PRETTY VACANT CLUB TO FILL EMPTY MID-SIZE SPOT

For years, Orange County music fans and performers have bemoaned the county’s lack of a mid-size club comparable to the 1,000-seat Palace in Hollywood. As of April 15, that void will be filled, at least part time, when Pretty Vacant nightclub in Orange opens with a concert by Concrete Blonde.

Actually, Pretty Vacant (the title of a 1977 song by the Sex Pistols) is just a name that will be used a few nights a month at Confetti, an over-21 dance music club that has contracted with Avalon Attractions to bring Palace-level touring acts to Orange County.

A May 7 show with Red Lorry Yellow Lorry and Jane’s Addiction and a May 13 concert with the Mission U.K. and Balaam & the Angel are the only other shows confirmed at the club, which is at the City shopping center.

“We’ve seen there is a big market in Orange County for music that is on the cutting edge,” said Avalon booking agent Jim Guerinot, a longtime Orange County resident who started his concert promotion career booking shows at UC Irvine.

“The punk scene is now 10 years old,” said Guerinot, 27. “A lot of those fans are over 21 now and still have their ears open to new music, but there has been no place in Orange County offering this type of real adventurous music.”

Because Confetti’s capacity of 560 is larger than that of other original music clubs in the county, Guerinot said Pretty Vacant will be a complement, rather than competitor, because it will target acts that do not play smaller facilities.

Other clubs have had capacities of no greater than about 400, so many middle-level acts have bypassed the county. Small clubs can’t afford them, yet they aren’t popular enough to headline the 15,000-plus-seat amphitheaters.

“I don’t think it’s going to be enough competition to threaten the Coach House in any way,” said Ken Phebus, booking agent for the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano.

“We’ve always had a good relationship with Avalon. We’ll maintain the same relationship we have with the Crazy Horse (in Santa Ana)--we’re not going to get into bidding wars over the same acts. That just drives prices up.”

Jack Richards, former owner of Spatz in Huntington Harbour, who is booking concerts twice a week at Goodies in Fullerton, said: “I welcome it with open arms. Anything that gives bands an opportunity to play is good for everyone.”

Concern was expressed by one club operator, who asked not to be identified, that Avalon’s position as one of the Southland’s biggest concert promoters will give Confetti the inside track on prime acts, leaving other Orange County clubs with “leftovers” to book.

“We’re not going to take the (talent agencies’) clinkers without some of the winners,” the club official said.

Confetti general manager John Canova said he expects to average “one big show a week.”

Local bands will be used as opening acts and only occasionally as headliners, Guerinot said.

“You can only book (Southland punk bands like) the Vandals, Social Distortion and the Dickies so many times until you become sort of a punk Golden Bear, where you see the same acts all the time,” he said.

“When local bands play Club Lingerie (in Hollywood), it’s an event, and when they play Pretty Vacant, it will be an event.”

The interior of Confetti-Pretty Vacant has a colorful high-tech decor, two-level layout and a dance floor immediately in front of the stage. There are also booths and tables upstairs and downstairs, many of which incorporate institutionalized graffiti under glass table tops.

Four video cameras and six television monitors mounted at various locations will provide video coverage of performances. Guerinot said the video monitors will help compensate for floor-to-ceiling support beams that could obstruct patrons’ view of the stage.

Ticket prices will be $10 for all shows, Guerinot said. “So far, I’ve been able to hold the line at $10. Obviously, if we bring in some really big acts it (added expense) will demand more money.”

The venture aims to be mutually beneficial for Avalon, which will produce and book the shows, and the management of Confetti, which is footing the bill for an expanded stage, additional sound and lighting equipment and other changes for concerts.

(Confetti is part of a chain owned by Houston-based McFadden Ventures.)

For Avalon, working with an existing club means that “we don’t have to put out all the money to open a new club,” Guerinot said.

“The most important thing (to Avalon) was the production element. We wanted it to come up to snuff so that when we put acts in here they will look good and sound good.”

For Confetti, Canova said, “We get the benefit of Avalon’s expertise in concert promotion.” His company also benefits from Avalon’s considerable clout, which puts Confetti in the enviable position of not competing for acts that would likely open big-name concerts at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, which is also booked by Avalon.

Guerinot said: “We can gauge when an act can do both places without hurting the primary show (at Irvine Meadows). We’ll also be able to do some surprise shows with artists of major standing occasionally. If an act that’s playing Irvine Meadows wants an extra show while they are in the area, we’ll be able to slip some of those in on a moment’s notice.”

Initially, concerts will be held mid-week. The club will maintain its dance music and deejay format on weekends. But, Canova added, “We won’t be restricted to any one night. If the act comes through and is the type we would like to have, and it’s a Friday, we’ll be able to do it.”

Pretty Vacant will maintain a close working relationship with radio station KROQ (106.7 FM), Canova said, “because KROQ’s format is closest to the type of music and audience we are trying to develop.”

Guerinot and Canova said they expect the club’s over-21 age policy to eliminate many problems that afflicted several Orange County original music clubs that were shut down or voluntarily closed in recent years.

“In terms of the problems we’ve seen at the Cuckoo’s Nest, Flashdance, Ichabod’s, Safari Sam’s, I’ve seen these clubs go down, and their problems haven’t gone unnoticed,” Guerinot said.