Fans Toast Eclectic Band

The Scene: Party thrown by Chrysalis Records at the Mayan Thursday night for the release of Was (Not Was)’s new album, “Are You Okay?” The Mayan, built as a theater in 1926 and now a dance club, is an eccentric architectural jewel. Imagine St. Peter’s Basilica if it had been built in pre-Columbian Guatemala.

Who Was There: A predominantly record-industry crowd out to hear the band. Musician David Was (a.k.a. David Weiss) said the “only tougher audience would be the Khmer Rouge.” Among the 1,100 were former Gov. Jerry Brown, Elton John, Paula Abdul, songwriters Bernie Taupin and Leonard Cohen, Taj Mahal, Iggy Pop, Buffy St. Marie and Frank Sinatra Jr. You book an eclectic band, you get eclectic guests.

The Buzz: Was (Not Was) is the great hope for hard-hitting intelligent--even funny--rock ‘n’ roll. Don Was (a.k.a. Don Fagenson) is also one of the hottest producers around. He won a Grammy for producing Bonnie Raitt’s comeback album, and he just finished working with Bob Dylan. The best proof Elvis really is dead is that he’s not working with Was.

Dress Mode: The 11-member band has the wide-spectrum-of-rock-’n’-roll look. Don Was wears dark aviator sunglasses, a black-leather motorcycle jacket over a black Metallica T-shirt with black Levi’s tucked into black motorcycle boots. At the other end of the rainbow, singer Sweet Pea Atkinson wears a turquoise raw-silk double-breasted suit with patent leather slippers over sheer hosiery; accessories include black fedora, gold chain and pinky ring. David Was calls this “the terrorist pimp look.”

The Chow: Nonexistent for the masses, though there was an open bar. In the VIP room was a selection of cold cuts from Von’s self-service deli with the $59.95 price tag still attached to the tray. A couple of loaves of Bohemian rye bread, and extra-large jars of Best Foods mayonnaise and French’s mustard were nearby. This did not feed the few hundred in the room.

Sign of the Times: The Democratic Party was registering voters in the lobby. The Dems were stressing their opposition to music censorship.

Good Reason for Running Red Lights: “Don claims to have been stopped at an intersection, staring at the curb,” said David Was. “One of those moments Sartre describes as existential malaise. It was during that moment of absence and sickness unto death that he thought of the name Was (Not Was).”

Glitches: They don’t call it the Mayan for nothing. The heat in the overcrowded VIP room evoked summer in the Yucatan.

Triumphs: The band’s one-hour set, with performances from Elton John, Curt Smith and Iggy Pop, was beyond good and bad, it just was.