SINGING THE BLUES AT McDICK’S : AT OCEAN BEACH CLUB, THEY SING THE BLUES AND LOVE IT

The spirit of Woodstock has come back to haunt McDick’s, a new concert showcase club in Ocean Beach.

Most of the people who go there have long hair and wear faded Army jackets, tie-dyed T-shirts, and peace signs around their necks.

Most of the acts that play there are aging acid-rockers with a fondness for the blues, like Dan Hicks, ‘Country’ Joe McDonald, and Maggie Mayall, wife of blues-rock legend John Mayall.

It’s all in keeping with the mood of the neighborhood, said manager Mel Dolezal.

“Face it--Ocean Beach is still a hippie area,” he said. “The people live the 1960s every day. And if I could bite the bullet and do a Grateful Dead show out here, they’d go crazy.”

For most of the past eight years, the 200-seat nightclub on Bacon Street was no different from the other seedy dives around Ocean Beach.

The entertainment was provided by local hard-rock bands, Dolezal said, and the decor consisted of a corrugated black-metal ceiling, mismatched chairs and tables, and ‘what used to be red carpeting.’

“It was a biker bar,” Dolezal said, “with a regular crowd of undesirables. It wasn’t making any money, either.”

Dolezal signed on as manager last February. Over the spring and summer, he began engineering the club’s transformation.

The interior was gutted and rebuilt: The walls were painted beige; a new textured ceiling was installed; and the junky furniture was replaced with neat wood-and-tile tables and comfortable cushioned chairs.

The name was changed to McDick’s, after owner Dick Wong. Steve Dean, of North County’s Falk and Morrow Talent, was brought in to book the talent.

And with Dean’s help, the Woodstock genie was let out of the bottle. Aside from such counterculture favorites as Hicks and McDonald, McDick’s has showcased an impressive roster of blues and rhythm-and-blues acts that appeal to the same crowd.

Recent bookings include John Hammond, Blues for Breakfast, C.P. Love (formerly the lead vocalist with King Floyd, best remembered for the million-selling hit, ‘Groovin’), and Smokey Wilson.

“Most of the old bands that are coming back, like the Monkees, represent the sweet side of 1960s rock ‘n’ roll,” said booker Steve Dean.

“The guys we’re bringing to McDick’s are the ones who can really play. Their music is ballsy and driving; they appeal to the people who listened to Cream and Canned Heat, rather than the Monkees and the Grass Roots.

“They’re real artists, like Picasso. They don’t want to change. Being popular is the least of their priorities--playing the music they like is.”

“When all the big pop groups from the 1960s started resurfacing a few years ago, the harder, bluesier groups sort of got lost in the background,” added manager Dolezal. “It’s not easy to get them back out, but we’re doing it.”

In that regard, the tie-in with Falk and Morrow Talent helps considerably, Dean said.

“We’re also booking the Palomino in Los Angeles and the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach,” he said. “As a result, we’re able to put together package dates.

“And a lot of acts that won’t come out to Southern California for a single show are more than willing to come out if we can assure them of three separate dates.”

While the big-name acts of the past play McDick’s on weekends, Dean added, newer regional and local bands appear on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Among them are the Jacks, a San Diego “American roots” band led by guitarist Buddy Blue, formerly of the Beat Farmers; local blues singer Blonde Bruce; and Luke and the Locomotives from Los Angeles, who recently walked away from the prestigious Long Beach Blues Festival with ‘Best Blues Band’ honors.

“But they’re all in the same boat,” Dean said. “None of these acts could get a big record deal unless their hair is pink and stands on end.

“Still, they don’t want to play whatever’s trendy. They want to play the music they grew up with, regardless of what the record companies want.

“And the only way they can make a living is by performing at places like McDick’s.”