POP MUSIC : Quartet Proves Good Match for the Quirky Megalopolis

Megalopolis, a tiny dive bar on Fairmont Avenue in East San Diego, a block north of El Cajon Boulevard, is a weird place, and a happening place.

Weird, because the local bands that play there Tuesday through Saturday nights--and sometimes Mondays--are about as far removed from the commercial pop-music mainstream as you can get. Hard-core punk. Industrial. Techno-folk and acoustic funk. Old sounds and odd sounds, throwbacks and flashbacks.

And happening, because since Megalopolis opened a year ago this month, it has become a regular hangout for a growing contingent of students from nearby San Diego State University who crave this weird stuff.

Wednesday nights at the Megalopolis are particularly weird and happening. That’s when the smART Teens, a quartet led by singer-guitarist David Moye--an SDSU student who also edits Stanza, a weekly arts newspaper published by the school newspaper, The Daily Aztec--perform their bizarre originals and tongue-in-cheek versions of some of the rock era’s most maudlin hits.

Last Wednesday, looking very much like fresh-scrubbed preppies, the smART Teens opened with their own “Mocha Joe’s Groove in A,” with the chorus, “It’s a good thing” interspersed with lyrics extolling what the band considers good things, none of which are printable.

Next came “The Girl From Ipanema,” with Moye re-creating the horn parts with his voice. What began as a faithful rendition of Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger,” from the movie “Rocky III,” turned into chaos halfway through when Moye told the crowd, “That’s all I remember,” and began ad-libbing the lyrics.

Other targets included the Looking Glass’ “Brandy” and Sammy Davis Jr.’s “The Candy Man,” two harmless pop ditties that topped the charts in 1972.

The band doesn’t take itself seriously and has fun on stage. It tries to impart that fun to the audience.

The lunacy of “Raised by Dogs,” another original, was tempered with Moye’s convincing reading of the lyrics, even during the spoken-word break, when he solemnly reflected on the good old days “at the Daisy Hills Puppy Farm, frolicking in the mountains with my stepbrother, Spike.”

Midway through the smART Teens’ version of the Steve Miller Band’s “Fly Like an Eagle,” Moye broke into a Mel Torme scat singing style. Snapping his fingers, he implored the crowd to “sing along, or we’re going to collect our cover charge.”

No one sang along, and Moye followed through on his threat. He jumped off the stage, grabbed an empty beer pitcher, and proceeded to collect a dollar from everyone who was there.

Ah yes--when the going gets weird, the weird really get going.

If you’re looking for something to do Sunday, you’re in luck. You can take your pick from three special pop-music events, all worthy of your attention--and your attendance:

* Musicians Who Care, the San Diego-based organization of socially conscious musicians, will be throwing an open house party at its new offices at 312 South Cedros Ave. in Solana Beach, one block from the Belly Up Tavern. The party starts at 2 p.m., with prize giveaways and networking. Then, at 5 p.m., there will be a free, two-hour concert by Mondo Acoustica, described in a press release as “a jazz-blues-rock-folk acoustic group.”

Mondo Acoustica is made up of members of the Wild Truth, a local rock band that placed second in this year’s annual Rock Wars battle-of-the-bands contest, and jazz-folk singer-guitarist Jeanne Wooster, from Monterey. The group made its San Diego debut last month at the Avenue of the Arts street fair.

* Then there’s the Songwriter’s Showcase at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach, featuring five talented singer- songwriters associated with the burgeoning national back-to-the- roots movement.

Among them are Los Angeles rockabilly king Dave Alvin, formerly with the Blasters, and Rosie Flores, who before recording a pair of traditional country albums for Warner Bros. Records in the late 1980s fronted popular rock ‘n’ roll bar band Rosie and the Screamers in San Diego.

Rounding out the bill will be Lucinda Williams, Tom Russell, and Steve Young, all veterans of the thriving roots-rock scenes in Los Angeles and Austin, Tex. The show starts at 8 p.m.

* And at the Bacchanal in Kearny Mesa, the San Diego Songwriters Guild will be presenting a benefit concert for the Hospice House.

Performing will be three established local club acts: vintage jazz group Tobacco Road, rhythm-and-blues band the Falcons, and bluesman Earl Thomas and the Blues Ambassadors. The concert starts at 9 p.m.

LINER NOTES: Two venerable San Diego folk singers will once again usher in the holiday season with a concert of traditional Yuletide carols. The Sam Hinton and Johnny Walker Holiday Concert will take place Saturday night at the Del Mar Shores Auditorium. . . .

“The Stars Come Out for Christmas Volume II,” the second annual charity compilation album of Christmas tunes sung by big-name pop and country stars, has only been out a week. But already, executive producer Steve Vaus is soliciting contributions for Volume III. The first to say yes: Madonna. . . .

Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. for shock comic Sam Kinison’s Dec. 26 and 27 shows at the Bacchanal. At 10 a.m. Saturday, tickets will be available for the Neville Brothers’ second (10 p.m.) show Jan. 5 at the Spreckels Theatre downtown. . . .

Best concert bets for the coming week: the Call with Baba Yaga, tonight at the Bacchanal; John Mayall, with Earl Thomas and the Blues Ambassadors, Thursday at the Belly Up Tavern; Eek-A- Mouse, Friday at the Soma dance hall downtown; the Goo Goo Dolls with the Holy Love Snakes, Saturday at the Casbah in Middletown; the Waterboys, Sunday at Symphony Hall downtown; ZZ Top, Monday at the San Diego Sports Arena; Iggy Pop with Alice in Chains, Monday at Iguanas in Tijuana; and the Crazy 8’s, Tuesday at the Belly Up Tavern.