SPLITSVILLE: L.A. alternative rock band Mary’s Danish...

SPLITSVILLE: L.A. alternative rock band Mary’s Danish has broken up. Its members and manager claim that it had no other option since its record company, Morgan Creek, is essentially on hold while looking for new financing or new ownership. The company has slashed its staff to a skeleton crew and has released only two albums in the last year.

“They will not let them start a new album,” says manager Peter Asher. “They say they’re waiting for the company to be bought or for new investors, but they’ve been saying that for the last six months, and Mary’s Danish hasn’t been able to do anything for that time. . . . The company has kind of ceased to function.”

Meanwhile, guitarist David King and drummer James Bradley were invited to join another band, Rob Rules, which now has several major-label contract offers. With the future of Mary’s Danish uncertain, they decided to accept the offer, and singer Gretchen Seager, guitarist Louis Gutierrez and bassist Chris Wagner also started a side band, Battery Acid, while singer Julie Ritter is writing songs for a possible solo venture.

A Morgan Creek spokesman says only that the band’s breakup was “its own choice.”

C.C. RIDER: Poison asked C.C. DeVille, the guitarist who left the band under less-than-cordial circumstances last year, to rejoin for an upcoming tour of Mexico, South America and the U.S. He would be replacing his own replacement, Richie Kotzen, who was fired last week. A spokeswoman for Hollywood Records, which signed DeVille after he left Poison, confirmed that the offer had been made, but said that the guitarist rejected it in favor of concentrating on his own solo album, which is due for release early next year.

Representatives of HK Management, which handles Poison, declined comment on the situation, on rumors that Poison may break up following the tour and on the reason for Kotzen’s dismissal. Insiders report, though, that Kotzen was fired not for musical reasons but because of a personal matter between him and other band members.

After DeVille turned the offer down, Poison offered Kotzen’s slot to L.A. guitarist Blues Saracena, who recently toured with Jack Bruce. He will reportedly be with the band at least through the two-month trek.