Papa-Nata Spins Again With 2nd CD in a Year

Local bands release CDs about as often as they start on time. Those dance-floor packers in Papa-Nata put out a CD last year and--get this--another one, “Papa-Nata Live,” will be available at a CD release party Saturday night at Nicholby’s in Ventura. That’s one band with two CDs in less than a year.

“Yeah, that’s definitely the record,” said Papa-Nata front man Guy Jeans.

Here’s what happened: Dennis Dragon, he who inflicted the Surf Punks on an unsuspecting Southern California about 15 years ago, now has a record label called Reset Records out of Carpinteria.

Dragon and his partner, Ian Stewart, are a couple of guys with too much money and too much time on their hands. So they have been spending their evenings making audio- and videotapes of local bands playing in local venues to air on their cable TV music program, “Locals Only.”

The result was the Reset release in December of a three-CD set of 25 local bands doing their thing. Anyway, the Papa-Nata set, taped at Nicholby’s a few months back, came out so well that Reset offered the band a deal they couldn’t refuse.

“Those guys at Reset Records are for real,” said Jeans. “They told us they could do a CD with 10 songs on it. So I went to Carpinteria, listened to it and said, ‘Let’s do it.’ They paid for everything. For an unsigned band, this is a totally killer deal. I think we’re getting 2,000 CDs and we’ll sell them for 10 bucks and give Reset two bucks for each one. Those guys are totally cool to us.”

Papa-Nata, you may recall, is the descendant of one of Ventura County’s most popular bands, Lion I’s. After Lion I’s came the Trouser Trouts, next the Throbbin’ Willies, then Simple Phunkshun and now Papa-Nata--the common thread being Jeans, who writes and sings the songs. Papa-Nata without the hyphen is a Spanish word meaning “jester.”

The attrition rate for the band is no laughing matter, however. Besides changing names, they change members quite often. Except for drummer Robert Rachelli (an original member of Lion I’s), Papa-Nata has all new players since their first CD came out.

The lineup through this week includes Jeans on keyboards and vocals, Cat Bartik-Sweeney on flute and sax, Ramy Antoun on percussion, Rachelli on drums, Brian Clow on trombone, Dustin Salvenson on bass and Mike Hardron, who just joined two weeks ago, on guitar. So how is this band different than the old one?

“This band is motivated,” said Jeans. “This is the crew, the happening crew. We’ll be covering all of California soon--we’re going to Mammoth, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo and San Diego.

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The Reset guys, meanwhile, have tons of audio- and videotape, and a favorable article that just came out in Billboard. There could be more releases soon, according to Dragon.

“We’re talking to five other bands right now--bands like Fearless Vampire Killers and Relish--that can play a solid set and pull it off live.”

Nerf Herder and Snot, a pair of Santa Barbara bands on this compilation, have recently signed label deals. So, does this mean that industry types will be descending on our area with “Next Seattle” dreams in their heads?

“[Screw] Seattle,” said Dragon. “We’ve known how good it is around here for at least five years.”

The gig will start around 9, opening with a band called Your Moose. Ten bucks will get you in the door and a copy of the new CD. Nicholby’s is at 404 E. Main St., Ventura. Call 653-2320.

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Meanwhile, a few blocks away on the same night, there’s big fun brewing at the Ventura Theatre. For the first time, Raging Arb & the Redheads, the ultimate Ventura party band, is on the same bill as the Ska Daddyz, the ultimate Silver Strand party band. Also on the bill is Apocalypso, the band with the funny name.

This will be an all-ages show, so expect something close to a sellout and plenty of insanity in the mosh pit as the denizens of Silver Strand and Pierpont get up close and personal. The Ska Daddyz will play first, then beat it over to Bombay Bar and Grill, where they will finish out the evening.

According to guitarist Darren “Zorba” Cruz, Ska Daddyz is going to change its name. “People expect us to do all that classic ska stuff, and we don’t. Maybe we’ll just be the Daddyz, I don’t know.”

According to Cruz, the whoever-they-ares are just about locked in to a tour with the Presidents of the United States, who along with the Rugburns, the Ziggens, and the Uninvited share billing as the funniest bands around.

As for the Ska Daddyz, they are still looking for a new moniker. How about the Stranded? They’re from the Strand, get it? Maybe the Beer Daddyz? Anyway, Cruz says whoever comes up with the winning name will be duly recognized.

“The winner gets a puppy--I’ve got eight of them,” he said. Skaless Doggies? Whatever.

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Darn Good Reason to Go Up the Coast This Weekend: Brazil 2001 at Toes Tavern on Friday night. The self-proclaimed “Salt-water-damaged band from pre-nuclear Southern California” is a potent power trio that does ‘60s surf instrumentals beefed up for the ‘90s, plus lots of originals, such as “Should Have Known Better” and “Be an Idiot.”

The trio’s version of the old Pyramids’ classic “Penetration” is a certifiable speaker killer. Their debut album is “Fist Full of Sand.”

Fronted by Bernard Yin, Brazil 2001 used to be Samba Hell, a band that played at the Bermuda Triangle in the early ‘90s. That band had a couple of CDs and hung around for six years.

This band, named for “Brazil” and “2001: A Space Odyssey,” is about as Brazilian as a Twinkie, but the space part is certainly appropriate.

Toes Tavern is at 416 State St., Santa Barbara. Call 965-4655 to find out more.