Johnny Rotten is John Lydon. John Lydon is, surprisingly, not rotten.

Lydon and his first band, The Sex Pistols, nearly single-handedly launched the punk revolution with 1977's "Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols." It features Rotten's snotty snarl coming through the speakers proclaiming anarchy in the U.K., as well as the nihilistic destruction of idols:

God save the queen

She ain't no human being

There is no future

In England's dreaming

Don't be told what you want

Don't be told what you need

There's no future, no future,

No future for you

You might expect, then, that Lydon would sound openly antagonistic on the phone, perhaps even end the conversation with the infamous taunt of the crowd at the last Sex Pistols show in 1978: "Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?"

But in an interview promoting his current band Public Image Ltd. (known as PiL) concert at The Depot tonight, Lydon, 54, exhibited a disposition as sunny as the Los Angeles weather he's been enjoying since moving from rainy North London. "A PiL gig is always a joyous occasion," said Lydon. "It's overwhelmingly rewarding."

The Sex Pistols were manufactured to be more about image than substance, he said, while PiL is a labor of love.

This tour marks the 30th anniversary of PiL's first U.S. tour and a reuniting of the band after a 17-year hiatus. The band has often been overshadowed by Lydon's persona and his notoriety for fronting the Sex Pistols.

But PiL is itself notable as an early post-punk band, blending the attitude and urgency of punk with the experimental, more complex New Wave that swept the music landscape in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Using synthesizers alongside the guitars to present a definite point of view, PiL influenced an entire generation of underground musicians who launched the industrial and alternative rock revolution of the early 1990s.

Just as the band has been overshadowed by the Johnny Rotten persona, Lydon's music, post-Sex Pistols, is often ignored.

"I get no respect," said Lydon, who speaks in an amiable, stream-of-consciousness style that veers off in scattered directions without notice. "You give people time, and they'll learn."

On this tour, Lydon will be joined by Lu Edmonds, a multi-instrmentalist who joined PiL in 1986; drummer Bruce Smith, also in the band since 1986; and Scott Firth, who is new to PiL but has played bass for Steve Winwood, Elvis Costello and, interestingly enough, The Spice Girls. (Sid Vicious must be rolling in his grave.)

Lydon said he felt some "trepidation" at reuniting with Edmonds and Smith, although he insisted that the group has never broken up. "You can take off a long time for the right reasons,"he said. The band is truly a band of equals, Lydon said. "I don't want a slave army," he added. "I'm not demanding adoration."

The reason for the tour, Lydon said, is to earn enough money to record a new PiL album. Other fundraising efforts have included his appearance on the British reality TV show "I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here" and starring in a butter commercial. ("It was the most politically incorrect product ever," Lydon said about the butter ad. "I think we did some good comedy. Sales went up 87 percent. If a record company doesn't want me, I'll flog butter.")

Lydon created PiL in 1978, after the band and late manager Malcolm McLaren dumped him on a street corner in San Francisco during the Pistols' first tour. "I started PiL with breadcrumbs, but no self-pity."

With Lydon always at the forefront, the band created a wide and varied catalog of songs that spanned three decades, with pioneering tracks such as "Public Image," "This Is Not a Love Song," "Rise" and "Disappointed."

"Rise," in particular, features the best singing Lydon has ever done -- not bad for someone who was chosen to lead the Pistols because of his green hair and his "I Hate Pink Floyd" T-shirt.

"People took a chance on me, and I couldn't sing," Lydon said. "Personality is always better than musicality. You can't have music without the personality."

He admits to feeling frustrated when asked if he has abandoned the revolutionary spirit of the Pistols-era music.

"Never take yourself too seriously," he advised. "Don't change the world. Change yourself first. I'm not going to hold a flag for people to stand behind."