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The
-The club scene November 2, 1980 Los Angeles Punk / New Wave 1980s From the found archives of The Billy Eye and Judy Zee articles in Data-Boy Magazine / 1980-85.
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  "I don't think anyone really knows what the fuck is going on anymore." - Debbie Harry Billy Eye on Hollywood
Regardless of what some papers may say, the new music of rock and roll is here to stay. And a 'new wave' of sounds is pushing disco back into the dark, poppers-infested recesses from whence it came. Adventuresome sounds are creeping into all but the most hard-core disco dancefloors, with some mainstay clubs like Circus Circus and The Odyssey offering new wave nights on a regular basis. Mostly on the weeknights.
The Trapeze Room is a comfortable place to dance or just to hang out, there's a small bar back there so it's cool, and the dancefloor is built up on several levels. This is all while the packed main disco is pumping out that awful, stale 'Don't Cry for Me Argentina' sound, but believe it or not, thank God, you can't hear it in the back.
The Seven Seas on Hollywood Boulevard (across from the Chinese Theater) also has new wave nights. They draw a large, mostly gay crowd. Like at The Odyssey, this crowd is an enegetic one, chearing wildly when songs like 'Rock Lobster,' and anything by Devo is introduced. If you're looking for other kinds of music, two clubs off the beaten path offer a more hardcore rock and roll ambiance. The One Way and Cuffs, both in Silverlake, are two examples that come to mind. At first, the owner of the One Way's attitude about his DJs playing punk and experimental synth music was, "Our customers don't want to hear it, but we don't give a damn, we're playing it anyway." Eventually the patrons started liking what they heard and the club started to attract a more diverse, younger crowd. The One Way is dark, there is a chain link fence that separates part of the space to the left of a bar that sits in the center of the club. The loud music is hearty mix of hardcore punk and techno/trance with lots of local bands represented, played some nights by DJ John Bryant who will take your requests. And he has all of the cool stuff, the underground, San francisco and local band 45s. There are other dives in Silverlake and Echo Park that play hardcore regularly, I'll let you discover some for yourself. T.S.O.L
and Flipper (from San Francisco) played a fearsome
set on a Friday night (Oct. 15) that attracted a huge crowd, the pit was
a throbbing glob of sweaty meat.
But
beware... on your search for new music you will find that many new
bands are nothing more than a group of guys and girls who think that it
might be fun to be Led-Zep rock stars. You'll find a lot of these guys
in the Valley, and at The Troubadour on most nights.
I
would like to thank the owners of a new establishment to be called 'The
Hollywood Spa' for inviting me to their upcoming gala opening celebration
on Nov. 8. Of course, the party is not open to the public, so don't get
your hopes up about meeting me there! I'm not even sure what kind of business
it is, a health spa I suppose, but the prospect of free drinks
and dancing is all the spark Eye need.
I've
caught a couple of acts around town this week. . . Shandi, on a Saturday night at the Starwood, was in good spirits. Towards mid-set they began cookin' and were fantastic by the end of the night. Tim's (who used to be Dyan Diamond's) guitar-work was excellent and appears effortless... his use of harmonics was stunning. Two
days later, I caught The Boxboys at
the same club. If you have any kind of affection for reggae and love upbeat
music- you will really love these boyz. Their special blend of ska turns
the room into a joyous festival.
The
Boxboys play straight blues twisted with a touch of highly energized reggae
rhythm and funk, producing a simple, chunky syncopated sound, all bouncing
and jamming jubilantly.
Their
synthesizer player, Pepsi, is great, kicking around happily on her Oberheim.
A couple of songs into the set, they have already gained my respect with
their precise sound and thoughtful lyrics. In 'No Time' the interplay
of instruments and arrangement is impeccable. 'Screwing in Lightbulbs'
carries on where the Doors' 5-1' left off, with it's somber beat and sensuousness.
. . its truly kinky. . . their pauses are cute and their dynamics great;
their harmonies full. Frantic energy channeled.
The
Smog Marines The
group complied, and the audience was treated to five more minutes of this
harshly pure music. It was like a breath of clean air, so invigorating
to hear such loud, raucous undilutedly real rock 'n roll no holds barred.
If you get into this kind of music, this was a rush; a-harmonic, fast
paced and raucous- the Smog Marines do it well.
The
Smog Marines' song that twisted the club management around
was 'Suffocation-Plastic Bag', the story of a l'il boy and l'il girl playing.
. . ah yes. . . in the 1980s.
See more Flight of the Conchords style T-Shirts! Wild 1970s / 1980s Retro Gay T-Shirts Here! 
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If
you actually read this column in the last issue (and research indicates
that you didn't) you would remember that Eye promised to take you on a
tour of some of the better clubs you can go to around town and listen
to that radical New Wave sound that you just have to have pumping-thumping
through your pulsating, protruding veins! 
Monday
and Friday are the really popular regular nights for new wave music at
the Odyssey with DJ Chuck E. Starr,
and on Thursday nights Circus Circus opens the circular
Trapeze Room in the back of the club for new music. 
You
can also check out Gino's on Wednesday nights for a more ethno/techno
experience. This is a dimly lit club with a large jumpin' dancefloor that
attracts a (just above) street level crowd. On most weekend nights, Gino's
is where the Hollywood Boulevard crowd goes to party and try, in vain,
to look cool. Located in the middle of a shopping center on Western between
Sunset and Santa Monica, Ginos is
the club you went
to one night and then had no idea where it was or how you got there!
No
doubt about it, a new music explosion has taken hold of Los Angeles. If
you want to see a good hardcore show, the Ukranian Culture Center has
been the site of some incredible shows lately.
The
Ukranian space is big and acoustically right for hardcore bands, the sound
just reverbs off the crumbling walls.
--
-- Now, the lovely and talented Judy Zee will let you know what she found
on her excursions into Hollywood during the last week or so.
Dressed
sleekly in black, save for lead singer Safeway's lone white shirt, on
the last day of September, The Nobodys took the stage
in fine form- in a frenzy you might say. They opened with 'What do you
want to do?'- "I don't know" singer Safeway Goya replies, "I just gotta
do SOMETHING!" They burst and bash with electric sound and have got upbeat
catchy tunes.
Out
of all the bands I've seen this time around, only one can be termed 'punk'
and only for want of a better term. The Smog Marines
were probably a shock to the club management at Candilejas
in Hollywood, because after their first few songs, they were requested
to cut their set to "five more minutes."
There
are very few bands like this consistently making noise in LA. Sharp. Direct.
Repetition on discordant, dissonant riffs in constant rhythm.
