POP MUSIC / THOMAS K. ARNOLD : Rappers to Get Another Chance Despite Ruckus

Despite a violent flare-up between security guards and gang members at a July 30 rap concert at the San Diego Sports Arena, Phil Quinn, the arena’s executive vice president and general manager, is giving local rap fans a second shot.

He has just OKd another rap concert for the arena, scheduled for Oct. 14 and headlined by M. C. Hammer, whose “They Put Me in the Mix” is rapidly climbing Billboard’s Hot Rap Singles chart.

“The promoter assured me it’s a very mild show compared to the Nitro Tour,” Quinn said, referring to the traveling troupe of five rappers--including L.L. Cool J and De La Soul--whose appearance at the arena two months ago was anything but mild. Toward the end of that show, members of two rival gangs circling the interior concourse turned on the 30-member arena security force assigned to watch them. In the ensuing melee, three security guards were injured, two suffering black eyes and the third, a broken wrist.

Despite the promoter’s assurances, Quinn added, he’s not taking any chances. “We’re going to be extra careful this time around,” he said. “We’re monitoring the (M. C. Hammer) tour before it comes to San Diego, and we plan on talking to building operators in other cities to see what problems, if any, they encounter.

“Then we’re going to act accordingly in regard to security, metal detectors, and all the other precautions we might have to take.

“We’re determined to avoid a repeat of what happened last time.”

It’s real tough for San Diego pop bands who play original music to get exposure in San Diego. They have trouble landing bookings at local nightclubs because they don’t play the Top 40, and they have trouble getting airplay on local radio stations because they aren’t signed to major labels--and they don’t have any hits.

Marco Collins sympathizes with their plight. And as host of “Loudspeaker,” a new weekly, hour-long program on progressive rock station XTRA-FM (91X) devoted exclusively to home-grown talent, he’s in a position to help. Every Sunday, starting at midnight, the 24-year-old deejay gives his listeners a taste of what the San Diego music scene has to offer. On most episodes of “Loudspeaker,” he spotlights one particular band--playing four or five of their songs in a row and then following up with either a prerecorded interview or an in-studio appearance. Visiting band members field questions from callers, discuss their careers, and sometimes even perform an additional song or two live.

“I think the show is important because it gives local bands a venue to expose themselves to listeners who otherwise would never have the chance to hear them,” Collins said. “There’s so much great talent in this town that no one really knows about, and I’m hoping to change that.”

It doesn’t matter whether a band has a record out or has just cut its first demonstration tape, Collins added. Everyone’s welcome, he said, as long as they’re local, as long as they play original music--and as long as they’re good.

“We’re playing everything from real high-tech dance stuff, like Red Flag’s new (Enigma) album and a demo tape by Impact, to grungy garage stuff by bands like the Warlocks, who have just put out a single on a small independent New York label,” Collins said.

“A lot of the bands I’ll play are currently unsigned, and that’s really what this show is all about--exposing local music that isn’t getting exposed anywhere else.”

Submissions can be sent to Marco Collins at 91X, 4891 Pacific Highway, San Diego 92110.

LINER NOTES: Now that the Rolling Stones have added a third show at the Los Angeles Coliseum, it’s almost certain that the “World’s Greatest Rock ‘n’ Roll Band” won’t be rolling into San Diego next month after all. San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium officials had been hoping for an Oct. 18 booking, but with the Stones playing the Coliseum the next night--and not just on Oct. 21 and 22, as previously announced--little hope remains. “I think it’s a matter of dollars and cents to them,” said stadium business manager Steve Schushan. “We could only offer them one date in that time frame, and apparently it wasn’t cost-effective for them to come down here and set up their stage for just one show--whereas in L.A., they already had two shows and their stage was already set up.” Stadium manager Bill Wilson, however, insists that “even with a third L.A. date, they still might come down here,” although he concedes “that’s probably not going to happen.”

MCA Records has just released the eponymous debut album by San Diego rock band the Voices. Four of the group’s five members are graduates of La Jolla High School. The LP was produced by Andy Slater, producer of the last two Warren Zevon albums, and engineered by Niko Bolas, whose credits include Melissa Etheridge and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. . . . Meanwhile, “Poor and Famous,” the fourth album by local roots rockers the Beat Farmers, continues to pick up airplay on album-rock radio stations throughout the country and is reportedly about to crack Billboard’s Top Pop Albums chart. The LP came out in July, also on the MCA label. The Beat Farmers, incidentally, will be appearing Thursday night at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach. . . .

Best concert bets for the coming week: John Lee Hooker and the Coast to Coast Blues Band, tonight at the Belly Up Tavern; the Dave Brubeck Quartet, Thursday at Humphrey’s on Shelter Island; the Outlaws, Saturday at the Bacchanal in Kearny Mesa; and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, also Saturday, at Iguanas in Tijuana.