O.C. POP MUSIC REVIEW : Veterans Play for Their Own Benefit

Those in Orange County’s alternative music scene may scoff at the area’s lounge musicians, but those veteran players sure know how to put on the livelier benefit.

Organized by lounge entertainer extraordinaire Greg Topper, the recently formed Orange County Musicians Foundation’s first annual All-Star Benefit Concert, held Sunday afternoon and evening at the Righteous Brothers’ Hop, had several things going for it that have been lacking from most similar shows featuring alternative bands:

* An audience, for starters. One reason benefits featuring original new bands have all but disappeared from the county is that at several past shows there were practically more musicians than listeners. Passion and commitment may be terms that are bandied about when discussing the local original music scene, but those qualities rarely seem to surface when it matters. The Hop, on the other hand, was packed with nearly 500 supporters.

* Organization. Despite last-minute lineup changes and the host of players moving on and off the stage, Sunday’s benefit was a smooth production and far more on-time than one had reason to hope.

* Focus, warmth and heart. Sure, it got a tad stultifying to hear cover act after act reheating someone else’s old glories, but as often as not, the performances were stamped with personality and verve. The purpose of the foundation--to establish a means for musicians to help take care of their own when catastrophic medical problems arise--obviously struck a chord with the players, and everyone seemed to give his all.

The performers included such national names as surf guitar originator Dick Dale and songwriter Billy Swan (who penned and sang “I Can Help”), but most of the acts are staples of local watering holes. Hence, the concert often seemed like one was sitting on some otherworldly bar stool as every lounge in the county went floating by: “Hey, there goes Oceanfront 21, and here comes the Airporter Inn!”

The show opened on a rockin’ note with singer/guitarist Bobby Cochran, who kicked off his set with his late cousin Eddie’s “C’Mon Everybody!” Cochran remained onstage to back several of the other acts, in a fluctuating group that also often included pianist Topper, ex-Leon Russell guitarist Don Preston, and the excellent local sax players Wayne Wayne and Marc Sorger.

Lee Ferrell, who ignored his piano to just sing this time, offered a set of lightly New Orleans-ized versions of Jimmy Reed, Hank Williams and Van Morrison tunes. Pianist Mike Patterson pumped through an up-tempo set of standards--from “You Are My Sunshine” to “I Just Want to Make Love to You”--that was long on showmanship if little else. Piano men Howard Coles and Joe Tater were also featured.

Though Topper did back a number of other players and did a stomping version of “Roll Over Beethoven” while the Budweiser Girls danced and primped (something else you rarely see at the alternative venues), he skipped doing his own scheduled set in order to keep things running close to schedule.

That left the evening’s keyboard crown to Bobby Craig, who already is dubbed (no kidding) “The King of Palm Springs Rock and Roll.” Craig pumps the hell out of a piano, with the rhythmic roil of a Professor Longhair and the bombastic surprise of a Jerry Lee Lewis. The demonic looks on his face were mighty impressive too, as he ravaged “Sweet Georgia Brown” in a wildly up-tempo version.

The Surftones and the Fabulous Jetsens both offered sets of standard oldies rock, as did onetime Standell Dick Dodd, who sang that group’s classic “Dirty Water.” Devon Meade, 24, was a standout, with strong soul-based vocals on Aretha Franklin’s “Chain of Fools” and other songs. Comedian Dick Hardwick told many, many jokes.

There were a number of tribute acts on the bill, the most surprising being Jersey Jack, a rotund, balding fellow who looks like the sort of guy you’d see running a muffler shop. Instead he tears things up with wild Little Richard-styled vocals. Chuck Battaglia’s set, curiously, seemed to be an imitation of Greg Topper’s show. There were three well-intentioned songs from Roy Orbison tribute performer Terry Ray, while Tony Rossini and Gary Shorelle did credible impressions of Neil Diamond and Ricky Nelson, respectively. There does seem something out of kilter, though, about an imitator singing Nelson’s “Garden Party,” an ode to one’s obligation to be oneself.

Fortunately there were performers on the bill who put more of an individual stamp on their music. Swan did an all-too-brief set of his “I Can Help” and “Lover Please” (Swan wrote the 1962 Clyde McPhatter hit), delivered with plenty of feeling. County perennial Bob Gully seems to have emerged unscathed and undaunted from decades of playing in local bars. Now signed to Curb Records, Gully turned in strong country vocals on a tribute to Chuck Berry, the Bill Medley-penned “One Hit Song” (an effective rumination on the carrot-on-a-stick musician’s life) and a tour de force vocal workout on the Gene Pitney ballad “I’m Gonna Be Strong.”

The standout performers of the day were headliner Dick Dale and the R&B; burners Derek and the Diamonds. Though Derek and Co. typically play covers of Motown tunes and other soul music, they are still easily one of the most original acts in the county. Singers Derek Bordeaux and Venson Quarles are never less than a revelation, reinterpreting the melodies of familiar songs in fresh ways and singing with some of the most soulful, impassioned voices you’re likely to hear.

Bordeaux took Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” to heights that perhaps only the late singer could have matched, while he and Quarles sent the Temptations’ “Just My Imagination” spiraling as well, with scatting vocals, cascading harmonies and examples of the Motown dance steps they used to practice as kids. They closed with a percolating medley of James Brown’s “Sex Machine” and “Super Bad,” further pumped up by guitarist Byron Bordeaux’s Hendrix-styled solo.

Dale’s performance was typical Dale, which means it was about as exhilarating and palpable as shooting the curl. His reverb-drenched playing wasn’t as focused and finessed as it has been at some recent shows, but the up-side of that is he and his duo spent a fair amount of time in uncharted waters. He never uses a set list, and sometimes he and his group seemed not to be in accord on what instrumental they were even playing.

Rather than stumble at such points, they just plunged on with a punkish abandon, coming up with new riffs. Along the way he included such Dale favorites as “Miserlou,” “Let’s Go Trippin’ ” and the recent “Desert Storm,” as well as obscurities such as “Taco Wagon.”

The binding element between Dale’s surf sounds and Derek’s soul sounds is that both acts took chances with their music, letting it fly to uncertain destinations. It’s an approach some of the other acts might want to consider bringing to future Orange County Musicians Foundation shows, promoting their own musical health while aiding the literal health of the local musical community.

According to Topper, the show raised roughly $12,500 for the foundation, which was set up to address the lack of affordable heath coverage available to most self-employed musicians. Topper said the foundation is planning another benefit, an outdoor beach party with some 25 acts, for August.