Catchy Opening Act

It’s going to be one of those sit-and-listen shows when eclectic singer/songwriter Amy Correia opens for blues legend Keb’ Mo’ on Saturday night at the Ventura Theatre. Keb’ Mo’--street jive for Kevin Moore--is a bluesman out of Compton, currently hitting the clubs in support of his latest album, “The Door.”

The show is another choice chance for Correia, who appeared at the same venue a few weeks back opening for John Hiatt. She’s working hard in support of her debut album, “Carnival Love.”

Correia grew up in a small town in Massachusetts, then went to New York City to attend college, where she planned to major in English but ended up becoming a singer/songwriter on a major label.

Her debut is a diverse collection of styles and moods, and the songs are plenty catchy, plus she’s gathering good press. Here’s more, based on a recent phone interview with Correia at her L.A. home.

Are you a rich rock star yet?

Oh yeah, I’m in my Beverly Hills house right now by the pool. Once you’re on a major label [like Capitol Records], you start learning how it all works.

That’s nice. So how does it work?

Well, I’m learning still, but the way I’m making money is by playing shows. So, basically, it’s like I’m having a yard sale at the the end of every show. The album’s doing well, I’m surviving and the record company seems happy.

So the honeymoon’s not over yet?

No. We’re really still romancing each other. It’s nice because their expectations weren’t that I was going to sell tons of records right off the bat, and they were looking at this as a long-term thing. The pressure’s off and they’re going to keep me on the road for a long, long time.

How does a singer/songwriter get signed these days?

I don’t really know, but a girl’s gotta have a good demo tape. My advice would be to write good songs that you like, sing them well, and that’s it. I don’t know how I got the deal. I was lucky. I had a demo tape that I liked and they liked, too.

There’re some great songs on the album, like “Daydream Car” and “Starfishin’.” How do you write a song?

I get behind an instrument and I just start playing around with the instrument. Then I start singing words--nonsense words sometimes or something I had in mind like an image, something that’s kind of concrete like “Daydream Car.” That one kind of just popped into my head.

How many Amy songs are there?

I really don’t know. It’s certainly under 100.

When you tour, it’s you and a cello player. That’s pretty low budget.

You betcha. It’s financial in part, but I’ve had different incarnations of bands in the past. In New York, I had a bass player and a drummer, which was working out really well. But then when I moved out here, it just became expensive to have people play with you. . . . Then I met this cello player Gerri Sutyak, and I asked her to do a show with me at the Troubador [in West Hollywood]. It was simple and it worked and that’s what we’re gonna do for a while.

How would you describe Amy music?

It’s acoustic-based with soul. I don’t know. I always hate that question. It’s hard. I think it’s more storytelling than confessional. It’s got cool lyrics and I hope it’s got cool melodies.

What’s it like being the opening act? Is that kind of like work?

It can be, but for the most part, it depends. The Hiatt audiences . . . were all cool except Minneapolis, but I guess it was just the venue. It was kind of a pretty raging bar where people were just getting drunk and rowdy and having a good time. That one was really challenging, but I don’t mind being the underdog and having to go out there and prove something. Usually audiences watching an opening act don’t have expectations, and either way, it’s going to be OK. If they don’t like you, they didn’t expect to anyway, and if they like you, they’re pleasantly surprised.

What was your strangest gig?

There’s been a few of those, but I’d have to say my first gig in New York in ’91 or ’92. I opened up for a Pink Floyd cover band, and that was my initiation to show biz, really.

How long were you in New York?

Well, I went to Barnard College, so including college, I was there for eight or nine years, and I’ve been in L.A. for four years.

What are the music scenes like, comparatively speaking?

I think New York is more inspiring. It’s more obviously diverse because they’ve got what I call the culture of walking, where people come in contact with each other because they’re out on the street. L.A. I find isolating in terms of doing music. I think there’s a better audience in New York, because people are out on the streets and will just stop by a club to see what’s going on. In L.A., more publicity is required to get people to go out, and there has to be this thing called “buzz.” I never even really knew that word until I came out here. That just never came up in New York.

When did you decide you wanted to be a singer?

I decided really when I hurt my back in the middle of college and went back to my parents’ house to lie in bed for two months. I was just going through your basic hard time in college, depressed, you know. So there I was lying in bed, and I always enjoyed singing for funzies, and I had a guitar and I started writing songs. It was a really a good feeling and I decided I was going to do it. I was 19 or 20.

And now here you are.

Don’t you want to ask me how old I am?

No. Why, do you want to tell me?

Not necessarily.

Twentysomething, I would think.

I’m 32. The older I get, the more I realize I don’t believe in getting old. That happens when we get older, I think.

There’s gotta be a song in there somewhere.

DETAILS

Amy Correia and Keb’ Mo’ at the Ventura Theatre, 26 Chestnut St., 8 p.m. Saturday; $30; 653-0721.

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A Sock Hop and Homecoming Dance, a flashback fest with the standard bop-till-you-drop scenario that is intended as an annual event, will unfold from 8 p.m. until midnight today at Alexander’s in the Ventura Harbor. The event will be hosted by Lee Marshall of KVEN-AM (1450), who will be joined by the one and only Dr. Demento.

The event promises plenty of hits from the ‘50s and ‘60s, back when AM and perhaps even your parents were cool. In addition to plenty of records, there will be some live doo-wop favorites sung by the Alley Cats. The event also promises dancing, prizes, contests and free food.

“The Alley Cats really are the premiere doo-wop group in the country,” Marshall said. “This whole thing is kind of an offshoot of my radio show. I’ve learned that the one thing that causes baby boomers to sit up and go crazy is the music from [this] era. It’s timeless stuff.”

Then there’s the special added ambience of Dr. Demento, a man who single-handedly has kept weird music alive through his long-running radio show. The good doctor is the one to blame for the longevity of such novelty hits as “Fish Heads” by Barnes and Barnesand “Dead Skunk” by Loudon Wainwright III. Demento, who also discovered “Weird Al” Yankovic, has just released “Dementia 2000,” a 30-year retrospective of what he likes to call “funny music.”

DETAILS

Sock Hop and Homecoming Dance at Alexander’s, 1050 Schooner Drive, Ventura, tonight, 8 to midnight; free; 658-2000.

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Aspiring drummers will be offered a rare opportunity to learn from a couple of pros and, at the same time, give the neighbors a break, when the American Music Center presents Drum Clinic Tour 2000 at the Ventura College Theatre on Tuesday.

The event will last a couple of hours, giving all interested parties the chance to see and hear how it’s done by a couple of Frank Zappa alumni, Terry Bozzio (also of Missing Persons fame) and Chad Wackerman. The event will be a performance but will also be instructional.

“[Zappa] played with monsters and these guys are monsters--a couple of the best drummers on the planet,” said American Music Center Manager Joe Retta, who expects between 100 and 200 drummers or wannabe pounders to attend. Tickets are available at the American Music Center in Montalvo.

DETAILS

Drum Clinic Tour 2000 with Terry Bozzio and Chad Wackerman at the Ventura College Theatre, 4667 Telegraph Road; 7 p.m. Tuesday; $14 in advance or $18 at the door; 650-0020.

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Bill Locey can be reached by e-mail at blocey@pacbell.net.