POP BEAT : READY-MADE PUNK ATTIRE FINDS COMMERCIAL NICHE
What would Johnny Rotten think? When the former punk kingpin helped launch England’s anti-fashion movement in the mid-1970s by tearing apart an expensive suit and reconnecting the pieces with safety pins, Rotten was attempting to replace conformity with individuality.
Nearly a decade later, however, punk’s anti-establishment styles have become rock ‘n’ roll’s new stylistic establishment.
A good example of how close to the mainstream punk has moved can be found at Cash for Chaos in Laguna Beach, one of a handful of “alternative clothing” shops in Orange County that cater to punk, new wave and heavy metal musicians and their fans.
In the store’s window--right below a T-shirt emblazoned with Rotten’s snarling smile and the word “Destroy!”--are two decal stickers indicating that the shop accepts Visa and MasterCard.
And at the London Exchange in Costa Mesa, the county’s oldest punk clothing and accessory store, musicians and fans alike can buy ready-made punk T-shirts, zippered black jackets and bondage pants off the rack. In addition, both stores, along with Erazzmatazz in Orange and Electric Chair in Huntington Beach, have teamed up with Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre for special promotions on upcoming concerts with Frankie Goes to Hollywood, the Smiths and UB40.
“Punk has become more acceptable,” said Cash for Chaos’ effervescent owner Diane O’Neill, who opened her store a little more than a year ago to serve youths in south Orange County communities. “We even get some older people and tourists who are just curious and want to come in and look around.”
Even though much of the merchandise is now being mass-produced by American and British manufacturers--the antithesis of Johnny Rotten’s original gesture--most customers still add their own individual touches to what they buy, said Scott Hale, who runs the London Exchange with his partner, Craig McGahey.
As he was cutting the buckle straps off a $50 pair of pointed-toe “Creepers,” Hale explained, “This person wanted lace-up shoes, so I can take the buckles off and punch holes in them. People like to make things a little different, put their individuality to work.”
The other big difference between punk’s original fashion nihilists and their 1985 counterparts is money. Studded belts go for $25-$30; a PVC snakeskin skirt can fetch $40, and shoes and boots range from $50 to $90. And instead of simply wearing old clothes or scouring thrift shops for bargains, teen-agers can now buy $45 pants that have been surgically altered and pre-bleach stained at the factory.
“It can be expensive,” McGahey said, “so we try to keep our prices down as much as possible. But being here in Costa Mesa, we do get a lot of the rich Newport Beach kids.”
Like the independent record stores that specialize in musical alternatives to the Top 40, alternative clothing stores often become social centers for their customers. In May, British punk band Exploited drew an overflow crowd to the London Exchange for a promotional visit prior to the group’s concert in Los Angeles. O’Neill also hopes to initiate in-store appearances at Cash for Chaos in July with local punk group D.I.
“A lot of kids get out of school in the afternoons and have nothing to do so they come in to listen to music, talk with me or see other people who come in,” O’Neill said.
Added London Exchange’s McGahey, “Sometimes people don’t like places where kids hang out, but I think it’s better that they have some place to go, instead of just being out wandering around on the streets.”
Yet despite the colorful clientele they attract, O’Neill and McGahey said they’ve had few problems or complaints. “Our only problem,” O’Neill said, “was when we put out a bright orange sign. We had to take it down because the City of Laguna Beach says that business signs have to be in earth tones. So we’re trying to work something out.”
Because the stores help local bands by stocking flyers of upcoming shows, some garage band tapes and other promotional items such as buttons, bumper stickers and T-shirts, operators of both said they consider themselves active members the Orange County music scene.
“It’s hard to get started in any aspect of business--music, clothing or whatever,” O’Neill said. “So we all help out each other. All in all, it is a small community.”
MEAT PUPPETS/SAFARI SAM’S: Maybe it was a fluke, but then again maybe the wall-to-wall crowd at the Meat Puppets’ Orange County debut Monday at Safari Sam’s in Huntington Beach was an indication that local audiences really are opening up to exciting new bands. Just two years ago, only a couple of dozen people turned out at Radio City in Anaheim to see Rank And File, even though their debut album was one of the most critically acclaimed records of the year.
For their part, the Meat Puppets lived up to their reputation--for inconsistency. The Phoenix, Ariz.-based threesome devoted the first half of the 90-minute show to songs from their three highly praised albums. But the musical discipline displayed on the new “Up on the Sun” album virtually dissolved in concert, as lead singer Curt Kirkwood often stopped mid-song or simply allowed his lyrics to dribble away in unintelligible mumbles.
In the second half, the band demonstrated its fascinating eclecticism with drastically reworked and good-humored renditions of old rock and country songs, including Tony Joe White’s “Polk Salad Annie,” Little Richard’s “Good Golly Miss Molly” (the Puppets replicated Creedence Clearwater Revival’s 1969 version) and Hank Locklin’s “Please Help Me I’m Falling.”
When they wanted to, though, the Puppets exhibited a dynamic revved-up country style peppered with flashes of jazz and progressive rock that was part Johnny Cash, part Jimi Hendrix, part Frank Zappa and--yes--even part Yes.
While the group’s uneven show did contain moments of brilliance, the most encouraging aspect of the Meat Puppets’ appearance was the sellout crowd’s behavior, which was enthusiastic without becoming unruly. It was a welcome turnaround from an incident last Saturday when fans broke one of the club’s large windows.
LIVE ACTION: Tickets go on sale Sunday for Glenn Frey’s July 6 show at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre. Tickets will be available Monday for Power Station’s July 25 Irvine Meadows appearance. The Pat Metheny Group’s date at Irvine Meadows has been changed to July 27. . . . Shirley Bassey will play the Pacific Amphitheatre Sept. 11. Tickets go on sale Monday. Tickets are on sale for Barry Manilow’s Sept. 13-14 shows at the Pacific. . . . John Conlee will play the Crazy Horse Steak House in Santa Ana June 17. . . . Blood on the Saddle will make an in-store appearance at 4 p.m Saturday at Atomic Records in Huntington Beach prior to the group’s show that night at Safari Sam’s.
