little later, my older cousin had some albums by Foghat and AC/DC, and I started getting into all of that.”

When Machine Head plays Portland tonight, though, don’t hold your breath for a version of “I Love the Nightlife” by Alicia Bridges or some other disco fave. Machine Head is, in Demmel’s words, a “jeans and T-shirt band” that plays no-frills heavy metal.

Connecting with the audience and putting their all into every show is also a big part of what they do, Demmel said.

“First and foremost, we’re a live band with a special connection to the crowd,” he said. “There is nothing like playing live. That energy you get from the crowd, that’s why I do this. When you have people screaming lyrics at you, it’s almost like we’re the audience sometimes.”

Machine Head will play Portland’s State Theatre with its current touring mates, Suicide Silence, Darkest Hour and Rise to Remain. Demmel enjoys touring with other bands, but there’s a more practical side to such a package show as well.

“It’s pretty common with metal bands. It’s a way to make the show more appealing for local promoters,” he said. “A radio band can probably go headline without a package and get away with it.”

That said, Machine Head is no slouch in the record-selling department, either. It’s sold more than 2 million records since its 1994 debut, and its 2007 CD “The Blackening” was nominated for a Best Metal Performance Grammy. Its latest CD, “Charting the Locust,” hit No. 22 on the Billboard 200.

Demmel grew up in California’s East Bay area near Oakland, and began playing professionally in rock bands right out of high school. His mother was a singer who performed in a duo with her sister and received some radio airplay in the Fresno, Calif., area. When Demmel was growing up, his mother was still singing, mostly gospel music.

Demmel said both his parents supported his choice to make a career out of rock music.

“They were totally supportive of me doing it right away, and when I became semi-successful at it, I just kept doing it,” he said.

Machine Head was formed in the Oakland area around 1991, and has had several albums on the Billboard 200. But Demmel didn’t join the band until 2002. He knew the guys in the band, hung out with them and went snowboarding with them. He was even in a band with Machine Head’s bass player, Adam Duce.

About 10 years ago, a recently married Demmel was thinking about giving up music and moving into something a little more stable when the guys from Machine Head gave him a call.

“They had a lot of member changes, and they had two weeks of festival dates to fulfill,” said Demmel. “I was married, and I thought, ‘I’ll just go do the dates and then I’ll just go and be married, walk away from music with a grin.’ “

Turns out that his tenure with the band lasted longer than his marriage.

“We had this amazing connection, and things (with the band) just clicked,” said Demmel. “Things didn’t work out with my wife, and on the next record. I was back (with Machine Head). It’s been an amazing run.” 

Staff Writer Ray Routhier can be contacted at 791-6454 or at:

rrouthier@pressherald.com