AUTHORITIES FIRE AWAY AT CLUB CAPACITY

Anyone who’s gone to Club Lingerie on a weekend knows how frustrating it can be. You stand outside in a long line for an hour or two only to find the club two-thirds empty when you finally get in.

The problem: The Los Angeles City Fire Department, citing structural problems with the building, has limited capacity in the room--which once welcomed as many as 600 fans--to a paltry 205.

But owner Kurt Fisher says necessary changes have been made and that he hopes an upcoming fire department inspection will lead to a significant increase in capacity.

Because the Lingerie often features some of the nation’s most acclaimed new bands, the demand for the limited number of tickets each night has been so severe that hundreds of fans have been shut out.

In a recent comic twist, space was so tight that Fisher himself couldn’t get into the club after giving his staff strict orders not to exceed the legal capacity. “The doorman saw me and said, ‘Just a minute, Kurt,’ ” he recalled. “I said, ‘The hell with this, I know how to get in.’ So I went in the back door.”

WHO’S HOT: The Bel-Fires, a highly touted local band whose guitar-based rock has frequently been described as a cross between the Pretenders and U2, has finished its first album and is talking contract with several major labels.

Bassist Steve Manner, singer-songwriter Cynthia Isabella and guitarist George Steeley formed the Bel-Fires in 1983 while the three were students at UC Santa Barbara.

“We were kind of weird,” Manner said. “We played stuff no one else played, like obscure Talking Heads songs and X songs, which threw people for a loop. So we thought we might as well start playing originals since no one knew the songs we were doing anyway.”

A deal with the Sierra Madre-based independent Birdcage Records led to a move to L.A. and the release last year of the group’s “Fall for the Sky.” The six-song EP showcased a style centered on Isabella’s passionate singing and Steeley’s varied guitar textures--ranging from Byrds-like chimes to U2-ish sheets of sound. The band is rounded out by drummer Paul Maselli.

Once the new album is out, the Bel-Fires will embark on a national club tour, and one place the band is looking forward to seeing again is Tacoland in San Antonio.

Tacoland?

“It’s a biker bar . . . a place I would never go into unarmed,” Manner said, laughing. “They were pretty used to thrash bands there and they were dressed appropriate to that kind of thing. . . . But they were real receptive, which was lucky because there was no stage and we were playing (right in) the audience.”

He added, “I’d like to go there again just to get a picture at the very least.”

LOOKIN’ GOOD: Everyone knows rock stars have to look the part. The Boss may get away with old jeans and a T-shirt, but flash and trendy clothes are seen by many local bands as an essential ingredient in building an image.

The hot item these days is “glam cowboy stuff,” confides an employee at Let It Rock, a trend-conscious clothing emporium on (where else?) Melrose Avenue. That’s where hotshots like Motley Crue and Ratt fill out their wardrobes.

“If I was a rock ‘n’ roll musician and I wanted to get totally outfitted, I’d get a leather jacket with fringes and pony fur. . . . Maybe leather pants or a pair of jeans that are tight-fitted around the ankles--like stretch pants,” advised a sales clerk who asked for anonymity.

And she’s not through yet, also recommending “a pair of really good-looking cowboy boots or wild rock ‘n’ roll shoes with tips--boot tips, boot heels and boot straps. And then maybe a T-shirt or a really flashy shirt. A band came in here last week and the three of them got fully outfitted--about $2,000 worth of clothes.”

But beware: Since the cowboy glam look is already so popular, the really hip people are starting to look for something else. If you’re looking ahead, there are “Gypsy things--like scarfs, conches and vintage stuff but with a more rock ‘n’ roll flair.” And she adds, “The vinyl wet look is coming back.”

LISTEN UP: “SNAP CRACKLE POP ART.” Pop Art. Stonegarden Records. Great title. Great band. This is arty pop that snaps and crackles plenty. With its third album (plus a debut 1984 EP) the San Fernando Valley group anchored by brothers Jeff, Rich and Dave Steinhart has grown into a distinctive unit that may be ready for the majors. Words of love and loss, yearning and learning are given settings blending a variety of folk-rock shades, but with plenty of punch to accent Dave’s biting vocal delivery (sort of a cross of Graham Parker and Psychedelic Furs’ Richard Butler). Kudos to producer Ethan James’ subtly inventive production and keyboards, which keep the textures never less than stunning.

NEWS ‘N’ NOTES: Is there a hard-core audience for compact discs? SST Records believes so. The Lawndale-based independent label has released CD versions of six of its most popular punk classics: Black Flag’s “Damaged,” “Jealous” and “My War,” Husker Du’s “New Day Rising,” Bad Brains’ “I Against I” and the Minutemen’s sprawling “Double Nickels on the Dime.” . . . Over at Enigma, the company’s Restless Records wing is unveiling a new heavy-metal label, Medusa Records. The first releases: Tyton’s “Mind Over Metal” and D.C. LaCroix’s “Crack of Doom.”

Former Captain Beefheart drummer Robert Williams has joined Heather Haley and the Zellots. . . . The Real Impossibles, who released a four-song, Peter Case-produced EP last year, are recording their first LP. Look for a major-label signing soon. . . . The funky folk Beef Sisters are also recording their first album at Radio Tokyo Studios. . . . Kommunity FK is preparing to cut its third album.

DATE TO CIRCLE: Peter Case’s name alone on the McCabe’s marquee on Saturday might be enough to get you interested after all you’ve heard about the former Plimsoul’s 1986 debut solo album and recent shows. But if not, how about the added presence of his wife, Victoria Williams?

This will be the Louisiana native’s first show following her return from New York, where she recorded her debut album with producer Anton Fier. As just one listen to her off-kilter folk songs will confirm, Williams is one of the truly original talents of L.A. music.

Speaking of Case, his appearance Wednesday at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano puts him in cross-county competition with his former Plimsouls guitarist David O-Pahoa, whose new band Psychowhich plays the Palomino the same night.

FACE OFF: Brendan Mullen has been one of the guiding forces behind the L.A. rock scene, first as the organizer of the Masque--the center of the late-’70s renaissance that spawned bands ranging from the Go-Go’s to X to Black Flag. He’s since put on shows all over the place--most recently at the Variety Arts Center downtown. He’s been the talent booker for Club Lingerie for the past few years. Here are a few of his thoughts.

Favorite show he’s ever produced: “Big Joe Turner with the Lee Allen Orchestra at the Lingerie three or four years ago. It almost fell apart an hour before showtime, but turned around and generated its own unrepeatable magic. My other favorite was Little Ruben G. and the Eastside Revue two years ago at Ackerman Ballroom, UCLA. It was the closest I ever got to an Apollo-type R&B; heaven: 10 acts in 2 1/2 hours with only one missed cue.”

Most bizarre show: “Trouble Funk at Myron’s Ballroom last year. Chuck Foster’s Big Band was playing for ballroom dancers earlier in the evening, and then Trouble Funk showed up and scared the bejeezus out of these elderly white folk. They’re (the members of Trouble Funk) nice as can be--some of them have master’s degrees and doctorates--but they looked like this street gang. Then when their audience showed up while the big band was still playing, they wondered if I had finally lost all my marbles.”

Most outrageous show: “Wendy O. Williams with the Plasmatics, who stripped completely to the buff. . . . The Chili Peppers have nothing on this lass. This kind of thing’s fun for everybody else, but it’s a club owner’s nightmare because the whole thing’s entirely illegal, but it’s done before anyone can stop it.”

On who attracts the most interesting fans: “Screamin’ Jay Hawkins. He brings out yuppies, punks, rockabillys, the stray college kids, older blacks, downtown dance club trendies. . . . You can’t get much more varied than that.”

On the first record the native of Paisley, Scotland bought: “Elvis Presley’s ‘Jailhouse Rock.’ But my father didn’t allow a record player in the house. He didn’t think it was devil music, just moronic.”