POP MUSIC / THOMAS K. ARNOLD : S.D.’s Contribution to Hip Told Not to Toy With Name

One of the hottest, hippest and most happening events on any self-respecting San Diego pop music fan’s social calendar is the occasional surfacing of Playskool, a nomadic underground “nightclub” whose only permanent home is in the mind of its proprietor, 24-year-old Todd Zweig.

The focus is on dancing--to the latest Euro-pop, roots rock and heavy metal records, spun by deejays who consider the Top 40 more of a junkyard than a happy hunting ground. Adding to the fun is an eclectic assortment of entertaining asides, such as fashion shows, go-go and belly dancers, mimes, female impersonators, performance artists and screenings of campy cult films and videos.

Another trademark of Playskool is its ever-changing decor. On one night, every wall, every table, every chair, every fixture was covered with aluminum foil; on another, hundreds of miniature toy parachutes were suspended from the ceiling.

“It’s a complete audio and visual experience, nothing at all like the typical San Diego nightclub,” Zweig said. “You never know what to expect, and this suspense, I think, really adds to Playskool’s appeal.”

Inspired by a similar roving club in downtown Los Angeles, where Zweig lived before moving to San Diego six years ago to study business at San Diego State University, Playskool’s original port of call was the Hotel San Diego.

Starting in October, 1986, Playskool docked every second or third Friday night in one of the downtown hotel’s basement banquet rooms, regularly attracting more than 700 18-and-older trendies. A year later, it expanded into a second banquet room, and Zweig began serving alcohol to patrons over the age of 21.

That’s when his troubles began.

Concerned over the potential for drink-sharing with minors, the local office of the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control threatened to revoke the Hotel San Diego’s liquor license, resulting in the November, 1987, eviction of Playskool. (Zweig subsequently filed suit against the hotel for breach of contract, since his lease wasn’t due to expire until the end of that year; the litigation has yet to be resolved.)

In the meantime, Zweig has continued to keep alive the Playskool concept through occasional stagings at the Palisades roller rink in North Park, the Soma dance hall downtown and backstage at the San Diego Sports Arena, where the “club” will celebrate its three-year anniversary Sept. 22.

In this month’s issue of Details, the flashy New York night-life magazine, Zweig placed an ad touting Playskool’s upcoming birthday bash.

“I felt it was about time that San Diego got some national recognition for having an alternative to the typical beach-area Top 40 nightclub” scene, he said.

That’s when his troubles began anew.

“Early last week,” Zweig said, “I received a phone call from Hasbro attorney Jim Montalto, telling me to cease and desist using the Playskool name, which is a registered trademark for Hasbro’s line of preschool toys.

“If I didn’t, he told me, Hasbro would take me to court and sue me.”

Zweig said he argued, in vain, “that because I’m not selling toys, I can’t imagine anyone confusing Playskool, the nightclub, with Playskool, the toy line.”

But, even though he offered to change the spelling, Zweig added, the Hasbro attorney still said no.

Zweig has since hired an attorney of his own “in an attempt to reach some sort of compromise,” he said.

“But, to tell you the truth, it doesn’t look very good,” Zweig said. “Even if I was to change the spelling, which I believe is acceptable under federal trademark law, they have enough money to take me to court, whereas I don’t have anywhere near enough money to properly defend myself.

“Therefore, I’ll probably have to change the name entirely. And that makes me feel lousy, because, over the last three years, Playskool has really established itself in San Diego.

“People know the name, and I would very much like to keep it, because it has such a good reputation.

“At this point, however, I just don’t think it’s possible.”

LINER NOTES: After two no-shows, Rod Stewart finally made it to the San Diego Sports Arena on Tuesday of last week, four days after he was originally scheduled to appear. Unfortunately, his stage-lighting system didn’t. It had already been shipped to New Jersey, the next stop on Stewart’s summer U.S. tour.

Larry Richter, the concert’s production manager, made several frantic phone calls before finding a replacement: the system belonging to Tom Petty, who was playing that night at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles, which, unlike the Sports Arena, has built-in stage lights. Petty’s system was hurriedly trucked down to San Diego and set up, with only minutes to spare. . . .

When the folks at XLTN-FM (104.5 Radio Latina) learned the Gipsy Kings were coming to San Diego, they immediately made arrangements for an on-air phone interview. After all, the French group’s recent hit, “Bambaleo,” had caught on big with Latino audiences and was still in heavy rotation on the local Spanish- language radio station’s play list. But, when the much-awaited interview finally took place--three days before the group’s appearance last Saturday at San Diego State University’s Open Air Theatre--it proved a bust. Radio Latina staffers had taken it for granted that the Gipsy Kings speak Spanish. They don’t. . . .

Motley Crue’s management team is negotiating with Sports Arena vice president and general manager Phil Quinn about leasing the arena sometime in November for four days of pre-tour rehearsals. “They came down two years ago, and they loved it,” Quinn said. “It’s close enough to Los Angeles, where they live, but far enough away so they can get down to business.” . . .

Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday for Santana’s Sept. 2 appearance at the SDSU Open Air Theatre, and at 3 p.m. Friday for the Aug. 30 concert by Winger at the California Theatre downtown. . . . Sheena Easton’s Aug. 17 show at the Civic Theatre has been canceled. So has the Desert Rose Band’s Sept. 17 concert at Humphrey’s on Shelter Island.