ROCKTALK : The Bar May Meet Local Need for Nightly Venue : Area lacks spot where original bands can reach listeners and expand their horizons.
In Ventura County there is no regular rock scene, which is in itself obscene, particularly to those who cannot afford cable, a life or just want to hear some live music every night. As venues continue to come and go, mostly go, the only constant is the ever-increasing number of bands with no place to play. Clearly, no concentration of joints that rock, such as on State Street in Santa Barbara, exists anywhere in our area.
DJs and cover bands continue to be moneymakers for club owners who don’t want to pay original rock bands that the customers may or may not want to dance to.
The usual suspects such as Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, majority DOG, April’s Motel Room, Bloody Mary Morning, Ska Daddyz, Raging Arb & the Redheads and Spencer the Gardener are all great bands. That’s why they get the big bucks. But the other 9 zillion bands need the opportunity to expand their horizons beyond torturing their neighbors and scaring the cat.
Not since the Midnight Hour in Ventura died in May, 1994, has there been a full-on, full-time bar, offering music seven nights a week. Well, that sorry scenario may be changing soon, according to Larry Burdorf, who managed the Midnight Hour. That venue will live again as of Dec. 2 and will be known this lifetime as The Bar.
“It’s the same landlord, but this time, with a different lease,” said Burdorf. “The place has been cleaned up and there’s been some repairs. There were actually roofers on the roof, I’m told. A couple of guys from back East who now live in Oxnard have more cash than I ever did, and are putting up the money.”
Expect the same amount of eclectic weirdness as before. Burdorf is now actively booking the bands. Potential rock stars or those just tired of mom and dad shouting “Shut up,” can reach him at 645-1505.
“The first night may be Iron Butterfly or Pinching Judy,” said Burdorf. “I can hardly wait for our New Year’s Eve blowout.”
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One band that may benefit from the resurrection of The Bar is that heavily rockin’ quartet, Fearless Vampire Killers. Their T-shirts proudly proclaim “Louder Than Hell.” Well, from the bar area at the back of the Ventura Theatre, the floor shakes and livers quiver and martinis are shaken and stirred, no matter what.
FVK is a band that plays in its hometown only every once in awhile, according to the shirtless and tattooed lead singer, Diego, a man who orchestrates the mosh pit with the religious fervor of a judge getting free beer at a bikini contest.
“We play all over California--L.A., Santa Barbara, all the way to San Francisco,” Diego said. “We play the Ventura Theatre about every four months so we don’t burn ourselves out, and also, that’s about the only place for us to play. We’ve had a CD out since April, and we’ve sold over 500 of them. Hey man, it’s hard, trying to do it on your own.”
FVK, which has been around for four years and two more years before that as Metropolis, will be at Toes Tavern in Santa Barbara on Friday night.
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The Samples, a most successful touring band out of Boulder, could care less about who’s open, closed, signed or not signed. They just keep driving around, selling out wherever they play, all the while releasing successful albums. Deadhead-friendly, the Samples along with Phish are probably the best examples of do-it-yourself musical success stories.
The Samples started in 1987 and got signed to Arista Records and released an album in 1990, then promptly exercised an escape clause, and got themselves unsigned before they even got to meet Milli Vanilli.
Their first gig was playing to four people. A few years later, they sold out Red Rocks in Colorado as their audience increased by 7,996 people. Today, they have their own tour bus, and four albums of reggae-flavored pop rock so agreeable that INXS sounds like a thrash band by comparison.
Their 8 p.m. Friday night show will probably be close to a sellout with Epic recording artists Sun-60 opening. The venue is at 26 Chestnut St. in Ventura. Call them at 648-1888 or just show up in a timely fashion with 15 bucks.