After Decade Abroad, Valley Girls Are Back

Thomas Wolfe said you can’t go home again, but no one told that to sisters Tracey Bryn Belland and Melissa Belland of the rock group Voice of the Beehive. Just as the band releases its first album on a new record label, the two have returned to California after a 10-year stay in England.

The women, who grew up in Encino, are the daughters of Bruce Belland, lead singer of the ‘50s vocal group the Four Preps. Bryn, who generally drops the Belland and uses Bryn as her professional moniker, lives just a few blocks from the house in which she grew up.

“We were hard-core Valley girls; we didn’t travel much till we went to London,” said the Birmingham High School graduate. “Even though we lived for 10 years in London, it wasn’t our home.”

The years in chilly London made Bryn appreciate some aspects of Valley life a bit more than before she left--specifically the weather. Memories of summer nights playing volleyball at Balboa Park and days spent at Zuma Beach kept her warm.

“I used to go [to Zuma Beach] every week, and sometimes during the week,” Bryn said. While she and Melissa were forging their music careers in Great Britain, she was always homesick for her family and friends in Los Angeles, she said.

After recording a hit single, “Just the City,” on an independent label in 1987, they cut their first album, “Let It Bee,” for London Records in 1988 and followed it with “Honey Lingers” in 1991. Several tunes from both albums were hits in England and on KROQ-FM here in Los Angeles.

Over the years, the group has become known for its outrageous outfits, sugary pop melodies and serious lyrics about difficult emotions. It has invariably been compared to other successful girl bands, including the Bangles, the Go-Gos, and Wilson Phillips, as well as bands as diverse as the B-52s and the Pretenders.

Although the two women have returned to California, the new album, “Sex & Misery,” their first on Discovery Records, was produced by Pete Vetesse in London. Vetesse previously worked with Seal, Annie Lennox, Sophie B. Hawkins and others.

Pete is “mad as a hatter and exceedingly talented,” Bryn said. “We wanted the British guitar sound. They have a different style of playing--I like it.”

“Sex & Misery,” said Byrn, is not only the title of the album but also what the record is about. Bryn, who crafts most of the lyrics from her own experiences, said the album could have more aptly been named “Disastrous Relationships, Disillusionment, Depression and Death.” But “Sex & Misery” will do.

“Sometimes I think they’re one and the same,” she said.

* Voice of the Beehive’s new album, “Sex & Misery,” is available on Discovery Records. For more information, call (310) 828-1033, Ext. 256, or access https://www.discoveryrec.com.

Houston, We’ve Got a Problem: Is this a typical Hollywood story or what?

The band Me & Buck was scheduled to play at Coffee Junction on Friday, but Buck couldn’t get out of working his waiter’s job that night, so the band had to cancel. Instead, singer-songwriter Jamie Houston, the “me” of Me & Buck, will work the gig with fellow singer-songwriter J.D. Martin.

Nashville native Houston, a staff songwriter at publisher Warner Chappel Music, uses words such as “earthy” and “soulful” to describe his music.

“As a kid, I couldn’t afford records, so I listened to radio a lot,” he said. “So I have really diverse tastes; I guess eclectic is the word.”

Me & Buck recently produced its own CD to show record companies that their music has broad-based appeal. And now, Houston said, tunes from the album are being played on at least 16 radio stations nationwide.

“We did the CD ‘cause it took the guesswork out of everything,” he said. “The response from radio has been wonderful.”

Also, the band, which is planning a monthlong tour of Colorado and the Southeast to promote the CD, just signed with Turner Management Co., which represents Kenny G, among others.

Meanwhile the band continues to play Monday nights at the West End in Santa Monica, Buck works his waiter job, and Houston continues writing songs for Chappel Warner. But, that’s OK with Houston, for now.

“[Writing songs is] a big rush, it’s very addicting,” he says.

* Jamie Houston and J.D. Martin play at 8 p.m. Friday at the Coffee Junction, 19221 Ventura Blvd., Tarzana. No cover. Call (818) 342-3405.

Feel-Good Music: Mark Allen describes his music as straight-ahead rock and roll with lyrics about everyday situations. It’s feel-good music with readily apparent influences by Journey, Bonnie Raitt and Melissa Etheridge, he said.

“I try not to get too cerebral or thought-oriented about it,” Allen says. “A lot of people can relate to what I write about.”

Allen came to Los Angeles in search of the “proverbial record deal” nine years ago, after working several years with touring bands in the Midwest and Canada.

The Mark Allen Band, which plays Saturday at Mancini’s, has only been together since last September. But Allen says being in the band has given his songwriting a focus and cohesiveness that it lacked.

Besides Allen on lead guitar and vocals, the band consists of backup singers Carol Kaye and Karla Gianelli, drummer Michele Desisto, guitarist Bruce Martin, bassist Barney Cortinez and keyboardist Tony Agapion. The Valley-based band has played at FM Station, Toby Jug’s and Mancini’s.

“Mancini’s has been a home stage for us,” Allen says. “It’s a great testing ground for new music. We go there and it feels like home sweet home.”

* The Mark Allen Band plays Saturday night at Mancini’s, 8321 De Soto Ave., Canoga Park. $5 cover. Call (818) 341-8503.