All That Glitters

Last year was supposed to have been the big comeback year for glam rock--that cross-dressing, boundary-breaking genre of ‘70s rock ‘n’ roll identified with such artists as David Bowie, Iggy Pop and Gary Glitter. Marilyn Manson reinvented himself as a postmodern Ziggy Stardust. Mirroring the period’s fashions, Scott Weiland donned boas and heavy eyeliner while promoting “12 Bar Blues.” And the movie “Velvet Goldmine” starred starry-eyed British actors doing their best interpretations of Bowie, Pop and other famed cats.

What was poised for a big-bam-bang, however, met with a feathery whimper. Possibly turned off by overexposure, folks weren’t really buying Manson’s “Mechanical Animals” act, and Weiland, fighting a much-publicized heroin addiction, was too messed up to fulfill his glam-edged prophecy. As for “Velvet Goldmine”? Beautiful boys in glittery costumes can’t save a bad movie from itself, and “Velvet Goldmine”--an exploration of the hedonistic nature of the glam-rock era--was pretty on the outside, empty on the inside.

Fast-forward to Hollywood 1999, however--the year that ultimate cross-dressing man o’ song, Prince, prophesied would be the year to party--and please notice the low spark of high-heeled boys (and girls) standing in line outside such L.A. hot spots as El Rey Theatre, the Tempest, the Garage and Dragonfly--all of which are hopping with colorful glam-rock clubs.

“Last year, all anybody did was talk about it,” says club promoter Joseph Brooks. “This year, people were crying out for something different on the scene and we’ve responded.”

In Hollywood’s cutting-edge clubs, glam rock has reemerged in a big way. A whole new generation is turning on to the look and sound created by such artists as T. Rex, the New York Dolls and Queen, each of whom made their mark on this short-lived but memorable era in pop music history.

“Kids are responding to glam’s freedom of expression,” says Pat Briggs, a performer at the core of the scene. “People plan all month what they’re going to wear to shows.”

Make-Up, a new monthly 18-and-over glam club at El Rey Theatre, is at the head of the class. Created by Briggs, who teamed up with promoters Brooks and Jason Lavitt, Make-Up is the West Coast counterpart to Briggs’ club, Squeezebox, which is at the forefront of New York’s glam scene. Former Faster Pussycat frontman Taime Downe entered into the ring with the club, Pretty Ugly, a raunchy eye-linered ride into gutter glam, which is packed each Wednesday at Hollywood’s Dragonfly.

Apollo Starr weighs in with Shampoo, a twice-monthly glam club at the Garage, and Superstarr, a monthly theme club at the Martini Lounge (April’s theme was ‘70s teen idols, complete with look-alike contest).

He says the Garage’s nitty-gritty vibe was perfect for Shampoo. “We call it L.A.’s dirtiest rock ‘n’ roll club,” says Starr, who started his club six months ago. “We play all ‘70s bands like Cheap Trick, Foreigner, ZZ Top, Boston--all the stuff you love but are afraid to admit--and ‘80s glam rock like Poison and Faster Pussycat.”

Even legendary deejay / promoter Rodney Bingenheimer decided to give it a go, recently developing Flash, a Monday night glitterama held at the Tempest in Hollywood. Bingenheimer, who shares Flash DJ duties with Lavitt, keeps things retro with firsthand knowledge: On David Bowie’s recommendation, Bingenheimer opened L.A.’s first glam club--Rodney’s English Disco--in the ‘70s.

Birth of Glam Traced to London

Bingenheimer says glam was born out of an anti-hippie movement in London, when people had tired of dressing down and grown weary of “women with hairy armpits.” They wanted to get glammed up like the ‘50s rock ‘n’ rollers. They reinvented rock, however, for the more exotic ‘70s.

Although each club offers a different take on glam, it’s Make-Up that really sparkles with fresh energy. In part, that’s because it’s at El Rey Theatre, which is three or four times larger than the competition--but it also helps that anyone 18 and over is welcome to attend.

“Hello? Last time we checked it’s the kids who are putting the effort into going out and dressing up,” says Brooks, a veteran of L.A.’s club scene. “We do this for them.”

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” says Miguel Ortiz, 19, who made the drive from Riverside to April’s club Make-Up. “Everything you could ever imagine shows up here. It’s so fun.”

Precisely what the creators of Make-Up were aiming for.

The diversity of the Make-Up crowd is conspicuous; its mixture of rockers, gays, artists, suburbanites and celebrities is no small feat. On the dance floor, men sporting enormous blue wigs dance beside go-go dancers in bikinis and body paint. On stage, go-go men in leopard ensembles and cowboy boots get down with folks in jogging shorts and platform shoes. Off to the side of the stage, scenesters might spot actress Rose MacGowan--donning a sequined pink bikini top and leather pants--posing with fans who were smart enough to bring flash cameras.

Gutter Gangsters, the glam house band that Briggs put together with members of OtherStarPeople, Plexi and Star 69. Performing under a neon lightning bolt, not only does the band rock very hard, but Briggs struts like a peacock, complete with elaborate headdress and an emperor-has-no-clothes stance. Save for a few well-placed rhinestones, Briggs is naked. It’s glamour, all stripped down, literally and figuratively.

“I like coming to these clubs because you never know what you’re going to see,” says one eyewitness, who, 7 feet tall in heels, is one of the spectacles. “It’s also the music, the fact that the deejay’s playing songs from the ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ and the band’s rocking out with Queen.”

Briggs (who also fronts Psychotica, the group that shocked Lollapalooza crowd last summer) exemplifies how the scene appeals to the universe’s square pegs. A Burbank native, Briggs ran away from home to live on the streets of Hollywood at 13. “It was safer there than at home,” he says. At 18, he made a decision that he was going to get out of that life and turned to music.

“Now, I live this dual life,” he says. “I create music and clubs, both of which appeal to those who are seeking a safe place to express themselves.”

So much so that a group of Texas youths took a Greyhound bus all the way from El Paso to make it in time for April’s show. They arrived in the afternoon and camped out until the club opened its doors. Another group made the trek from San Francisco.

“There hasn’t been any exciting rock ‘n’ roll--and glam rock is all about making it exciting,” said Lavitt, the co-promoter of Make-Up and Flash. “It’s like Little Richard in the ‘50s, getting dressed up and looking glamorous, and it’s a return to that. This is Hollywood, there has to be some amazing entertainment. We’re approaching the year 2000 and we’ve got to pull out all the stops.”

The glam bases certainly are covered, from Flash, with its period-perfect playlist, to Pretty Ugly, which features contemporary live glam bands. Glam is simultaneously retro and evolving.

Downe, whose band the Newlydeads performs monthly at Pretty Ugly, says modern-day glam has unlimited possibilities. “It’s metamorphosizing into something that maybe isn’t the norm of what people describe as glam,” says Downe. “It’s not just derivative of Bowie or T. Rex. It’s melding with a lot of things.”

A prime example came during a recent encore performance by Briggs’ Gutter Gangsters at Make-Up. Although the group focuses its set on cover songs of the era’s seminal artists, it finished the April show with a breathtaking rendition of John Lennon’s “Imagine.”

As performed by Briggs, it “imagined” a time and place where people were accepted for who they are, not how they appear or who they appear with. Sung by a man gutsy enough to wear a rhinestone codpiece and high-heeled shoes, it took on an entirely different meaning--a meaning that wasn’t lost on the audience.

“One of the kids from Texas came up to me after the show and told me the drive was worth it,” says Briggs. “It bought her one night of freedom.”

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Glam Clubs

Places to show off your best iridescent attire . . .

Make-Up at the El Rey Theatre on May 1 (shows are the first Saturday of each month), 5515 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. (323) 769-5500. 18 and over, $10 before 10 p.m.; $15 after. Creative garb encouraged, that means ixnay on the tennies, tees and jeans. Sells out so get there early.

Flash at Tempest on Mondays, 7323 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. (323) 850-5115 or (323) 769-5500. Open bar 8-9 p.m. 18 and over, $5 cover.

Pretty Ugly at the Dragonfly on Wednesdays, 6510 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. (323) 466-6111. Live bands weekly. 21 and over. Cover varies.

Shampoo at the Garage (second and fourth Tuesday of each month), 4519 Santa Monica Blvd., Silver Lake. (323) 662-6802. 21 and over. $5 cover. Call hotline (323) 769-6392 for dates and special theme shows.

Superstarr at the Martini Lounge (third Friday of each month), 5657 Melrose Ave., Hollywood. (323) 769-6392. 21 and over. $5 to $10 cover.