SPANGLER’S CAFE ENDS ITS NOBLE EXPERIMENT

It’s hardly news these days to hear that another Orange County original music club has closed. In 1984, at least a half dozen clubs either shut their doors or stopped booking local bands.

Nevertheless, the sudden death this week of Spangler’s Cafe in Anaheim is being mourned by both musicians and patrons who appreciated the tiny club’s invigorating and adventurous entertainment policy.

Club owners Gene Lawson and Eloise Gunther had planned to close the 5-month-old club after this weekend’s concerts, but they abruptly canceled all remaining shows after a Jan. 16 show at which several performers and customers joined in laying waste to the club’s interior.

“It just got out of hand,” Gunther said over lunch Tuesday at an Anaheim coffee shop. “We would have had to take security measures to continue. We would have had to police the patrons. That wasn’t in the budget, and it completely went against the idea we had in the beginning.”

Although they would have preferred to close on a happier note, Lawson and Gunther were generally upbeat in discussing their experiences at Spangler’s, which provided a forum for offbeat entertainment not found elsewhere in Orange County.

“I would say we got some of the greatest bands around here--stuff that never would have happened at a club because it came out of living rooms and garages,” Gunther said. “There are a lot of things we had here that will probably never happen again because there’s no other place for it. On the solo nights, there were some people who just showed up, played and then disappeared. They gave us some of the best 10 minutes we’ve ever seen.”

In addition to booking local bands, Spangler’s often showcased solo acoustic music, poetry, original video art and films. Spangler’s irreverent attitude was even reflected in its menu, whi1667768431 When the club opened last fall, it had the informal atmosphere of a 1960s Greenwich Village coffee house. As its reputation spread and attendance picked up, Spangler’s seemed to be moving toward profitability. But the larger crowds also brought more problems.

“I guess where it began to turn was with some of the bands we started booking,” Gunther said. “They had big followings of--I don’t want to say the ‘wrong type’--but people who expected this place to be like every other place they were used to.”

“Places they could thrash,” Lawson added. “It got to where after some shows, I would just sit and shake for a couple of hours. A lot of people will never know why we closed. The first thing people think is that all the profits went up our noses or that the police closed us down--those would be easier explanations.”

“We just didn’t have the strength,” Gunther said. “We couldn’t do it anymore. It wasn’t the place,” she added with a laugh, “it was our nerves and our sanity. If you want to have a nice club and do things like poetry shows, they don’t make money. Unfortunately, the ones who made us the most money were the crowds that came in and thrashed things.”

Commented veteran Orange County club owner Jerry Roach, who operates Radio City in Anaheim, “It was one of those noble experiments. It’s too bad, but it’s almost impossible to do something like that and keep it nice. I’ve always thought the best thing to do would be to build a club out of stainless steel so you could just hose it down every night.”

For Lawson, life after Spangler’s means “I’ll be getting a regular job, trying to pay some bills and going to see some of the bands we’ve gotten to know.” With a trace of good-natured sarcasm in his voice, he added, “I don’t know if my credit rating will ever be the same.”

Gunther, who sang with several bands before becoming a club owner, is returning to performing as a new member of local art rock band No More Houses.

Spangler’s “was a complete financial disaster,” she said, “but if someone asked, ‘Would you do it over again?’ I’d say ‘Yes, I would do it again.’ I think it’s one of those places that people will think about in years to come.”

“I don’t have any hard feelings,” Gunther added. “I just hope that every time somebody has a Pop Tart, they think of us.”

LIVE ACTION: Robin Trower will play the Golden Bear in Huntington Beach Feb. 1. . . . Tom T. Hall and Terri Gibbs will be at the Crazy Horse Steak House in Santa Ana Feb. 11.