Photo by Jack GouldAfter stints at Tropics in Huntington Beach and Garden Grove's Felt Room, promoter Randy Cash, most famous for promoting Fullerton's sorely missed Club 369 (which was bought and turned into a salsa house early last year) is getting out of the club business. In fact, he quietly got out of it about six months ago when he stopped doing shows at the Felt Room—which, incidentally, is now for lease. Cash, along with Scott Ramey and No Doubt backing musician Gabe McNair, has formed Velocity, a management company whose roster, thus far, sports one band: the Color Red. Cash describes the OC/Inland Empire band—which recently played with Lit and Burnin' Groove at the opening of the Anaheim House of Blues—as “really good, melodic hard rock” and guarantees that it's only a matter of time before you're quite familiar with them. Cash isn't new to management, having had an unofficial hand in guiding the careers of quite a few OC bands, most notably Lit and Zebrahead. “I'm pretty much done with clubs,” says Cash. “What I liked about the club scene was that it was a way to help bands, to get involved with them and go to rehearsals, give them suggestions on how they could develop their sound, work with their image. That was the part that I loved. It's not like I loved doing a club because I love nightlife.” (Alison M. Rosen)
REVOLVING DRUMMER DOOR
Local favorites the Killingtons played their last show with drummer Michl Bravine on Jan. 28 at Chain Reaction. Bravine, whose passionate playing was always a joy to watch, left the group to join new Mojo Records signees the Jealous Sound. “There is no bitterness,” says Killingtons front man JK Thompson about the split. “He basically got an offer for a good amount of money to start with this other band. And Michl, being broke and vulnerable, took up the offer. He doesn't want to leave the Killingtons—he actually wanted to [be in both bands]—but we can't wait around for him.” The Killingtons, whose self-titled debut was released on their own MeG Records last summer, are fishing around for a label offer themselves while they audition new drummers. Says JK, “[Our first drummer] left, and we found Michl, and that was definitely an improvement. We want to go a step beyond now and find somebody even more amazing—if that's even possible.” Manager Vince Pileggi shared the band's grief and added, “After seeing some of the tryouts, I think the main thing we'll be missing is the visual intensity Michl brought to the live shows.” He also confirmed that the band will perform next month at the South By Southwest (SXSW) music conference in Austin, Texas, with the new drummer. (Michael Coyle)
CONFABULOUS
Speaking of SXSW, the local contingent invited to play sets at this year's confab is taking shape. In addition to the Killingtons, Long Beach's Pinwheel, the terrific Stavesacre, crunch-rockers Thrice, the irrepressible Ziggens, and ex-English Beater/ General Publican/Hogue Barmichael's regular Dave Wakeling (who, last we heard, was still living in OC) will all be maxing out on greasy Texas 'cue next month—unless they're vegans, natch. Several local indie labels will also be showcasing their bands, including Skunk (the Ziggens' home), Huntington Beach's Junk Records (who'll pair off at famed Austin punk club Emo's with San Francisco label Man's Ruin —a recent Junk press release promises “12 bands, two stages and one big rat fuck of a good time!”). Also showcasing: Long Gone John's much-respected, Long Beach imprint Sympathy for the Record Industry, now riding a wave of notoriety with the nifty Detroit brother-sister distorto-blues duo the White Stripes (whom Rolling Stone recently branded as “one to watch in 2001″—not that that means anything, but it does look good on a rsum). They'll join some 1,000 other bands from around the planet, along with big-name acts like the Black Crowes, David Byrne and Ray Davies, who'll deliver the confab's keynote address. (Rich Kane)
GIMME SOME TRUTH
Did you know that when Los Lobos played a Marlboro-sponsored club show in St. Paul, Minnesota, in July 1999, the only way for fans to get in was by presenting 200 “Marlboro Miles”—proof-of-purchase seals that came five to each cigarette pack—meaning that the cover charge was 40 packs of smokes, which translates into a scandalous (not to mention carcinogenic) $130 per ticket? And did you know that when the band Guster played Rockfest at the Chicago Motor Speedway last July (headlined by Metallica and Kid Rock), they were so incensed by the overwhelming corporate presence of Oldsmobile that they snottily dissed them from the stage, after which promoters refused to give Guster their $5,000 paycheck because the event was designed to be not so much a concert but rather—as Rockfest executive producer Brian Murphy admitted to the Chicago Tribune—”a national platform for corporate sponsors to market their products”? This and other fun-filled factoids are revealed on a new link set up on the website of Rock & Rap Confidential, which has long been one of the few—if not only—publications that cut through music-industry spittle and arrive at what's always a brutal, painfully honest truth. There's an assemblage of insightful quotations from the likes of Chuck D, Billy Bragg, the Offspring's Dexter Holland, Prince, Patti Smith, Wayne Kramer, Ice T and They Might Be Giants' John Flansburgh, as well as vital info on a range of topics from obscene concert ticket and CD prices and why the Grammys are an inane fiasco to why indie labels can often be just as bad as major labels and why your band can't get played on the radio. Jump to it at www.rockrap.com, and click on “Why Do We Need the Music Industry?” (RK)
