Ecstasy Singer Makes Foray Into Original Material With Faultline After Tiring of Top 40

The days of Ecstasy are over. For eight years, the band, perhaps the San Fernando Valley’s most popular Top 40 group, played each weekend at the Sasch in Studio City.

But former lead singer Debra Raye is more ecstatic than ever.

“It was time for some new blood,” Raye said, “and we got it. Things were getting real boring at the end.”

Raye recently formed a new group, Faultline, with ex-Ecstasy guitarist Gary Edwards and keyboardist Craig Jones. She said the new group, which has also played a few weekends at Sasch, comes closer to her true musical roots. “We’re definitely into a lot more rock ‘n’ roll,” she said. “We have more energy, plus we’re doing our own material. Before, everyone was sticking to the same Top 40 format.”

At first, she admitted, she was concerned that the Sasch audience would be confused by her band’s new name. She said, however, that fans recognize her from Ecstasy.

Raye doesn’t want Faultline to become the next Ecstasy, relying on the Sasch gig. “We don’t want to be there every weekend, getting back into the same rut. And we don’t want to just tour all the clubs as one of those Top 40 groups. We want to do originals.”

She said the band will try to play its new material at one of the club’s upcoming nights of original rock ‘n’ roll.

Besides Raye, Edwards and Jones, Faultline’s members include bass player John Menzano and drummer Tim Pedersen. Raye said she believes that the remaining ex-Ecstasy members are trying to keep that band alive.

Venice, the popular Los Angeles band, is scheduled this week to release its first nationwide single, “People Laugh,” an attack against what members see as the public’s callousness toward the AIDS epidemic.

The song, which has had limited release at college radio stations, is from the band’s debut album, “Venice,” which came out in March. The album, according to lead singer Kipp Lennon, hasn’t sold well because the band, until now, hasn’t had a single getting significant airplay. He said the proceeds of the single will be donated to the Warwick Foundation, an AIDS education group.

The band, which will tour the Pacific Northwest in coming weeks, hopes the new single will be a big career boost. “We want to open up for a headliner band,” Lennon said. “Headliners are looking these days for someone who can help them fill the seats; they can’t always do it alone. One song could put us out there.”

The premiere issue of Country Music Video Magazine, a nationwide roundup of country entertainment, will feature seven minutes from the Valley’s weekly Barn Dance concerts held Tuesdays at the Palomino in North Hollywood.

The magazine, a one-hour video featuring live performances, reviews and interviews, recorded the Ricky Nelson tribute held at the Barn Dance in May. Among the Nelson songs performed by other artists that evening were “Hello, Mary Lou” and “Poor Little Fool.”

“We picked that night,” said Laurie Kaye, the magazine’s editor, “because he had such a huge country following, and we knew there would be a lot of people there.”

Kaye said the Barn Dance concerts, hosted by Ronnie Mack, remain the focus of country music in California. She said the next magazine, due to be released in November, will also feature segments from Barn Dance.