Coming to a Cafe Near You

Beyond low-budget, Zelig is no-budget. An acoustic duo out of Newbury Park, Zelig is Brian Wurschum on acoustic guitar and voice and Laurel Hoffman on voice. Zelig has no rock-star tour bus, no amps, no mikes, no stage, no T-shirts, no mosh pit, no problems. But Zelig will harmonize most convincingly twice this weekend--once at Cafe Voltaire on Saturday afternoon and again Sunday night at Borders in Thousand Oaks. Both shows are the ever affordable free.

Wurschum and Hoffman are, of course, the brains behind the greatest band in Newbury Park, majority DOG. The folk rocking DOG band plays a lot; Zelig plays more than that. Never home at night, these two do not need cable.

Not singing but talking about singing, the Zelig folks discussed their situation one recent night, before a coffeehouse gig.

Now all this is from that weird movie?

Wurschum: Yeah, the name is from the Woody Allen movie “Zelig,” where the character desperately wants to fit in. We just want to fit in at different places. We used to put a lot of advertising into Zelig, but now we just show up everywhere. It seems like we play just about every day.

Hoffman: We started because we wanted to sing different kinds of songs than we did with the band. The first Zelig show was at the Insomniac on Laurel Street in Ventura, and the first majority DOG show was at the Mayfair Theatre in Ventura.

Does Zelig do all covers or what?

Hoffman: We do mostly covers by the Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, the Everly Brothers; Peter, Paul and Mary; but there are original Zelig songs. Zelig does majority DOG songs and majority DOG does Zelig songs, but ultimately, our heart is with the band.

There’s a rumor of a Zelig CD--what’s up with that?

Wurschum: We had this gig at the Thousand Oaks Street Fair, and we had three gigs that day and just didn’t feel like doing it. But we did it anyway, and ended up meeting this guy and his wife who are huge fans that are paying for the Zelig CD. It’s going to be called “Race You to the Sun,” and it will have 22 songs on it, about one-third originals. We should have it within the next month.

Besides having three fewer people and less stuff to carry, what’s the difference to you between a majority DOG show and a Zelig show?

Hoffman: We take it easy at Zelig shows--they’re more relaxed. We try to get through to the audience, and hopefully that will carry over back to us.

Wurschum: If you’re not communicating, it sucks. If we can get through to one person, and just make one person’s night, then it’s worth it. Hey, don’t you want to know what Zelig music is all about?

Sure.

Wurschum: We sing about crime and suffering, even though we live in Newbury Park. We’re urban folk-rock sensations.

What do you think about the local music scene?

Wurschum: It’s rotten.

* Zelig at Cafe Voltaire, 34 N. Palm St., Ventura. Saturday, 2 p.m. Free. 641-1743. Or Sunday at 3 p.m. at Borders Books & Music, 125 W. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks, 7 p.m. Free. 497-8159.

CD Investment Opportunity: Mostly, Wurschum is correct, but then again Zelig or majority DOG have yet to play Cafe Voltaire in Ventura, where the only rotten thing is the pay toilet situation. But management will readily give you the key, so there’s not even that to complain about. The cafe, with great food, great music, a zillion kinds of beer and wine, a relaxing patio and some really cool cats, is going to have a serious party in a month or so.

It’s going to be a three-day epic recording session at the venue featuring a baker’s dozen of the best local bands. Blame owner Todd Winokur.

“It’s my idea. I saw those ‘Locals Only’ compilations out of Santa Barbara, and I figured we have lots of incredible local talent here, so why not? I mean, Teresa Russell and Randy Rich are great and yet they don’t have anything to sell at their gigs.”

Here’s the deal: For 10 bucks you get to add “Executive Producer” to your resume and get your name on the “Live at Cafe Voltaire” CD, plus an invite to the CD release party. For 20 bucks, you get all that plus a T-shirt commemorating the occasion. Now, for those who can afford 40 bucks, you get all that stuff plus a pass to attend all three recording sessions, which will be limited to no more than 60 people.

At least four bands will play each night, doing a full set of an hour or so, and the best tune of each will go on the upcoming CD. Each band will also have sufficient tunes in the can to record its own “Live at Cafe Voltaire” CD.

Those slated to perform include Mr. O,the Teresa Russell & Stephen Geyer Band, Danny Timms & Jodi Siegal, Randy Rich & the Ravens, the Kenny Cotter Band, the Tommy Quayle Band, Jimmy Adams & Friends, the Java Heads, the Ashford Gordon Band, the Bob Jones Trio, the J. Peter Boles Band, Euphoria and Total Strangers.

“Only a couple of these bands have their own CDs, and most of them have been playing here regularly for three years,” said Winokur. “They need the publicity. These are bands that could’ve made it, should’ve made it. Hopefully this will give them the publicity they need.”

The recordings will be transacted Nov. 7-9. Call the venue at 641-1743 to find out more.