Poptopia Festival Finds Hook by Daring to Be Catchy

Tony Perkins and Larry Mann have all the credentials for rock ‘n’ roll cool: Both are Hollywood habitues, Perkins fronts a band, and Mann runs a record label and has booked talent at several “in” clubs. But they aren’t particularly interested in being cool. In fact, they have poured their energies into L.A.’s blooming pop music scene, which celebrates rock’s sweeter, friendlier--some might say nerdier--side.

“There are too many people in this town who are just too cool to have fun, or too hip and jaded to even consider having fun,” says Perkins, whose band--and pop scene alias--is Martin Luther Lennon. “The pop music scene is basically about having fun, and that’s kind of a shocking approach in L.A.”

“I was a closet pop freak for a while,” says Mann, co-owner of Sugar Fix Records and talent booker at the Martini Lounge. “People thought I was some kind of tough punk because I used to book bands at Raji’s, but I’d go home and just want to listen to perfect pop songs--all these sweet, bubble-gummy, two-minute 30-second tunes. Tony and I figured there were probably enough closet pop freaks out there for a real scene to happen.”

An impressive measure of that scene is Mann and Perkins’ second Poptopia festival, a 10-day event starting tonight that will bring more than 100 bands to seven clubs, where they’ll kick up all manner of pop: bubble gum to punk-pop, power-pop to glitter-rock. Highlights include a performance Feb. 8 at the Troubadour by Japanese cult-fave Shonen Knife, and baroque-pop hero Emitt Rhodes’ first live show in 20 years, at the Alligator Lounge next Thursday.

Much of the music will come from the coterie of bands--including the Negro Problem, Cockeyed Ghost, Baby Lemonade, Velouria, and the Wondermints--that have established the pop scene, whose vitality is reflected both live (in such regular club nights as Cafe Bleu at Checca and the New HQ at the Roxy) and on record. (Local labels such as NotLame, Aerial Flipout and Sugar Fix are specializing in pop releases; “Closet Pop Freak,” a compilation released by the Pop Psycle label last year, demonstrated the range of local pop acts.)

“As much as it is a scene, it isn’t,” says Darian Sahanaja of the Wondermints. “There’s all these bands that play together and really get along, but nobody sounds alike. We love to talk about what we’re doing, though. We can sit around with the guys from Baby Lemonade or Negro Problem talking about records for hours. There’s all this swapping of ideas and turning each other on to bands and movies and comic books--a lot of mutual passions that end up in all the music.”

L.A. has a long tradition of pop, with the mid-’60s remembered as a kind of golden era. Later, in 1979, the Knack’s “My Sharona” hit No. 1 on the national pop charts and the Go-Go’s had several Top 20 hits in the early ‘80s. But the current scene is distinct, both for its sense of community and the premium it places on inspired musicianship.

“In some ways the L.A. scene and the music reminds me a lot of the late ‘70s here,” says ex Go-Go Jane Wiedlin, whose band Frosted is a Poptopia ’97 participant. “But the big difference is that there are some really good musicians this time around. The guys in my band are great players, and when the Go-Go’s started out we didn’t know what the hell we were doing.”

Whether any L.A. pop acts can achieve national prominence remains to be seen. But some in the record industry are keeping a close watch on them.

“Something’s up,” says Dave Wolin, co-founder of Big Deal records in New York, which recently issued releases by Cockeyed Ghost, the Wondermints and Shonen Knife. “The pop scene is a grass-roots movement built on a really loyal fan base. The music’s out there whether it gets a corporate endorsement or not, but with one strong national act, ’97 could be ‘the year pop broke.’ ”

Local bands certainly wouldn’t shy away from commercial success, but many say they already have found great satisfaction simply being a part of the scene and playing the pop they love.

“I hear about the mid-’60s era in L.A.--hanging out at John Phillips’ house, Graham Nash shows up, Van Dyke Parks is off to write ‘Smile’ with Brian Wilson. It seems like such a romantic rock ‘n’ roll fantasy,” the Wondermints’ Sahanaja says. “Then I think, whether our music makes history or not, these are the great days for us. All of us pop bands are going to remember this time fondly, even if nobody else does.”

Poptopia masterminds Mann and Perkins began refining their pop tastes when they were students at Taft High School in Woodland Hills in the mid-’80s. Digging into records by such varied pop icons as the Beatles, Beach Boys, Raspberries, Buzzcocks and Cheap Trick, the pair got hooked on the pleasures of a catchy melody and rich song craft, packed into a couple of exuberant minutes of release.

In 1993 they decided to un-closet their love of pop and teamed up to create Bubblegum Crisis, a floating club night that, until they ended it recently, showcased pop-oriented lineups. As more and more bands applied and the audience expanded, Mann and Perkins decided it was time for a larger showcase. Last January they organized the first Poptopia, a weeklong festival that brought more than 70 pop acts to eight clubs.

“When we started Bubblegum Crisis, I thought it might catch on a bit,” Mann recalls. “But I didn’t think we’d last. I thought it would peter out and maybe get sideswiped by a new metal scene. But that hasn’t happened. Pop’s hanging in there.”

As for a definition of “pop,” Mann offers the following: “If you’re humming it later and you don’t know why, you probably heard a great pop song. If it gets stuck in your head to the point of being really annoying, it’s pop.”

* Poptopia ’97 information line: (213) 368-8076. Web site: https://members.aol.com./Poptopia.