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There's a lot of mystery around the local group Mr. Tube and the Flying Objects. Like, just who is this Mr. Tube? Is he an eccentric musician from the 1960s? A guy who runs a National City TV repair shop? Does he even exist?

No one knows for sure.

"I've never met him," said Mr. Tube and the Flying Objects trumpet player Brad Lee.

Apparently, the only person who has met the mysterious Mr. Tube is band leader Pall Jenkins, the force behind San Diego superbands such as Black Heart Procession and Three Mile Pilot. Jenkins said it goes like this:

A few years ago, he met a guy named Freddy Dillinger who had a 1960s band called Freddy Dillinger and the Real Good Feelings. Dillinger, or Mr. Tube, never released his music. But he gave Jenkins some tapes, and those old-sounding, warped tracks inspired Jenkins to form Mr. Tube and the Flying Objects.

Still, there's no evidence of a Mr. Tube store in National City, or even a band with that name. But Jenkins insists it's all true.

Is this just a way for Jenkins to exert control? Is he really Mr. Tube?

"I'm not Mr. Tube," Jenkins insists. "Mr. Tube is Freddy. I'm part of the Flying Objects."

Specifically, Jenkins is one of about a dozen Flying Objects. At any time there could be five to 13 members in the band, adding yet another layer of mystery.

"There have been shows where after we've played, I'll introduce one sax player to another," said Lee. "At one point we had two of everything ... two guitarists, two drummers ... we never really know who is going to show up."

The core band members are Jenkins, bassist Jovi Butz and drummer Jason Hooper. The rest of the band includes a who's who of local rockers: Manuok's Scott Mercado plays keyboards, Grand Ole Party's John Paul Labno plays tenor sax, and Album Leaf's Andrew Pates handles visuals.

The result is something like low-rider groove music with hints of blues, alternative and even a bit of reggae. And because Jenkins is always inventing instruments in his back yard, there are lots of experimental touches, too.

"I just got some pea pods off a tree that were all dried up," Jenkins said. "I grabbed, like, eight of them and turned them into a little shaker."

He used those kinds of homemade instruments on the Mr. Tube album, "Listen Up."

Now the band is working on a second and more collaborative album at Jenkins and Lee's studio, Stereo Disguise Recording Laboratories.

But no matter how much input the band members have, the man who is ultimately in charge is the mysterious Mr. Tube.

"Mr. Tube has the last word," Lee said. "He helps us make decisions a lot, actually."

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