Rock (Star) Hunting

While famous rock stars can be found at the venerable Ventura Theatre, rockers on the rise can be found a few blocks away at Nicholby’s, the most intimate and successful mid-size club for live music in Ventura County.

The building at the corner of Ash and Main streets used to be a Woolworth’s before a series of malls turned downtown Ventura into a sea of secondhand stores.

Owner Nick Taylor ran an antique business on the ground floor of the two-story building for 10 years while a series of failed dance clubs, including Mogz and Xenon West, circulated through the upstairs.

“We tried putting antiques up there, but no one wanted to climb the stairs,” Taylor said. “There were some underage music shows up there, but my windows always seemed to get broken, so I took over the upstairs just to protect my place downstairs. My first show was Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and J.D.’s Last Ride, and it went over pretty well.”

Through trial and error, Taylor gradually attracted a number of quality--if unknown (to Ventura)--acts to play at his club along with the popular locals. Acts like the Uninvited, Kathleen Wilhoite, Tito and Tarantula, Danny Blitz and the Jet Age Hoods, Swamp Boogie Queen, the Rugburns and the Ziggens have all made fans in Ventura. Gradually, however, the antique business demanded more time, and Taylor cut the live music to two nights a week. A year later, that’s changing.

One thing hasn’t changed: To perform at Nicholby’s, a band has to attract dancers, and that means more than just their girlfriends, who would probably dance to chain saws. Customers can sit around and practice scowling at a coffeehouse, but not at Nicholby’s.

“A lot of the newer bands seem to be more hard-edged than is appropriate, even though I like some of the harder-edged stuff myself. But that stuff just isn’t right for a nightclub atmosphere because no one dances. And that’s what this whole thing is all about--people having fun. We want to create a fun atmosphere for girls to meet guys and guys to meet girls.”

Because the local bands either got too big (Big Bad Voodoo Daddy) or went away (Papa-Nata), Nicholby’s is looking for future rock stars. To that end, Thursday is going to be tryout night, featuring three bands for $3, with the good ones graduating to weekend gigs. Friday will be the rock star bands; disco from the Atomic Dogs will pay the rent on Saturday night. Blues or folk on Monday. Reggae or jazz on Tuesday. Swing on Wednesday.

“There aren’t any Ventura bands left that have a draw for a venue this size anymore except Raging Arb and the Redheads, and they only play every six weeks or so. We’re waiting for local bands to step up and become a draw. . . . I want to get back to being a live music venue five or six nights a week.”

Nicholby’s--above a former Woolworth’s, remember--features a large band room, great sound and a huge dance floor to accommodate a crowd of 300. There’s a separate pool room, where players can try their luck on one of nine tables, the kind that don’t guzzle balls and hold them for ransom to be paid in quarters. The club also has a full bar, a zillion kinds of beer and even a separate smoking room. More telling is that although the tenure of most bar employees can be measured in days, most of the help at Nicholby’s has been in place for years.

Nicholby’s survived a fire in November that destroyed the business next door, and the club recently held its fifth anniversary party with Big Bad Voodoo Daddy playing a lot more songs than they did during their halftime Super Bowl set. So the future looks like more bands on more nights.

“I want this to be a comfortable place for anyone who comes here. I have Bill Benson doing my booking. He’s forgotten more about music than I’ll ever know, and that’s a good thing. This is really a funny business, and I guess I’ve come full circle and back to my original idea to get quality bands to play the venue. I want this place to become a major venue in California for a place this size.”

BE THERE

Nicholby’s, 404 E. Main St., Ventura. $3 to $6 cover. (805) 653-2320.