Locapalooza, Soccer Fest Will Roll Into Town

As always, grass-roots rock promoters looking for an angle are taking note of doings in the wider world and are jumping on the bandwagon. Hence the Rock ‘n’ Roll Soccer Fest, an evening of alternative bands at Old World in Huntington Beach in honor of the upcoming World Cup tournament, and Locapalooza, a daylong alternative rock fest in Riverside modeled after the Lollapalooza touring package coming to Cal State Dominguez Hills in September.

Voodoo Glow Skulls, the Nuckle Brothers, Gameface, Endswell and Outspoken will play at Soccer Fest on June 24 starting at 7:30 p.m. In keeping with the international flavor of the World Cup, promoter John Pantle is offering half off the $8 admission price to anyone who presents a foreign passport. And slam-dancers will be penalized for using their hands. Old World is at 7561 Center Ave. in Huntington Beach. (714) 323-8683.

Locapalooza takes place Sunday from noon to midnight at the Riverside Armory in Fairmount Park (the California 60 freeway and Market Street). The lineup includes the Skeletones, Boom Shaka, Engines of Aggression, Stanford Prison Experiment, Sublime, Naked Soul, Sages of Memphis, Vitamin L, Kiss the Clown, Brother Vibe and Killing Tree. There’ll also be food and craft vendors, information booths for nonprofit groups, and body-piercers and tattoo artists. Admission: $12 in advance, $15 at the door. (909) 793-9795 or (714) 740-2000 (Ticketmaster).

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Speaking of festivals . . .

The WOMAD festival coming to Irvine Meadows on July 10 is the big acronymic concert of the summer with Primus, Midnight Oil, Arrested Development and Live topping a bill that stretches to encompass acts from Africa, China, Turkmenistan and Mexico.

But FESTAC (Festival of African and Caribbean Arts & Culture) is another set of initials for music fans with broad tastes to consider. FESTAC Explosion ’94 takes place June 26 at the Rainbow Lagoon in Long Beach.

Set to appear are the Salsa Legends with Ray Baretto, Larry Harlow and Yomo Toro, Soca performer David Rudder, reggae singers Mutabaruka, U-Roy and Wendy Shaw, and African pop star Tabu Ley Rochereau and his 16-piece band from Zaire.

The festival will run from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tickets are $18 in advance. (310) 839-9846 (English speaking) and (310) 677-5540 (in Spanish).

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Is it too early to start scouting the rock ‘n’ roll rookie class of 1995?

One fledgling contender worth watching is Wiskey Biscuit, a band from Huntington Beach that recently signed a deal with Geffen Records.

Playing a hometown gig at Old World a few weeks back, the six-man band’s bluesy rock sound called to mind the gutsy music that Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones were cranking out circa 1965-66.

Singer Jason Mason (his real name, we’re told) is a scrawny fellow with an obvious Dylan fixation. While he was a bit too introverted in performance, he showed magnetism and the ability to communicate both humor and wounded feeling.

The band played with a loose assurance as lead guitarist Jeff Cairns, a commanding, tasteful player, served as a strong second focal point to go with Mason (who contributed some strong harmonica playing).

The group has a well-placed mentor in Scott Weiland, the singer with Stone Temple Pilots; his younger brother, Michael, is Wiskey Biscuit’s drummer. (The band will open for STP, the Meat Puppets and Redd Kross at Irvine Meadows July 17.)

Scott Weiland produced a demo tape for the Biscuits, and STP’s manager, former Orange County musician Steve Stewart, took them on as a client. Stewart says he played the tape for Geffen executive John David Kalodner, who offered them a deal on the spot.

“I sat there with my mouth open,” Stewart said. “He was so moved and affected by it. I knew he was committed to them,” which led the band to choose Geffen over Atlantic (STP’s label)--which also had offered a contract. After signing the deal, the band members, all in their early 20s, moved to Los Angeles where they share a house.

Stewart says plans call for July recording sessions in Austin with producer Paul Leary, the Butthole Surfers guitarist who produced the Meat Puppets’ latest album. An early 1995 release is expected.