Sound of the Buzz

The late Country Dick Montana from the Beat Farmers was best remembered for his solid advice: “Deny everything. If that doesn’t work, say the bikers made you do it.” But in the nightclub business, if times are tough at the bar, then blame the old owner. That’s pretty much the buzz at the Buzz Bar, trying harder to be a kinder, gentler head-banger haven in Canoga Park.

This venue has been there so long, it almost seems like the rest of the Valley was built around it. Almost anyone can recall three or four former names for the place, which seems to have had more aliases than all the Marvel superheroes: the Rock, the Rocking Horse, the Showroom, Fantasia and Toes Tavern.

(No one should starve to death on this junk-food strip of Topanga Canyon Boulevard. The Buzz Bar is sandwiched between Tommy’s and a European pastry shop. Nearby is Jack-in-the-Box, KFC, Taco Bell, an Indian cuisine place, a doughnut shop and Michael’s Burgers, to name a few. The only thing missing from the menu is a cardiologist.)

Open as the Buzz Bar for about three months, the club is basically starting from square one. But it does have potential. The cavernous club can hold up to 300 music lovers. There’s a long curvy bar, another row of big wooden chairs, a huge dance floor, a big stage, a separate raised bar area to the left of the stage, a sound system sufficient to make your liver quiver, plus pool tables and video games.

Thus, like any decent venue, the Buzz Bar offers a viable setting for the acceptable club behaviors: sitting around, standing around or dancing around. Some are still trying to decipher the significance of that YokoDeathRay sticker in the men’s bathroom.

The old owner apparently had few friends, at least among the employees who now work for the new regime. The city wasn’t particularly thrilled with the way things used to be run, either, required that three security guards be on duty at all time. These guys could and would check Methuselah’s ID, so be prepared for that. Sandy Landis, well-known as the booker of the now-defunct Reseda rock club the Country Club, is doing the same job at the Buzz Bar.

“It’s going to take us awhile because of the previous owner . . . but when people come down here, they love it. It’s been remodeled, and the sound system has been upgraded. The bands were leery at first, but now I have the bands calling me, which is a good thing. We’re not in competition with anyone--we’re just, like, doing what we’re doing. We want everyone to come and have a good time.”

Bandwagon Nights Popular

So far, night life at the Buzz Bar looks like this: Tuesdays are free pool night. Wednesdays are open-jam night. Thursdays are local band night (read: free) with usually four bands performing. The only time there is a cover--$5 to $8--is weekends when successful bands perform. Those are the ones with actual fans, besides their lying girlfriends.

The most successful affair at the venue thus far has been the monthly Bandwagon promotion, sort of the Buzzapalooza with half a dozen bands playing, and the dance floor packed and the bartender in overdrive. The next Bandwagon is a Halloween party slated for Oct. 28.

Most of the bands that play the Buzz Bar are original rock bands, mostly of the hard rock and/or metal persuasion with the occasional blues band and even an eclectic college rock band like Munkafust now and again. Classic rock bands that cover tunes from the ‘60s and ‘70s, plus tribute bands--a booming mini-industry these days--might also be heard. However, don’t hold your breath for Mack-10, Motorhead or Rancid to play at this venue any time soon, according to Landis.

“Anything goes here except hip-hop, speed metal and punk. No thrasher bands or speed metal bands. We want people to just have fun and not get hurt. We want this to be the hottest place in the Valley for the 25-and-older crowd, preferably. We want it to be a place where the bands can call home and where people can come and hang out and have a good time in a relaxed atmosphere.

“And where else could you go to see four live bands for $5?”

BE THERE

Buzz Bar, 7230 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Canoga Park. Open Tuesday through Saturday. Cover varies. (818) 347-7668.