Rock Seeks a Slice of City Funding Pie

The mix of corporate money and rock has proved to be always controversial.

But what about government money and rock?

With the city of Los Angeles figuring out how to allocate its newly created $20-million arts endowment, that could soon become an issue as members of the local rock community are currently exploring ways in which rockers could access some of the funds.

But Lee Ballinger, Long Beach-based associate editor of New York writer Dave Marsh’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Confidential newsletter--and an outspoken critic of the corporate-rock relationship--sees no conflict in the pursuit of public grant money.

“I’m not saying that government money is totally a good thing, or that if funding became a big thing the government wouldn’t try to control how it was used,” he said. “But the marketplace ain’t working very well in terms of ensuring a broad range of acts and venues. And where else can you go (besides the government)?”

Len Fagan, who books the shows at the Hollywood club Coconut Teaszer, agreed that city funding would have more positive than negative results, even if in some ways it seems to go against a certain notion of what rock ‘n’ roll is “supposed” to be.

“You’re supposed to starve and live on peoples’ couches,” Fagan said. “But pay to play (the recently dominant system in L.A. clubs where bands have had to rent a facility) goes against the way rock’s supposed to be because anyone who has a real band is too broke to pay to play. So I don’t see what’s wrong with taking grant money. A band like the Doors couldn’t get off the ground the way things are today.”

Both Ballinger and Fagan, who led several meetings of the music community to field ideas and questions about funds allocations, as well as make local musicians aware of the impending funds, advocate that the money be used in ways that doesn’t just support musicians, but brings their work into the community through in-school programs and community festivals.

But according to Barbara Goldstein, project coordinator of the city’s Cultural Arts Department, those programs already exist, and city money is already available to musicians with acceptable proposals. The difference with the new endowment, which she says will be allocated beginning in late summer, is that it is significantly larger than what is available now.

“There will be a lot more festivals to employ and expose local musicians, and a lot more opportunities for the city to fund people who play music,” she said.

TEEN-O-RAMA: A recent life-threatening bout with meningitis actually helped Dave Alvin get in the frame of mind to write songs for John Waters’ upcoming ‘50s teen fantasy “Cry Baby.”

“I was in the hospital for 10 days with doctors coming in telling me I was lucky to be alive,” Alvin, 32, said of the illness that struck him while he was touring with the Pleasure Barons, a large aggregation fronted by him, Mojo Nixon and the Beat Farmers’ Country Dick Montana. “That cured me of feeling old.”

Alvin was tabbed to write three songs for the film, which he describes as “a fantasy movie about the birth of rock ‘n’ roll using every cliche from every ‘50s rock ‘n’ roll movie.” Set in Waters’ usual Baltimore locale, it stars Johnny Depp (with L.A. rockabilly figure James Intveld doing his singing) and features appearances by Iggy Pop, Traci Lords, Patty Hearst, Troy Donahue and David Nelson. So far, Waters, who set very strict standards for the sound and styles of the music, has accepted two Alvin compositions: “King Crybaby” (co-written with Doc Pomus, whose classics include “Teenager in Love” and “Save the Last Dance for Me”) and “High School Hellcats.” A third, “Teenage Rage” (being co-written with Intveld) is still in the works.

For the former Blaster, the experience has been a jolt back to life, not just after his illness, but during a time of some career confusion, as he and Epic records have parted ways after one fine, but commercially ignored album, “Romeo’s Escape.” Lately Alvin has been torn trying to decide which of his musical interests to follow.

“I’ve got songs for a rockabilly album, an acoustic folk album, a blues album and a rock album,” he said. “If I put them together it’d be too weird, so I’m working in a bit of a vacuum right now. But this movie thing’s been a lot of fun. I’ve gone back to listening to a lot of early rockabilly. After the war between rock and country (raised by Epic’s marketing difficulties with the album), it’s great to go back to where it all started.”

HOME ON THE RANGE: Remember Range War, the lauded country band fronted by former Fear leader Lee Ving? The band’s been off the local club circuit since Ving had a motorcycle accident last year.

Now, what Ving immodestly calls “the best damn country band around” is back in action, Ving and crew are currently in the studio putting together some songs for a combination demo/self-released record. And when that’s done, Ving says he plans to “get a hillbilly bus and take the band around the country.”

Meanwhile, the gregarious Ving is continuing with his acting career. He’s just started work on a horror movie called “Grave Secrets.”

“I play a nasty redneck named Zack,” he said, laughing menacingly. “It’ll be all too easy.”

METALLURGY: Miracle Workers is currently on a two-month European tour promoting its new German-released LP, “Primary Domain,” and hopes to generate some Stateside label interest when it returns here in June. The quartet’s album shows a brand of garage rock that has a deceptively dressed-down intensity that is not easily categorized, but it should help the band shake the Stooges-MC5 label that has dogged it. . . .

The melodic rock ‘n’ pop group Tomorrow’s Child has been signed by Arista. The deal has pretty much been a done deed for several weeks now, but ever since the label came up the loser in its battle with Geffen for Little Caesar, it has been keeping a low profile on its potential acts until the contracts have been signed.

BUZZWORDS: Perhaps the most interesting of a slew of new local records is Dread Zepellin’s debut on Birdcage Records. The band, which, as the name implies, specializes in reggae versions of Led Zep songs, has released a red vinyl single of “The Immigrant Song,” backed with “Hey, Hey, What Can I Do,” which was the flip side of the very first Zep single and never appeared on an album. The Dreads will be playing at Club Lingerie on My 20.. . . The Little Kings, a couple years ago one of the hottest items on the L.A. club scene, but quiet more recently, has released a debut album, “Head First,” on the independent Epitaph label.

Metallurgy was contributed by Janiss Garza.