A Restored Pontiac Bros. Go for a Spin

The Pontiac Brothers, one of the best Orange County rock bands of the 1980s, is back for another fling.

The Fullerton band broke up in 1989 after making a series of critically praised but commercially ignored albums. In such consistently good releases as “Doll Hut,” “Fiesta en la Biblioteca” and “Johnson,” the Pontiacs melded a Stones-inspired rough-house rock approach to a Replacements-style point of view in which they played the part of mixed-up but game underdogs whose biggest asset was their collective heart.

Now the four original members are working on new material, with plans to record an album later this month for their old label, Frontier Records.

Pontiacs guitarist Ward Dotson, who moved to New York City after the breakup, said that writing the liner notes for an Australian label’s Pontiac Brothers retrospective album gave him the yen to relive some of those old days.

“I got melancholy and misty and nostalgic and blah-blah-blah, and I thought it would be cool to hang out with those guys for a month or so” and make another album, said Dotson, who leads a band of his own, Liquor Giants, back in New York. “I missed them, so here we are.”

The other Pontiacs are singer Matt Simon and bassist Kurt Bauman, who continue to knock around together in the local band Extravaganza, and drummer D.A. Valdez.

Dotson has been staying at Simon’s house in Fullerton, where the Pontiacs are “hashing out” arrangements for a dozen new songs the guitarist wrote. After they finish recording, the Pontiacs plan to play some local shows in early August before Dotson returns to New York.

Could this be the start of a second career phase for the Pontiacs? Maybe, Dotson said, but only if the album they make achieves the commercial success that eluded the band in the ‘80s. The Pontiac Brothers aren’t counting on it.

“We’re doing it this time just for posterity, and in the name of friendship, as corny as that might sound,” Dotson said. “It’s not a career move at all. But who knows? Maybe this will be the one that gets us recognition.”

BOY HOWDY: Mixed emotions are the order of the day for Boy Howdy, a rockin’-country band that has plied the Southern California club circuit for the past three years.

The band’s first single, “Our Love Was Meant to Be,” is moving up the country airplay charts (it was No. 65 on Billboard’s chart last week), and its debut album, “Welcome to Howdywood,” is due for release July 28 on Curb Records. But that good news is tempered by the fact that Boy Howdy’s drummer, Hugh Wright, has been in a coma or a semiconscious state since a May 30 highway accident in Texas.

Wright, 40, suffered severe head injuries and multiple leg fractures as he tried to come to the aid of an accident victim on a Dallas freeway, according to Boy Howdy’s manager, Alan Hopper. Hopper said that as Wright was trying to pull the injured driver from a wrecked pickup, another car plowed into it. Two people died in the accident, and two others, including Wright, were badly hurt. Boy Howdy had finished shooting the video for its single in Dallas the day before Wright was injured.

Hopper said there is “guarded optimism” that Wright will make a full recovery. The band manager said that Wright, who lives in Venice, was flown to Santa Monica Hospital three weeks after the accident and that Wright has been able to open his eyes at times and that he shows signs of recognizing the people around him.

Wright’s family has medical insurance to cover most expenses, Hopper said, but his hospitalization will still be a drain on their finances. The other members of Boy Howdy--guitarists Cary and Larry Park and singer Jeffrey Steele--will try to help Wright and his wife by playing a benefit concert Monday at 8 p.m. at the Cowboy Boogie Co., 1721 S. Manchester Ave., Anaheim. Joining them will be Randy Meisner (the former Eagles and Poco member), Billy Swan (a regular sidekick of Kris Kristofferson), local country band Purple Sky, and others to be announced. Admission is $5. Information: (714) 956-1412.

Larry Park, a Placentia resident, said that Boy Howdy has continued to play shows with substitute drummers and that it is auditioning to find a steady replacement for Wright until he is able to return.

ROCK ON THE PIER: Festivities celebrating the opening of the new Huntington Beach Municipal Pier will include performances by several local rock bands. On Saturday, Urban Sprawl will play at noon and Insight at 1 p.m. in the Big Tent next to the pier. On Sunday, 21 Windows will play at noon, Voysis at 4 p.m., and the Western Front Band at 5 p.m. All shows are free. Information: (714) 536-5488.