DAYS OF FLOWER POWER RETURN AT CAVERN CLUB

“Making the records isn’t enough. You have to show people the bands with the music and demonstrate what the scene is all about.”

When Greg Shaw talks about the scene , he has only one thing in mind: the ‘60s, a decade he believes is about to be rediscovered on a massive scale.

For the last 15 years Shaw has been trying to bring back the flower-power era, primarily through the music he releases on his independent record labels, Bomp and Voxx. The latest weapon in his arsenal is the Cavern Club, a bare-bones Hollywood room he operates weekends at Stardust Studios (6419 Hollywood Blvd., (213) 465-5224).

“I was just a catalyst,” he says of the club. “People just came without much advertising or promotion. We opened up and there they were.”

There they were indeed: boys with shoulder-length hair, paisley shirts and turtlenecks, girls in go-go boots, wide belts and miniskirts adorned with peace signs. They’re decked out in their recherche finery to hear bands like Thee Fourgiven, Tell-Tale Hearts, Crawling Walls, Through the Looking Glass, Untold Fables and the Things.

“I was into punk, but I think everything is going psychedelic now,” said Cavern patron Sharon Cohen, 17, on a recent Friday night. “It’s kind of a trend. This isn’t as much of a scene (as punk) where everyone knew about it. People aren’t sure what it is--it’s not like they can point to you on the street and know.”

“We’ve always been a very quiet scene,” added Audrey Moorehead, 20, the club’s deejay. “It’s always been pretty close, but it’s been getting wider. And all these bands are dedicated. They’re not going to sell out; they keep the faith and the fashion.”

Says Rich Coffee, 28, guitarist for Thee Fourgiven: “People do dress up, but they do that because they like to look good. (The fashion) is not the main thing that’s going on here. It’s the music that is so important, and nobody is paying attention to that.”

Coffee maintains that the music being made by ‘60s-influenced groups at the Cavern is far more varied than might be expected, ranging from raw garage to textured psychedelic--and beyond.

“(The ‘60s label) can be a detriment,” Coffee admits. “The bands are all individuals and have different influences. Most of them are not revivalistic. A lot of the younger people just found this stuff; they were born in the ‘60s and they’re just coming into it. At first they hit it real big and then they start to look at other things.”

“We all reach a point where you want to have your own personality,” says Paul Carey, 21, vocalist for Untold Fables. “It doesn’t matter if it fits into a ‘60s mold or not.”

Most of the ‘60s-oriented groups find it hard to get work at other local clubs. The fact that many of the fans are under drinking age is one drawback.

“This music definitely has an audience, but for some reason a lot of the clubs won’t let (the bands) play,” complains Coffee. “I always thought that rock ‘n’ roll was for all ages.”

For Shaw, the attendance at the club and the growing media interest are indications that the time is right for a change. He sees the Cavern Club as just the first beachhead in a new youth movement.

“The type of people that are into this music want to make a creative contribution to our culture and they want to do it through a youth scene,” he says. “That’s what appeals to them about the ‘60s--there was a youth movement dedicated to changing things. They’d like to be part of something like that again.”

LIVE ACTION: Country cousins--The Universal Amphitheatre will feature Barbara Mandrell and Dolly Parton on Feb. 28 (tickets go on sale Monday), followed by Willie Nelson and David Allan Coe on March 20-23 (tickets will be available Sunday). . . . The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Palace date has been changed to Feb. 5; the group will also be at Fender’s Feb. 7. . . . Also due at Fender’s: Social Distortion (Friday), Bad Manners and Fishbone (Feb. 8), Circle Jerks (Feb. 14), Flesh for Lulu (Feb. 15), Black Flag (Feb. 28) and Fine Young Cannibals (March 6). . . . Blancmange will be at the Roxy Feb. 10-11.