Big Fish in Industry Pond Likes What He Sees in S.D.

Through repetition, the refrain has become a truism: Because there is no thriving music scene here, San Diego musicians must move to Los Angeles if they hope to be discovered. One L.A.-based music biz notable, however, isn’t singing along.

Over several decades, Herb Cohen has managed or represented some of the biggest names in popular music while establishing a reputation as one of the industry’s shrewdest lawyer-brokers. Recently, though, Cohen has been quietly trolling the local waters for talent, and if his dossier is any indication, these fishing expeditions could eventually pay major dividends not only for Cohen and his clients, but, reflectively, for a San Diego scene in need of a catalytic jolt.

At this writing, Cohen and his sometime-associate Bob Duffy are involved in the careers of locals Mark DeCerbo (formerly of Four Eyes), Buddy Blue (the Beat Farmers, the Jacks), Edward Smith (Ethnic Imbalance), Mike Keneally (Drop Control) and Earl Thomas. The business duo’s level of commitment ranges from outright management to coordination of recording, publishing or distribution contracts, from album production to securing studio session work. But while it might vary from artist to artist, Cohen’s involvement practically guarantees greater exposure for all concerned.

In many ways, Cohen doesn’t cut the figure of the hard-bitten industry wheeler-dealer; he doesn’t boast a “power” haircut, he favors casual, loose-fitting attire, and he keeps a low profile abetted by a disarmingly unassuming demeanor. But his palatial spread in the Hollywood Hills and his track record as a businessman speak of an acumen that is not so modest. Cohen’s client roster has included Linda Ronstadt, Frank Zappa, Tom Waits, Alice Cooper and Captain Beefheart. Recently, Cohen engineered the record deal that he hopes will revive Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ moribund recording career.

In a phone conversation last week, Cohen discussed his seemingly sudden interest in San Diego music, and characteristically tried to downplay its significance.

“I never intended to ‘mine’ the San Diego music scene,” he said. “But Bob Duffy got me interested in Mark (DeCerbo), and we came to know about these other musicians, and one thing led to another. What I discovered is that there are a lot of bands down there who are every bit as good as any in L.A.”

Cohen has immediate plans for several of his San Diego charges. Blue’s solo debut, “Guttersnipes ‘N’ Zealots,” will be released on the Rhino label March 3, and Cohen feels that DeCerbo and Thomas can have albums released on major labels as early as this spring. (Some material from Thomas’ “I Sing the Blues,” an independently produced album released locally last summer, will be included on the new album.)

But as heartening as such news should be for area aspirants, Cohen cautions against unrealistic expectations.

“San Diego no longer is culturally dependent on L.A.--it has its own identity as a major city,” he said. “But it also offers some of the advantages of a small town; there’s probably more opportunity for an artist to grow and develop in San Diego than in cosmopolitan cities like L.A. and New York. Sure, sometimes bands get in a rut and can’t bring themselves to leave home. But others leave too soon. It’s important for musicians to remember that L.A. represents the end of the music industry, not the beginning.”

While they await their respective fates in the Big Time, Cohen’s San Diego clients are anything but idle. Blue has been performing his new material locally since November; DeCerbo can be seen and heard gigging with Bob Tedde in the band Rockola, and Thomas and his Blues Ambassadors have become a fixture on the local club scene. (They’ll perform a special two-day engagement at Elario’s on March 4 and 5.) Keneally, who played guitar and-or keyboards on Blue’s, DeCerbo’s and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ upcoming releases, will begin touring in Dweezil Zappa’s band in late February.

The battle over music censorship has made national figures of such performers as 2 Live Crew’s Luther Campbell, but, as in all wars, the casualties usually are lesser-known individuals who disappear without ceremony. For a time, it seemed that one peripheral victim of the ongoing conflict over artistic expression was 91X radio personality and local-music champion Marco Collins.

On Sunday, Oct. 21, Collins was hosting the late-night program “Listen to This” when he decided to play a track from the Geto Boys’ controversial rap album without first screening the selection for potentially objectionable material. The uproar that resulted from the airing prompted 91X management to suspend Collins for a month, and even after his return, Collins nursed a psychological bruise.

Last month, Collins pre-taped his final show for 91X, which aired Jan. 28. By that time, he was already at his new job as West Coast alternative promotions manager for Torrance-based Relativity Records. Ironically, his job description includes calling on radio stations such as 91X to push the sort of non-mainstream, alternative-rock acts favored by college radio stations. It’s an assignment close to his heart.

But if he has rebounded splendidly from his setback, both Collins and the San Diego music scene are feeling the effects of his departure.

For three years, Collins was the most audible booster of local music. As the deejay-host of his own late-night “Loudspeaker” show on 91X (a spin-off of “Listen to This”), Collins auditioned tapes from dozens of San Diego artists and played many of them on the air. By doing so, he hoped to foster interest in local music and to stimulate a sense of community among area performers who otherwise had no forum. In the process, Collins became something of an underground celebrity and a ubiquitous presence on the local club and concert circuit. But all that positive momentum came thudding to an ignominious halt on that Sunday night in October.

“The Geto Boys show got the biggest response in 91X’s history,” recalled the 25-year-old Collins last week from his desk at Relativity. “Unfortunately, it was mostly negative.”

The tune in question, “Gangster of Love,” uses the Steve Miller song “Space Cowboy” as a foundation for an X-rated brand of sexual boasting that would embarrass Andrew Dice Clay. Beginning at 8 o’clock the morning after the show aired, 91X’s switchboard lit up with complaints. Some of the more organized callers threatened to play a tape of Collins’ show for the station’s sponsors if something wasn’t done. Something was done.

Although that fiasco is behind him, Collins has his regrets. “I’m kinda bummed that I left just as the San Diego scene was beginning to heat up,” he said.

GRACE NOTES: Guitarist Mick Taylor failed to establish his own musical identity after leaving the Rolling Stones, but his solo style, newly acquired vocal authority and reverent covers of blues and rock standards make him worth seeing when he’s paired with the James Harman Band tonight, at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach. . . .

Those of you who have complained about the scarcity of good Latvian bluegrass pickers will be happy to know that recent Soviet emigre Andy Marder will perform at Choice’s restaurant on North Torrey Pines Road this Friday. . . .

Queen Ida and the Bon Temps Zydeco Band promise to heat up the UCSD Price Center Ballroom on Saturday.