Best of ’88 Won’t Shatter Any Trends

If your great-aunt’s bridge club donned leather cycle duds and power-chorded its way through songs about life in the gutter, it’d probably stand a good chance of getting a record deal.

At least that’s the way it seems, considering the hard-rock feeding frenzy on the part of record companies in the wake of Guns N’ Roses’ multi-platinum breakthrough. And with Geffen having snapped up such promising bands as Little Caesar and Junkyard, there’s no reason to think that frenzy won’t continue well into 1989.

Not that the continually healthy street-metal crowd had much competition this year:

The best thing you could say about the rest of the L.A. rock scene in 1988 was that nothing really coalesced into any kind of movement that would be easy for trendoids and sycophants to glom onto, meaning that many worthy acts around town were free to develop on their own and not worry about fitting into a “scene.”

On the other hand, the worst thing about the L.A. rock scene in 1988 was that nothing new really coalesced into any kind of movement that would produce an irresistible buzz, meaning that many worthy acts around town didn’t get the attention they deserved.

After all, what does it say about the vitality of the local club circuit when one of the brightest pop hopes to emerge from L.A. in 1988--Melissa Etheridge--determined that playing the clubs was a waste of time and elected to build her career through playing beach community taverns?

And who would have thought that the local independent act to get the most media attention would be Ailee Willis “discoverees,” the Del Rubio Triplets, three middle-aged sisters who apply their harmonies to the likes of “Walk Like an Egyptian” and Willis’ “Neutron Dance,” and make most of their concert appearances at nursing and retirement homes?

There are, though, two promising trends that began to emerge in ‘88: Nu Folk (the name’s gotta go) and the latest edition of L.A. psychedelia.

Such clubs as Bogart’s, Club Lingerie and the Music Machine suddenly swung open their doors to acoustic troubadours, while new clubs like the Breakaway and the Gaslight were created specifically for that low-key approach. (The revived Ash Grove couldn’t make it, though.)

Nu names to watch: meaning-seeker Mark Davis and witty social observer Milo Binder seem the most likely to make a mark, while bands Different World and the Beef Sisters could develop into contenders as well.

Among the murky mind-expansion brigade, Jane’s Addiction is certainly the most prominent, while fellow late-night denizen Caterwaul also seems a good candidate for big things, based on the preview EP I.R.S. has just issued. An album from the Betsy Martin-fronted quartet is due early this year. The stable of psyche-rock purveyors at Nate Starkman & Son records also seems quite promising, with Shiva Burlesque, the best of the bunch, reportedly getting some major label attention these days.

The best live club act this year was Mary’s Danish, which combines the droll wit and delivery of singers Julie Ritter and Gretchen Seager with a wild, loose funk-rock sound. American Martyrs and the Bel-Fires have also both developed strong live presences that seem ripe for big-label vinyl.

The Wild Cards, who released a debut LP “Cool Not Cold,” also could (finally) be the band to follow fellow Latinos Los Lobos to national attention. And the country world offers potential matinee idol Jim Lauderdale (a debut album coming soon from Epic), country-rock songstresses Lucinda Williams (a new album that more than lives up to her good name around local clubs) and Kimm Rogers.