Old Timers, New Beginnings

Two influential mainstays of L.A.’s rock underground are making fresh starts. Steve Wynn has broken up the Dream Syndicate in favor of solo activities, while Chris D.--former frontman of the Flesheaters and Divine Horsemen--has just released the debut album of his new group, Stone by Stone.

“It’s exciting, but also frightening,” said Wynn, who despite his lengthy track record is still only 29.

“That’s good, though. It’s something I respond to. This was something I was thinking about doing for the last several years, but the Dream Syndicate was real safe for me. I was keeping the name for safety, but from the time I’ve been in music it was never meant to be safe. Using it for safety was going against the whole point.”

Wynn expects his solo debut, for which he is currently shopping labels and producers, will reflect considerable change in attitude and cultural climate.

“It was a lot easier to be shocking and radical seven or eight years ago,” he said. “I think the pose and pretense was almost as important as the music then. Now it’s more audacious to be naked and human and say something without hedging your bets.”

Dream Syndicate fans can get one last memento: Restless has just released “Live at Raji’s,” a strong live collection recorded last year at the Hollywood club by former Neil Young producer Elliot Mazer.

For Chris D., 36, Stone by Stone not only is the name of his new band, but a description of the process by which he is rebuilding his multifaceted career. He’s been relatively dormant since the unexpected 1987 breakup of Divine Horsemen, which was precipitated by a split with his wife and musical partner, Julie Christensen.

“For the first year after Julie and I split, I kind of crawled into a hole,” he said.

Now, he has resumed not only his musical activities with the album “I Pass for Human,” but also his pursuits in the literary and acting fields. “Double Snake Bourbon,” a book of poetry and lyrics, is set for publication by Illiterati Press in the fall, and he’s shopping for publishers for two completed novels.

As for screen activity, D., who had a featured bad-guy part in the 1987 Kevin Costner spy thriller “No Way Out” and starred in “Border Radio,” will star in “Lines,” a short film based on a Joe Frank radio monologue.

“As far as the music goes, I could continue indefinitely on a cult level, getting bands together and going on the road,” he said. “But I would always come back to not having an apartment or having income that would help me out. At this point, do I want to do that when I have a desire for security and a desire to have a family?”

CLUB COURT: A judge’s preliminary decision in the fight over ownership of the Anticlub’s name has left the conflict unresolved. Both Helen Guttman, who owns the Melrose Avenue club that has been doing business as the Anticlub since 1979, and the partnership of Russell Jessum, Jack Marquette and Jim Van Tyne, which claims to have used the name as early as 1977 before bringing it to Guttman’s facility, are allowed to use the name.

However, in a recent press release, Jessum, Marquette and Van Tyne in essence relinquished the name, stating that “we no longer wish to use a name that has . . . come to represent ‘pay-to-play’ bookings and rude management.”

Responding to that, Guttman told L.A. Beat that “Russell was like one of my kids” when he began booking shows at her club.

According to Marquette, who now books Al’s Bar, an appeal is possible, but not likely.

“It’s a dead issue at this point,” he said. “Most people around town know the Anticlub isn’t what it was before.”

HECK NAY, WE WON’T PAY: Another club has come out against the pay-to-play policy that is stifling the local rock scene, as the Central has instituted a regular “five bands for five bucks” show for Sundays, with local hard-rock acts not having to put up a playing fee. The events are being run by Roy McMillan’s Dynamic Productions, a concert and management company with a 25-year history that includes early projects by Van Halen and Quiet Riot. Tonight’slineup includes the Hardtops, the Roger Wynfield Band, Feeliacs and Alliance.

Also on the pay-to-play front, the Rockers Against Pay to Play (RAPP) organization is planning a boycott and picketing of pay-to-play clubs the first weekend in September.

BUZZWORDS: Dramarama has signed with Chameleon Records. “Stuck in Wonderamaland,” the band’s follow-up to 1987’s KROQ fave “Box Office Bomb,” is due out next month. Along with a host of new original songs, the band pays tribute to idol Ian Hunter with a version of Mott the Hoople’s “I Wish I Was Your Mother.” That song is also the B-side of the band’s current European single of “Anything Anything,” drawn from the score of “A Nightmare on Elm Street, 4” (or “Le Cauchemar de Freddy,” as it says on the French record sleeve). . . .

David Swanson--who fronted the Pop, one of L.A.’s strongest bands from the skinny-tie era--has signed to RCA, with a solo album in the works. . . .

The 7th Day club is floating again after a brief association with the 8121 club. The organization is sponsoring a reading by author Hubert Selby Jr. and poet Iris Berry tonight at the Shamrock Cafe, 4600 Hollywood Blvd., from 6 to 9 p.m. . . .

Harvey & the Lifers have released an eight-song cassette titled “Not Fading Away.” The band will be at the Gaslight in Hollywood on Aug. 11 and at the Sunset in Sierra Madre on Aug. 17. . . .