Two Cents About Pennywise

Took a trip to Hermosa Be-aatch and kung-fu’d my way in to Penny-wise’s rehearsal space. Front-man Jim Lindberg--the most important songwriter in contemporary punk--told me how lousy it felt to be banned from playing an outdoor show in his hometown. The group, which was scheduled to perform a free show Tuesday in Tower Records’ parking lot, was diss-invited by the city of WeHo, which claimed the band caused a ruckus last week at the Key Club. I was at that show, which was incredibly tame by mosh pit standards. Tell you what though, the last time I saw so many cops and fire marshals at a gig was when Body Count played the Electric Ballroom in post-riot ’92. The Tuesday afternoon gig was moved inside to the House of Blues....

Speaking of righteous punkers, while cruising the Cahuenga Corridor I bumped into Bad Religion/Circle Jerks guitarist Greg Hetson, who went rolling in my ’95 to Beauty Bar and the Burgundy Room, where deejay Loomis played him some Buzzcocks. We ended up at Belly at 1 a.m., which was off the hizz-ook for a school night. I just love L.A., ‘cuz you never know who’s gonna be down to play.... Speaking of mad love, did some serious rump shaking at the Lounge (the new name of the Latin Lounge), which has a slamming Brazilian night on Thursdays....

If you’re looking for the best seat in the house at the Hollywood Canteen, it’s in the entryway, where chairs face a mirrored wall. I’d planned to only kick it there for a few minutes, but stayed for hours watching models come and go, speaking of Michelangelo. They weren’t talking art history, but they were checking out their sculpted abs. Grody to the max, yo.