Beat Street
By Todd S. Inoue

Space Invaders:
Cupertino Library issues moratorium

Yet another all-ages space is on the verge of closing. The community room at the Cupertino Library, a medium-sized space where youthful members of the Sunnyvale Music Club and other bookers have hosted many bands, is in jeopardy. After receiving complaints from neighbors over the summer, library officials recently pulled the plug on shows that were slated for October and November. Future use of the community room will be discussed with the city the first week in October, says library spokeswoman Pamela Moore. "I think that these groups need a place to play, but I don't know if the library is the place," Moore says. "We do try to provide equal access to all sorts of groups, but we also want to be good neighbors."

Fury 66 guitarist Rye Crowen, whose band's recent show there attracted about 300 people, says library officials got all freaked out over a couple of broken beer bottles discovered in the parking lot. "It was such a minor thing, and it might not even have been people at the show," Crowen says. "It's ridiculous, because everything went so smoothly. All those people and there were no fights and no damage to anything. Here's a totally positive thing for the kids that keeps them from doing other things."

Nevertheless, the latest incident paired with the Sunnyvale Music Club's loss of Knights of Columbus Hall (a vandalism incident last month lead to a temporary ban on shows) has left the Clubbers in a state of flux. The current plan is to throw shows at houses until another venue can be firmed up.

Demo Derby

The mailbox was filled with a juicy surprise this week from one of my favorite local rap crews, the Dereliks. The long, long overdue seven-track tape, A Turn on the Wheel Is Worth More Than a Record Deal, finds the South Bay crew settling into its own distinct style. "Phrase That Pays" may be the best song in their backpack. "Iz on Some Other" uses a De La Soul B-side sample on which to float a stream-of-consciousness rap that echoes Freestyle Fellowship. The Dereliks are representing San Jose like nobody's business.

Crack Fiend

Back on the street is Booty Crack, the controversial underground hip-hop newspaper whose ultragraphic vocab and voyeuristic name-dropping columns like the "Nympho Info," and "Busta of the Month" shocked parents, principals and C. Dolores Tucker fans. The paper has been on the back burner recently because of editor Andre Barefield's involvement with a club inside of Dimensions, prior to its demise last January. The club failed due to what Barefield blames on a number of factors, one of which is the police, specifically one who is named in the latest issue.

The financial burden of putting out 35,000 copies was hard enough, so to cut down on bills, Barefield spreads his word 10,000 at a time via subscription only (call the Booty Crack hotline for details: 408/972-5303). It was available at Tower Records for a short while, but Barefield pulled it off the rack. "It wasn't my audience," said Barefield, who pins his audience as troubled African American youths. "[Instead] 14- and 15-year-old white kids and 40-year-old mothers were picking it up."

Meanwhile, Booty Crack is sticking to its profane format but with a slightly more informed script. There's lots of antigang material and some good safe-sex preaching, and Barefield nominates himself as "Buster of the Month." Then again, the more provocative columns like "Nympho Info," "Klansman Bob" and "Lick Deez Nuts" are still around. He hopes to be out every month starting Nov. 1.

First and Last

F/X will go out with an industrial-sized bang. The final live show at the venerable downtown San Jose club is scheduled for Oct. 26 and will feature Diatribe and the shock antics of Torture King. The show will mean a ton to Diatribe--F/X was the site of the band's first gig.

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