Hollywood Legends, Music Light Up Derby

I had dinner with Errol Flynn at the Derby and James Cagney was singing the blues. OK, so maybe it was Derby owner Tony Gower playing the part of Flynn and Royal Crown Revue frontman Eddie Nichols in the part of da gangsta, but you coulda fooled me. Man, is the Derby back on the map. It’s got the Toledo Show on Tuesdays, a rockabilly Sunday and Nichols’ Rockin’ Revue on Wednesdays. We all toasted Jon Favreau for having the gumption to write “Swingers.” And in an oddball twist of fate, I ran into Favreau the next day at Goodform, the new name for the hipster Hollywood hair salon Lather. The last time I’d seen him was in 1994, when he hopped in my hoop-T and I took him to Swingers for his first time. Strange days indeed. . . . Had my mind blown by Union Underground at the Key Club last week. Acting on another hot tip from resident rocker grrrrl Dayle Gloria, I checked out the Texas bad boys and, man, they tore the joint up. The next band Gloria’s hyping is Rumblefish, which is performing April 29 at Dragonfly. I caught the racially diverse rap-metal act at a recent Viper Room show, and it was off the hook. I even saw System of a Down in the pit.

I didn’t realize the extent of my reach until Friday at Vynyl, when the dance club Cherry was the site of Smashing Grandpa T-shirt giveaways, and I managed to score Sex Pistols, Gene Simmons and Mick Jagger tanks. It musta been our night because North chef Monica May also popped into Cherry baring Hipster G lingerie with rhinestones. After heading to the loo to switch into a pair of custom Hipster G pink panties, I ran into the ultimate Cherry bomb! A girl dressed in a cheery cherry Marilyn Monroe-style mini-dress, with matching cherry shoes. We were among the first to witness yet another new Bryan Rabin ‘do: a boy-toyish pixie.

Jon Sidel tells us famed race car driver Mario Andretti is hosting a wine-tasting at Dominick’s next Thursday. Apparently, Andretti is pulling a Coppola and launching his own wine. I wonder who his designated driver is. . . . In what seems like a really good fit, the Bigfoot Lodge in Atwater Village is now being booked by Lee Joseph, the owner of Dionysis Records. Look for upcoming shows by the Tiki Tones, the Groovy Rednecks and the Invisible Men. . . . Got a lovely note from Nardwuar the Human Serviette, a Canadian performance artist who will be at the Smell in downtown L.A. on Sunday with his band, the Evaporators. Seems he’s got a cable access show in the Kanook and will be showing videotaped interviews with Snoop Doggy Dogg, Mikhael Gorbachev, Alice Cooper, Dan Quayle and Mickey Dolenz. Now that’s a party.

It’s official: Rick Calamaro has the slinkiest hips in Hollywood. We caught up with the Fuel owner on a recent bingo Monday and rocked out to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. . . . Speaking of heartbreakers, we’re off to a screening of Johnny Depp’s latest flick, “Blow,” and a post-party hosted by the Alliance, a.k.a. clubland promoters Josh Richman, Shane Powers and Hartwell. The trio also staged last week’s Mossimo extravaganza at Moomba, the new restaurant at the old LunaPark, which opens Monday. Among those who turned out were Tommy Lee, Mark McGrath and Heath Ledger.