Rust-Free Band Shows New Polish : Former Buena High students have Bloody Mary Morning enjoying increasing success by playing danceable back-room rock.

Named for that time-honored solution to the one-too-many problem, Bloody Mary Morning will be making its Bombay Bar & Grill debut on a competitive Friday night in the Poinsettia City. Just a few blocks away at the Ventura Theatre it’s going to be the long-awaited Lion I’s CD release party. But BMM has fans, mostly dress-to-impress east Ventura types, as does the venue itself.

The Bombay is one of those places where a crowd would show up even if a chain saw polka concert were scheduled. The club has two bands on the weekends, a relatively tame one up front by the door, with the rockers in the back Oasis Room. Bloody Mary Morning is definitely a back room band.

“I think we’ll do OK because we have a different crowd than Lion I’s does,” guitarist Ryan Denger said. “We’ve always had good loyal fans. They’re mostly just people we’ve known from school. But they tell a friend, then they tell a friend, and we usually end up with a crowd. And also, Lion I’s is having a private party at Bombay after their CD release party, so the place should be packed.”

Once upon a time, BMM was Rust, formed back in the late ‘80s when the band members were at Buena High School. After more personnel changes than the Dodger bullpen, Rust finally broke up. Denger was in Rust along with singer and tattoo collector Chad Turner and bass player John Young. Rhythm guitar player Chris Cummings was in an earlier version of Rust before signing on with BMM. Ephram Ashton became the drummer, after his predecessor moved to Oregon.

“This group is a lot more versatile than Rust,” said Denger. “We do a few Rust songs, but we just play music that comes from the soul. We hardly know the names of the chords, but if it sounds good, we do it. I guess it’s typical party music.”

At a gig last weekend at Garfields Bar & Grill in Ventura, the place was virtually empty until 10:30 p.m., when the doors burst open and the clients came pouring in.

“We had over 200 people in and out of that place,” said Denger. “That’s sort of our home venue; they love us there.”

Apparently they’re already loved at Bombay, as well; BMM joins a mere handful of local bands that are booked to play original rock there. There’s Lion I’s, Ska Daddyz, and now a pair of Santa Barbara bands--Spencer the Gardener and Tao Jonz--have joined the rotation. So five bands keeps things fairly predictable, but “danceable” is the key word here.

“People talk, that’s how we get our gigs,” said Denger. “They call me. I’ve yet to try to get us a gig anywhere. We want to play all the time, take short breaks, and make people dance.”

BMM intends to play through June then take July off, according to the guitarist.

“We need to learn more songs. Right now, we’ve got about 20 originals, plus a couple of covers,” said Denger. “We need to know about 30 to 35 songs so we won’t need to be an opening band anymore.”

It may be rock star a go-go at night, but the rest of the time, it’s the dreaded day job for everyone. The drummer, for example, is a painter. But taking the cake in the I-Suffer-For-Art category is the singer. Turner works in the oil fields for his dad in Bakersfield, then drives 1 1/2 hours each way to practice, then back again for the weekend gigs.

“He’s dedicated,” said Denger. “He drives all this way, but he does it because we’re all friends. This is nothing. I’m used to working on five hours sleep. But being friends is what keeps us all together.”

Details

* WHAT: Bloody Mary Morning.

* WHERE: Bombay Bar & Grill, 143 California St., Ventura.

* WHEN: Friday night, 9:30 p.m.

* HOW MUCH: 5 bucks.

* FYI: 643-4404