The Scene: Thursday night’s party at Palette,...

The Scene: Thursday night’s party at Palette, thrown by the Pollack Media Group for hundreds of record honchos and international radio executives. It was the culmination of president Jeff Pollack’s sixth annual programming management conference and the party continued Friday night at the Roxy with an evening of music by Melissa Ethridge and the Smithereens.

The Buzz: Lots of heavy schmooze action and talk about the next big thing from the record executives. Others crowded around and begged for autographs from Tom Petty, Eddie Van Halen and Valerie Bertinelli.

Who was there: Rock stars Tom Petty, Charlie Sexton, Eddie Van Halen with wife Bertinelli, Danny Wilde, producers Jimmy Iovine and Keith Forsey, Gene Simmons of KISS, Duff McKagan of Guns N’ Roses, Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits, and members of L.A. Guns, White Lion, Little Feat, and Was (Not Was).

Dress mode: Black and blue--black leather and blue worsted that is. It was easy to separate the office types from the performers when everyone was either dressed for heavy metal or heavy deal making.

The tunes: The sound was more Motown than Metallica with lots of ‘60s hits--”Wild Thing” by the Troggs, “Dancing in the Street,” by Martha and the Vandellas, etc.

The chow: Roast beef, veal, octopus salad, spinach tortelloni, poached salmon, steamed shrimp, rotelli salad, and antipasti.

Pastimes: Avoiding iron grip handshakes from tiny but Nautilized record execs; discussing hair extensions with the musicians.

Overheard: “You know you’re getting old when the only one you recognize is that guy from Herman’s Hermits.”

Entertainment: Comedian Andrew Dice Clay, whose diatribes against women and gays made Sam Kinison seem tame--and sent several guests out the door early.

Triumphs: The buffet by Pane Caldo, which kept guests in line all night for seconds and thirds.

Glitches: Only one open bar, with two bartenders trying to serve hundreds of people. Plus an unintelligible sound system that was finally fixed just as Andrew Dice Clay took the stage.