POP MUSIC : Club Finds Free Concerts Can Produce Silver Lining

Last Sunday night’s concert by heavy-metal siren Fiona brought more than 400 people to the Bacchanal in Kearny Mesa, yet box-office revenues were zip.

The same thing happened last month with the Del Fuegos, who drew a standing-room-only crowd but didn’t sell a single ticket.

The explanation, of course, is that both concerts were free. The latest in a series of free concerts showcasing promising national talent, produced by the Bacchanal in conjunction with local radio stations.

“The whole free-concert thing is a cooperative effort between the artists, the record companies, radio stations and the club,” said Bacchanal co-owner Jeff Gaulton. “Everybody benefits: the artists get more exposure, the record companies sell more records and the radio stations get credit for distributing the tickets, for giving something away to their listeners.”

And what’s in it for the Bacchanal? A chance to curry favor with agencies, build good will among patrons, and maybe even make a little money, from the bar.

“You weigh the cost of each show versus something that particular agency will give you that’s a winner,” Gaulton said. “For instance, I spent the money on Fiona as a favor to her agency, hoping that, in return, they’ll give me some hot artist they also represent, like Ted Nugent or Steve Stevens, that I know I can make money on.

“Secondly, if you tease consumers with a great show by a great new artist that costs them nothing to attend, they’re likely to come back and support you on a show that isn’t free.

“And, if you get enough people in here, you’re probably going to make more money, just from the bar, than you would if you’d charge for tickets and get a poor turnout.”

The Bacchanal has been producing occasional free concerts for nearly three years, Gaulton said, but only recently has he decided to do them on a monthly basis.

“Three years ago, we made a commitment to do as many free concerts as we could,” Gaulton said. “The reason we’re doing more of them now is that we’re doing more concerts, period. As the Bacchanal has progressed into a major concert venue, with as many as 25 shows a month, so has our ability to do free shows.”

Hot on the heels of “The Stars Come Out For Christmas,” a compilation album of Christmas songs by nearly 20 big-name pop stars, which is expected to raise as much as $200,000 for the Children’s Hospital and Health Center in San Diego, comes another locally produced benefit album.

“Best of Diamond in the Morning,” released by KSON-AM/FM (1240/97.3), is a benefit for the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, one of the world’s foremost institutions for research on catastrophic childhood diseases. The cassette-only album features song parodies and comedy bits from the local country radio combo’s “Diamond in the Morning” show and costs $10. Copies are on sale, beginning today, at the KSON studios (1615 Murray Canyon Road, Suite 710, in Mission Valley) and at all upcoming KSON-sponsored events and club nights.

“The album is an outgrowth of our annual radiothon for St. Jude,” said KSON promotions director Steve Sapp. “It’s another way to raise money for the hospital, and it’s an idea that pretty much came to us through listener requests.

“The Diamond show is constantly fielding phone calls from people inquiring as to where they can pick up copies of the parody songs they play on the air. And until now, there’s been no place.”

KSON got involved in the project after being approached by the hospital to do the radiothon.

Among the album’s 14 song parodies, produced by the Pro Media syndicate and performed by the make-believe “Bluejean Brothers,” are takeoffs on such familiar country standards as Crystal Gayle’s “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” (“Donuts and Some Brownies Too”), Johnny Cash’s “I Walk the Line” (“Because I’m Buying, I Stand in Line”), and Alabama’s “Eighteen Wheels” (“Eighteen Chins”).

LINER NOTES: “Bowling In Paris,” the first album in nine years by expatriate San Diego singer-songwriter Stephen Bishop, is getting an extra promotional push from Atlantic Records. Predicting that the album will soon crack the national charts, the label has prepared a question-and-answer interview disc, appropriately titled “Bish Is Back,” and is sending copies to radio programmers throughout the country. . . .

Opening for local roots rockers the Beat Farmers, New Year’s Eve at the Bacchanal, will be Three Heavy Geniuses, a temporary liaison between Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper and guitarist Chris Davies. Davies has been a mainstay of the San Diego original- music scene since the late 1970s, when he and Beat Farmer Country Dick Montana (nee Dan McLain) played together in local punk-rock progenitors the Penetrators. . . .

The Dirty Dozen Brass Band will return to the Belly Up Tavern on Dec. 28, this time without Dr. John, with whom they shared the bill last June. . . .

Tickets have just gone on sale for Todd Rundgren’s Jan. 18 concert at the California Theater downtown. The show will feature the Runt with a 13-piece band, the biggest he’s ever taken on the road. . . .

And speaking of the “The Stars Come Out for Christmas,” the album was within 900 cassettes Monday night of being a sell-out. The original run was 22,000. . . .

Best concert bets for the coming week: ‘New Music Night,’ featuring Romy Kaye and the Swingin’ Gates, the Bedbreakers, and the Hooligans, tonight at the Belly Up Tavern; John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers with Jimmy Wood and the Immortals, Thursday at the Belly Up Tavern; and National People’s Gang, the Holy Love Snakes, and No Exit, Friday at the Spirit in Bay Park.