ROCKTALK / NOTES : Slim Pickin’s : When it comes to live rock, Ventura County has a limited number of venues. The names change, but clubs remain the same.
What’s In A Name Department: Not much has changed in the east county. If you want to rock, there’s Cheers, Cheers and, uh, Cheers. A few other places have cover bands or the dreaded DJs, but who cares about them?
In Ventura, the Bermuda Triangle has threatened to go to a seven night per week schedule. They gonged the Thursday karoake night, which is a step in the right direction. Down the street at Club Soda, there also are indications of more live nights, in addition to the Fridays that are happening now.
The Mayfair Theatre--which used to be the Pussycat Theatre and then the Insomniac Coffeehouse--is back to being the Mayfair Theatre again after a management change. Same venue, same menu, with lots of punk and speed metal. Over at Stingers, there couldn’t be any fewer rock shows (zero), especially now that the venue has turned into a salsa place.
Up the road in S. B., the Ketch went under and resurfaced as the Calypso Bar & Grill, with basically the same musical lineup. Up the street, the Prime Directive followed suit, reincarnated as Safari, with the same bands playing.
If name changes work so well, maybe some band members should consider “The Beatles.” No one’s using it right now. . . .
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At last the tabulations are complete for Best Local Band releases of 1992. Actually, I had to hire a hieroglyphics expert to decipher my handwriting. And the winner is: Those late, lamented Mudheads. They put out a tape, played once and broke up. Anyway, their tape lives on.
There’s still plenty of good local music out there, even though most of the bands are stuck for titles to their tapes. And, except for the Mudheads, all these bands are still around, so check them out before you spend your hard-earned 4 or 5 bucks.
1. The Mudheads, “Claw Back Down”
2. Tao Jonz, “The Lost Art”
3. Los Guys, “Silly America”
4. The Woodburning Project, “The Woodburning Project”
5. J. D.’s Last Ride, “J. D.’s Last Ride”
6. April’s Motel Room, “April’s Motel Room”
7. Big Biscuit Express, “Big Biscuit Express”
8. Ill Repute, “Ill Repute”
9. Pinching Judy, “Pinching Judy”
10. Garage-a-saurus Wrecks, “Garage-a-saurus Wrecks”
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Our Bo Knows More About Pain Than The Other Bo Department: So Bo Jackson had hip replacement surgery. Big deal. That’s almost an in-office procedure for Bo Fox, the drummer for Spencer the Gardener, Santa Barbara’s favorite band. Fox has finally rejoined the group after a 15-month recuperation following a gnarly high-speed head-on crash in Riverside. The driver of the other vehicle was killed, and everyone in the band vehicle was injured, Fox the most seriously.
From his letter entitled “How I Spent My Vacation,” sent to those on the band’s mailing list, Fox hopefully will lay to rest forever all the whatever-happened-to-you questions. His diagram proves conclusively that 1) ouch, that must’ve hurt and 2) he’s a better drummer than artist.
The band, which will headline a free show at the Ventura Theatre this Saturday night, is beginning work on its third album.
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With still two years to go before it equals the torrid timetable of Boston--one album every 10 years--Ventura legends Raging Arb & the Redheads are actually threatening to inflict some new music on an unsuspecting public. This comes after the band’s debut (and now mighty hard to find) album in 1985.
“This is the most serious we’ve been in 10 years,” said guitarist Toby Emery. “We’ve written three new songs with lyrics and everything, plus we have the music for eight or 10 more that we’re figuring out. It’s looking pretty good.”
For a band that plays an average of once a month and has a new song once a year, this is indeed progress. The band has been working with Ojai resident Mark Andes, former member of Heart, Jo Jo Gunne and Spirit. Andes may produce the new Arb effort, but nothing is finalized. And it will be Raging Arb the CD, not the tape, since CDs only cost 30 cents more than a tape to make. Expect a release of half classic Arb songs and the rest new ones.
By the time the CD comes out, ALL the vehicles in Ventura County should be sporting that ubiquitous Redhead decal. They’ve been seen on everything from government vehicles to phone company trucks.
And finally, Raging Arb & the Redheads and their brand of rockin’ blues has been kicked out of everywhere at least once, including the Beach Shack in Santa Barbara before they even played there. The band played three times at the Ketch (now Calypso) while it was still owned by Gary Baldwin, who also owns the Beach Shack.
“The doorman at the Ketch said they’re too working class,” said Beach Shack DJ Guy Coombs, explaining why the Arbs are out at the Shack.
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Producer Dennis Dragon’s recent compilation CD featuring 17 Santa Barbara bands seems to be doing well. The son of Carmen and the brother of Daryl has, so far, been able to avoid welfare and enlisting in the Army to make ends meet, and has recently delivered 600 more copies of the CD to Cymbaline Music in S. B. The CD is also available at all Compact Disc & Tape Stores locations in S. B. and also Wild Planet in Ventura.
“KCQR is playing it a lot,” said Dragon.