VENTURA COUNTY WEEKEND : The Same Bands, but More Places to Play in 1996 : There is a wider selection of venues to choose from countywide this year. The local scene isn’t Seattle, but it isn’t bad, either.
The local rock scene in 1995 was the same as it’s always been--some bands played too much, some too little and the others, well, who cares? On the bright side for ‘96, there appears to be an increase in places where local bands can inflict their art on an unsuspecting public who, unfortunately, probably just want to hear “Stairway To Heaven.”
Looking Back: As usual, there were a number of good local efforts by local bands. Some are from Ventura County, others from Santa Barbara, but all play up and down the central coast. You can’t get away from them, even if you want to. Here’s 10 of the more noteworthy local releases in no particular order other than alphabetical:
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy: Everybody’s favorite Ventura swing band recently put out a six-song EP of original Christmas music, “Whatchu’ Want For Christmas?” If more Christmas music sounded like this, more people would like Christmas music. The band members dress like Alan Ladd looking for Veronica Lake in 1946.
Cocktails From Hell: These Santa Barbarian party dudes don’t play often enough, but when they do, the bartenders get a workout. These guys have been around in varying configurations for years, and this cheesy tape is about all they have to show for it. Their supercharged punk/blues/rock attack has one certifiable classic called “Girlfriend.”
flapping, Flapping, FLAPPING: Times writer Joe Woodard, whose mellifluous prose can be found elsewhere on this page, gets regular work and has a family but somehow still finds time to be in a million bands. This CD, “Tex,” is bluesy pop rock with all sorts of cool guitars, and “Rose Danish Queen” is reminiscent of the early Fleetwood Mac when they had three guitar players, no hits, but lots of good songs.
Mummer: This is a very tight pop-rock band out of the Conejo Valley that doesn’t play enough. A four-song tape, “Emus & Streamers” is all there is.
Roadhouse Rockers: This Santa Barbara trio whose collective watch stopped around 1958 offers big hair, big beats and big-time rockabilly-flavored roots rock for the pointy-shoe fans for whom a ducktail is a cool hair statement and not the back end of a duck. The CD, “Feel Like Rockin’,” is an exercise in truth in advertising.
Sweet Onion: Another Santa Barbara group, their “Storms Upon The Sea” CD had a baseball song even before baseball came back. Ryan Carpenter sings and writes the dreamy pop songs.
The Tearaways: This power-pop band’s second effort is called “De La Vina,” a street in Santa Barbara, and it features some Beatlesque harmonies by Fin Seth and Greg Brallier. “The Next Time” (and there always is one) is the sweetie here.
Toad the Wet Sprocket: The Santa Barbara band that is the most successful group in the 805 area code is keeping their legion of fans (Toadies?) satisfied with their latest, “In Light Syrup,” which is a collection of outtakes and B-sides that didn’t make it onto the albums. Toad music is seamless, mellow pop with soothing vocals by Glen Phillips. This one even has “Good Intentions” on it, one of the songs from a soundtrack album about those whining yuppie larvae on “Friends.”
The Upbeat: This is an advanced party band from Carpinteria with a decade of experience, and finally, a self-titled CD. The happening horn section and that infectious ska beat make for a packed dance floor. Live, it’s the best ska since the English Beat, and thus, they rage. The trombone player, Rodney Teague, got a full-ride music scholarship to UNLV.
Zoo Story: On “Dimestore Songs,” the Santa Barbara group offers heavenly harmonies on all sorts of enjoyable pop. Their classic is “Jordan,” as in the river, and that’s no Bull.
Besides all that, S.B.’s Dishwalla made their big-label debut on A & M last year, and Ventura’s Pinching Judy got a song, “Land On Me,” on a Priority Records compilation, “Notes From the Underground.” Hard-rocking Ventura bands Fearless Vampire Killers and the Hymen Blasters also had warp-drive intensity CDs last year.
As for live shows, the usual suspects seemed to get better than ever. Ventura’s Raging Arb & the Redheads are always worth it for their bluesy Rolling Stones 30-years-later-at-the-beach music. The Ska Daddyz, the Upbeat, Ventura’s Bloody Mary Morning and Simple Phunkshun, and Santa Barbara’s Spencer the Gardener all play original dance music, and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy’s swing music is the biggest local draw. Ventura’s JuJu Eyeball, Newbury Park’s majority DOG and Santa Barbara’s Sweet Onion and the Tearaways will have pop-rock fans singing in the shower later.
There are a number of original Ventura rock bands that run the gamut, from hard to harder to deafening, such as Fearless Vampire Killers, Alkaline, Gasoline and Pinching Judy. There’s lots of folk music, primarily at coffee joints, and Camarillo’s Randy Rich & the Ravens are about the best blues outfit around. Hey, our area rocks.
Looking Ahead: Several groups are threatening new releases in 1996. Those bluesy L.A. rockers, the Buds, who pack the Hungry Hunter in Thousand Oaks with regularity, recorded a CD at that venue recently. The band with no capitalization skills, majority DOG,has a new release due shortly. The DOG band, you may recall, sold out the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza a year ago, and were one of the few acts there that attracted a crowd with a median age of under 300. Since then, hard rockers, Fearless Vampire Killers, also shook the rafters at the pricey venue.
In the Most-Anticipated Department: Oxnard’s Bill Coffey, former head of Mudhead, recorded an album with a bunch of his friends that should be out next month--it’s more twangy, rootsy folk rock. And sometime in the ‘90s, even those ultimate Silver Strand party dudes, the Ska Daddyz, may release an album. Also in the works is a new one from pop rockers JuJu Eyeball.
The usual million-bands-with-nowhere-to-play scenario changed considerably in the last half of 1995. Joe-Joe’s Brewing Company in Simi Valley has music every night, and the MVP Sports Bar not far away threatens to have more music in ’96. In Thousand Oaks, Stargate should provide a venue for local bands, which for too long have had nowhere to play.
In Ventura, Johnny Dingo’s, with a serious sound system, replaced Garfields Bar & Grill, and the Midnight Hour resurfaced as a more-or-less hard-rock hangout, the Bar. Cafe Voltaire, now with 40 different beers, has music six nights a week and is booked for months in advance. And Joe Daddy’s, once a restaurant, still is, except now they offer blues on the weekends. Plus, in every town, there’s a zillion coffeehouses, some of which have music, in addition to those pale, jumpy kids smoking cigarettes and playing chess.
Just Looking Around: I think I’ll tape “The X-Files” Friday and go the Buds at the Hungry Hunter, or Raging Arb & the Redheads at Johnny Dingo’s, or Finnhead at Harbor Lights, or the Ska Daddyz at Nicholby’s or Gasoline at The Bar. Well, it may not be Seattle around here--but it is awfully good, and there is less rain.