From Blues to ‘Broadway,’ a Lively Season in the Arts : Music: Clubs showcase local talent with loyal followings. Styles range from metal rock to rockabilly to country.

The Country Club, the area’s longtime showcase of popular music, plans to try again this year to regain the liquor privileges it lost in November, 1988. Since losing its right to serve alcohol--a group of residents had complained that rowdy club patrons created disturbances in the neighborhood--the Reseda club has generally catered to young crowds who will forgo drinking to follow their favorite speed metal or punk band.

“That’s what has kept us alive,” said Scott Hurowitz, the club’s general manager. “These kids don’t need to drink. They love their bands.” The club will continue to feature metal and punk bands.

On Jan. 20, the Circle Jerks, a Los Angeles-based punk band, will perform at 8 p.m. The show costs $15. And on Jan. 27, two commercial metal bands, Terriff and Burn, will play. According to promoter Jason Lord, Terriff is close to being signed by a major record label. The show costs $12.

Hurowitz added that the club, which featured familiar performers like Deborah Harry, and the Replacements in 1989, will again try to book popular acts.

Meanwhile, rock ‘n’ roll at other venues in the Valley will continue to highlight local bands with loyal followings and well-known acts. At other clubs around the Valley:

FM Station: Local metal rock is also this club’s forte, and owner Filthy McNasty said that’s not likely to change this year, although he said the North Hollywood club will try to bring back well-known performers like Dr. Hook, Leon Russell and Eric Burdon.

“But this club is not going to do too many revival acts,” McNasty said. “There are too many oldies coming back. If we did that, the new groups would stay away, thinking we don’t have any new and hip groups.”

McNasty added the club should hold its long-postponed television pilot this year. The show, FM Station Live, was supposed to be taped last year, but scheduling conflicts caused several cancellations. The show would tape the area’s best unsigned local bands performing live each week. McNasty said he hopes to persuade a local or national television station to carry the show.

In coming weeks, the club has booked with an array of local talent: Jan. 17, Big Guns; Feb. 1, Fire in the Sky; and Feb. 14, Wyld Hearts. Shows cost either $4 or $5. Doors open at 8:30 p.m.

Palomino: Bill Thomas, owner of the North Hollywood club, said tentative plans are under way to initiate a weekly “BAM JAM”--an all-out jam by various local bands. Discussions are still preliminary, but Thomas hopes to have representatives from BAM magazine critique the contesting groups.

Otherwise, no major changes are anticipated. Ronnie Mack’s Barn Dance, which was carried on KCSN-FM until the station switched to classical music in November, will continue each Tuesday night at 9.

On Jan. 16, Mack and a host of other performers will celebrate the Barn Dance’s two-year anniversary. Among the scheduled guests: Big Jay McNeely, whose 1959 pop hit, “There Is Something on Your Mind,” made the R&B; charts; Gene Clark, an original member of the Byrds; Carla Olson, lead singer of the Textones, and singer Lucinda Williams, who performs a variety of folk, country and blues. Mack said he will keep trying to find radio stations to carry the concerts, but “we’ll continue regardless.”

On Jan. 30, Barn Dance will host a special album release party for Chris Gaffney, recently voted by Music Connection magazine as the second most popular country act. Gaffney will do a variety of hillbilly, rockabilly, rhythm and blues, and Cajun music.

Bebop Records and Fine Art: Owner Richard Bruland has fought a nonstop battle to stay one step ahead of financial disaster, frequently holding benefits to keep the club alive. For now, Bruland said there is no threat of imminent closure, and the Reseda club will continue to present its distinctive blend of rock, pop and alternative music.

Upcoming shows include: Hollis, a female vocalist who combines pop and country, on Jan. 26; Eugene Chadborne, former member of Shockabilly, on Feb. 6, and This Great Religion on Feb. 10.

Concerts will remain free, with donations voluntary. Shows begin at 8 p.m.

Longhorn Saloon: On Feb. 6, at 8 p.m., the Canoga Park club will celebrate Dave Durham’s 36th birthday with a special tribute, including harmonica player David McKelvy and singer Dean Dobbins. In the last two years, Dobbins has had three singles reach the top five in the national independent country charts.

In addition, Silk ‘N Spurs, the winners of the California Country Music Assn.’s Dance Team of the Year, will perform.

Durham of Van Nuys, who was voted songwriter of 1989 by CCMA for his hit single, “In My Car,” also will be treated to Billboard’s top 10 country songs from Feb. 5, 1954, the date of his birth. Among the hits: “I Really Don’t Want to Know,” by Eddy Arnold; “Secret Love,” by Slim Whitman; and “I Don’t Hurt Any More,” by Hank Snow. The songs will be performed by several guest disc jockeys from Los Angeles-based radio stations.

Durham captured a host of country music awards in the past year. He and his band, the Bull Durham Band, were voted by CCMA as 1989’s best group.