SST’S MINI-WOODSTOCK Live Alternative Music in a Cozy Barbecue Setting

It’s the middle of a Saturday afternoon at the Anticlub, down at the unfashionable end of Melrose Avenue near the Hollywood Freeway. Out on the club’s patio Chuck Dukowski, head of the progressive punk record label SST, flips burgers on a barbecue grill. Inside the club, the young Virginia band, Always August, jams loudly on stage as the television set at the bar carries a rerun of “Fantasy Island,” all for the enjoyment of a crowd of a couple of a hundred in which Mohawk haircuts mix with tie-dye clothes, teen-agers with middle-agers and pretty-in-pinks with shaggy-in-punks.

The scene last weekend hardly called to mind the Age of Aquarius, but Ralph Gorodetsky of the band Universal Congress of, one of 10 acts that performed at this SST concert festival and barbecue, was serious when he described the proceedings as a “mini little Woodstock.”

So was Merril Ward, singer for the band SWA, when he termed the people gathered at the small club “the new love generation.” And while there wasn’t any mud bathing or group hugs, there was 11 hours of love--or at least friendship--and music.

This event was the latest in Lawndale-based SST’s ongoing series of festivals designed to open the label’s music to those who are unable to be part of the local club scene (especially teen-agers) and give some exposure to some of its lesser-known acts (this day ranging from the tight angst -rock of San Francisco-based Slovenly to the neo-surf instrumentals of Lawndale).

Dukowski, looking quite unlike a record company executive as he manned the barbecue and picked up stray garbage, scoffed at the neo-hippie talk.

“There are cool things about the ‘60s in terms of music and culture, but we’re not aping that,” insisted Dukowski, who later played frantic bass as part of an SST all-star jam session as well as with SWA. “We’re just trying to do some things that are different, to kind of burst the formats, because everything’s so formatted, even in the independent record world.”

The easygoing Dukowski, seeming far removed from his days with the hard-core punk pioneers, Black Flag, said that the idea for these events came some years ago from his former Black Flag mate Greg Ginn. “We did this kind of thing, sort of, with Black Flag,” he recalled as he sliced a watermelon. “We did matinee shows because some people can’t go out at night.”

Eventually, the SST festivals turned into semi-regular happenings every few months. The last several were at the Music Machine, which locks up its liquor cabinet to allow under-age patrons to attend. A few weeks ago, the concept was exported for a similar event in San Francisco, and SST publicist Mike Whitaker says the label is investigating the possibilities of holding the next one in the Los Angeles River channel.

Though liquor was on sale at the Anticlub, the all-ages aspect was still stressed. People who planned to drink alcohol were carded and had their hands stamped, and club owner Helen (she doesn’t use her last name) prowled the grounds making sure that minors stuck to sodas.

For many of the young people on hand, this represented a rare chance to see live alternative music in an intimate setting. “I don’t go (to concerts) that much,” said 17-year-old Curt Lane of Manhattan Beach with a sigh. “Parents, you know. They’re not into the late-night thing.”

Echoed 18-year-old David Dunn of Huntington Beach, who was videotaping the proceedings with his 16-year-old brother Mike for their public-access cable program “Rock Stock”: “Usually we don’t (get to see bands like these). That’s discouraging, because if you like these bands you can’t see them because so many clubs are 21 or over.”

The occasion also attracted Susan Friedman, 17, and her brother Dave, 20, of Reseda, who had never even heard of SST or any of the bands on the bill before. In fact, Susan said that this was the first time she had ever been to a rock club. After hearing several of the acts--and seeing that there had not been a hint of the physical aggression sometimes associated with punk concert crowds--she enthusiastically said that she’d like to go to more such events.

SWA’s Ward also seemed pleased as he observed the relative placidity of the scene on the patio.

“Kids have been put in a wrong direction,” he said. “It’s time to put them back on the right track. We’ve already destroyed, now it’s time to rebuild.

“But,” added the colorful singer in a very un-hippie manner, “we’ll destroy that too.”