Advertisement

CLUB REVIEW : Natural Fudge Co. Switches From Vegetarian to Punk

Share
SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Unlike some of the clubs on the Sunset Strip that expect nearby residents to adapt to them, the Natural Fudge Co. chose to adapt to its neighbors.

Once a manufacturer of organic fudge and vegetarian fare, proprietor Brenda D. Roberts took a look around at the graffiti-sprayed surroundings of her beleaguered restaurant and went punk.

Good thinking. Creating a sort of paint-splattered, post-modern bomb shelter motif, she tore out the dining tables and put up a “slam dancing at your own risk” sign, and the rest is moshing history.

Advertisement

When such house faves as Yapo or Jonathan Wild & the Rage take the stage, the tiny club’s dance floor is so packed you’ll be lucky if you can find refuge in one of the lumpy, burned-out theater seats strewn about the room.

“The neighborhood’s not as bad as it used to be, but we knew we had to change to survive,” says Roberts, who began making the full transition early last year.

The 23-year-old venue is not punk exclusively. It also serves up a hodgepodge of alternative music, comedy and Latino rock--the next Latin night is Oct. 21 with Bolero 13, Panteon and Azteca.

* The Natural Fudge Co., 5224 Fountain Ave., Hollywood. 21 and over, cover varies. (213) 669-8003.

*

Club Buzz: Brent Bolthouse, one of Hollywood’s biggest dance club promoters, recently moved into club ownership with the Gaslight, which he is scheduled to reopen in November as the Opium Den. According to Bolthouse, the Opium Den will include a brand-new sound system and live and deejayed music every night, with the music selection “limitless.” In December, Bolthouse Productions is also scheduled to open a venue dubbed the Coffee House, across from the Chateau Marmont on the Sunset Strip. The Coffee House will be open nearly 24 hours, closing only between 4 and 6 a.m., and plans to offer a variety of acoustic music. . . .

Stingray, a new Tuesday night dance club at the Union on Sunset, promises to ride the current popular wave of surf music, with live music by such acts as the Boardwalkers and deejay Levi Dexter spinning discs by surf and rockabilly artists.

Advertisement

* Brent Bolthouse Productions, (213) 848-9300; Stingray (213) 876-3304.

Advertisement