Fair Official Outraged by Band

A Ventura County Fair official said Friday that he has lodged a complaint with a high-powered Hollywood talent agency after a hip-hop group it represents put on what he called an “offensive and grossly inappropriate” performance.

Michael Paluszak, the fair’s general manager, said he lodged his complaint with the William Morris Agency, which represents Next, a band popular among teenagers for its urban sound. The group’s 1997 gold debut album, which sports a parental advisory label for explicit content, includes such songs as “Sexitude” and “Tastes So Good.” A spokesman for the talent agency declined comment.

Paluszak said the agency had assured him that the group would not engage in any offensive or inappropriate behavior during its Tuesday night concert at the fair. He said those assurances were written into a contract.

“We were very deliberate in our conversations while booking this act that the content was important to us because it was the fair,” Paluszak said. “They made assurances that there would not be obscene language or gestures, but there was both.”

When the musicians took the stage, they repeatedly shouted sexual obscenities, Paluszak said. One of the performers mooned the crowd and group members told the audience that fair organizers didn’t want them to engage in sexual gestures and obscenities, but that they were going to do it anyway.

Fair organizers were also surprised when members of another hip-hip group, known as Naughty by Nature, joined Next members on stage. The impromptu performance “went far beyond the bounds of good taste or even marginally acceptable behavior,” Paluszak said.

He added that he felt helpless to pull the plug on the act, fearing it would cause trouble among the 9,000 people in attendance.

“Stopping the show with that kind of audience would have been a recipe for trouble,” Paluszak said.

In the days since the performance, angry fairgoers have been phoning Paluszak.

“The kind of comments we got were, ‘We don’t believe this is appropriate for our county fair, we don’t believe this is appropriate--period, and why did you book this act?’ ” Paluszak said. “We feel very strongly about this. The community has every right to be offended. We were as well.”

Fair officials said they decided to go public with their complaint to assure the community that they are not taking the matter lightly and are seeking recourse.

“I just hope the public won’t hold this against us, as hard as we tried to prevent it,” Paluszak said. “I hope they put the responsibility where it should lie, and that’s with two very irresponsible and disrespectful acts.”

Paluszak said he is seeking, among other things, an apology from Next to the community. Citing legal concerns, he declined to elaborate on other aspects of his talks with the group’s management and its representatives at the William Morris Agency.

Fair officials say they do not believe the performance incited a stabbing attack which broke out Tuesday night in the crowded grandstand arena. Three Santa Paula residents were injured in the attack.

* FACES AT THE FAIR: B2