NEWPORT'S Schafer hope to be the next band to benefit from the pop machine 24-7 Productions.

The four-piece indie band has signed a production/management deal with the Pontypool-based recording studio with a view to releasing a single in the autumn.

24-7 Productions, say Schafer, will make them a marketable product in the same way they did with The Kennedy Soundtrack, who recently played in a plastic box at the launch of the GameCube in London.

"We had an opportunity to sign a deal with a regular label, Crai, but this is better," said Schafer's singer and frontman, Marcus Warner. "They will work on the band and make us marketable.

"We are not losing our creativity. The only thing we have been told is that we have to provide a live set. We have already learnt how to manage ourselves. We know we have to be a product."

Schafer return to the live scene next week after a break of six months, during which they have introduced a new bass player and backing vocalist, Tom Lewis, with appearances in Le Pub and the Riverside Tavern.

The plan is to release new material and wow the crowds with their self-confessed professional attitude to gigging. "Last time we played Le Pub we crammed the place," said Marcus. "But we've only done about ten gigs in total.

"Anyone who comes should expect a band that plays to the audience. "We are there to entertain, not play for our own benefit.

"We only want to play quality gigs. There's no point playing bad venues on bills with bands completely different to our own.

"We're also playing The Breeding Ground in Rhyl in June where you get 300 people coming to gigs - it should be like that in Newport."

Schafer's existing two-track demo shows the band one year ago in very much a Manics- like mode but they have greater things planned, they say.

Idlewild is a big influence on singer Marcus who respects the way the band has matured with its fan base, him included.

"They used to be a really shouty indie band but now they are becoming more like REM," said Marcus.

"I saw them in TJ's," I thought it was the best gig I'd ever been to. I want to do what they have done."

Schafer also like Hundred Reasons and respect that band's hard-working ethic and intense approach which they say is similar to their own attitude to playing in a band. The main songwriter in Schafer is guitarist Adam Treherne, who provides the band with a blueprint of chords and melody to develop into a song.

Singer Marcus said his lyrics were influenced by his life experiences like not having a father figure when he grew up.

"Some people might not find it relevant, a song about breaking up with a girl after two weeks, but we are writing for people like us," he said.

Schafer's name, apart from being the name of a fancy brand of pen, was pinched of dustbins, they said, but it's also the name of a favourite cartoon character of the band in a strip called, Dog and the Racoons. "It's also German for shepherd," added drummer, Graeme Pearce.