CLOSING OF SPATZ LEAVES A VACUUM

Spatz nightclub in Huntington Harbour, Orange County’s main outlet for many adventurous new wave and hard-core punk bands, closed this week, leaving Safari Sam’s in Huntington Beach as the county’s only nightly showcase for local original pop music.

Spatz owner Jack Richards said Wednesday that a rent dispute and a change in ownership of the Huntington Harbour Mall, in which Spatz is situated, led to the club’s closing.

“The new owner told the landlord that he did not want our lease renewed,” said Richards, who opened the club in 1984 as a jazz nightspot called the Ritz. After a few months of losing money on jazz, Richards changed the name to Spatz and began booking local rock, new wave and punk acts. Spatz was the only Orange County outlet for such hard-core bands as Black Flag, Fear and the Dickies.

“I had gone through a lot of trials and tribulations with the landlord over some repairs I felt he should take care of. I was playing leverage and holding back rent, so I was in default. I had done the same thing before over some air conditioning and it worked, but this time it backfired and I’m out of the location.” (The mall’s management could not be reached Thursday for comment.)

Richards said Spatz’s Thursday night “dance party” events will be moved to Bogart’s in Long Beach, a two-room, 650-seat nightclub in the Marina Pacifica Mall. Through an arrangement with the owner of Bogart’s, he also plans to book many of the acts that frequented Spatz at Bogart’s beginning in February.

“My chin is up,” he said. “I didn’t go broke and die. I’m still doing things and also looking for another location in Orange County. If I can open again in the near future, I’ll be looking for something bigger (than Spatz), not smaller.”

Minus Spatz and Radio City in Anaheim, which has been closed since a fire gutted the club in November, Safari Sam’s in Huntington Beach is now the only club in Orange County offering original music nightly. The Golden Bear in Huntington Beach, however, frequently books local bands to supplement its main diet of regional and national touring acts. (Both Safari Sam’s and the Golden Bear may be razed within the next year, along with other buildings, as part of Huntington Beach’s downtown redevelopment plan.)

Spatz’s closing marks the fourth Orange County original music club to go dark within the past year, following Radio City and two Anaheim clubs--Spangler’s Cafe and Flashdance--in early 1985.

But just as Safari Sam’s and Spatz came into existence to keep original music alive in Orange County when Spangler’s and Flashdance closed, a new concert series in south Orange County may help offset somewhat the loss of Spatz.

The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano (formerly the San Juan Creek Saloon) in February will begin a regular series of concerts with a initial lineup similar to that of the Golden Bear.

Independent concert promoter Ed Christensen, who previously booked new wave and punk acts at Flashdance, said the Coach House will have shows beginning Feb. 7 with Robin Trower, followed by concerts with Al Stewart (Feb. 8), the Untouchables (Feb. 14), the Gregg Allman Band (Feb. 15) and the Blasters (Feb. 16).

Christensen said he is taking the conservative approach to bookings until the club establishes a following, after which he hopes to bring in a wider variety of music.

SALSA BEAT: The Latin Connection, a weekly radio program featuring Latin jazz, returns to KSBR-FM (88.5) on Sunday at 3 p.m. Hosted by Rae Arroyo, owner of Salsa Connection record store in Santa Ana, “Latin Connection” had been one of KSBR’s most popular programs before it was dropped when the station abandoned its National Public Radio affiliation in 1984. The show was then carried on Cal State Long Beach-based public radio station KLON-FM (88.1).

Two weeks later, KSBR will add another new show to its programming lineup. “On the Case” will feature “mostly black music along with information about health, job opportunities and public affairs with an eye toward the black community,” said producer-host Roz, who uses no surname. “On the Case” debuts Feb. 9 in conjunction with “Black History Month” and will air each Sunday from 10 p.m. to midnight. Music will consist of “contemporary R & B, some oldies and borderline blues like Bobby Blue Bland,” Roz said.

LIVE ACTION: The Mighty Flyers return to the Sunset Pub in Sunset Beach Jan. 30-Feb. 1. . . . Phoebe Snow will play the Golden Bear in Huntington Beach on Jan. 31, followed by Taj Mahal on Feb. 1. . . . T.S.O.L. will perform at Safari Sam’s in Huntington Beach Feb. 2-3.