Three Days of Punk, Moshing and Fellowship : Pop Beat: ‘Summer Nationals’--six bands for $6 each night--is Epitaph Records’ way of saying thanks to its fans. It’s costing the label $100,000, but money isn’t the point.

Very soon thousands of people will gather for a festival of life-affirming music dedicated to fellowship and community, riding a wave of a youthful social movement.

No, it’s not the Woodstock reunion with its “two more days of peace and music.”

This is the Epitaph Records’ “Summer Nationals,” with three days of punk and moshing.

The sold-out event at the 3,500-capacity Hollywood Palladium starts Wednesday. Among its 18 acts are the L.A. independent label’s stalwarts Bad Religion, the Offspring, NOFX and Pennywise--considered the cream of the crop of a rising tide of young California punk bands.

But to hear the talk of Brett Gurewitz, the owner of Epitaph and guitarist for Bad Religion, it’s his show that sounds like the real heir to Woodstock.

“This is part of a deeper cultural phenomenon that crosses boundaries from music to a sort of liberalism to a style of dress to a lifestyle,” the lanky 32-year-old says.

A mosh pit may not look like a love-in, he says, but there are some similarities.

“Most of these kind of shows, even though there’s a pantomime of violence, it’s more of a ritualistic thing and everyone has fun,” he says. “When a kid falls down, another one helps him up. There’s a general feeling of fellowship.”

And it’s a growing fellowship. Epitaph’s steady growth since its founding in the early ‘80s has exploded in the last year. Bad Religion’s last album, “Recipe for Hate,” sold about 400,000 copies on the label, precipitating the band’s signing with Atlantic Records. This year, “Smash,” the latest album by Huntington Beach band the Offspring, has sold more than 500,000 copies and is currently No. 20 on the Billboard national albums chart.

“The style of music of these bands is very fast and catchy,” says Jim Lindberg, singer for Pennywise, which headlined its own sold-out show earlier this year at the 4,500-capacity Shrine Exposition Hall. “And there are a lot of adrenaline junkies out there, people who like surfing and skateboarding and like music that pumps them up.

“We try to put out a positive message in our music,” continues the 28-year-old Hermosa Beach native. “It’s a movement of people sick and tired of violent lyrics and stuff that’s all glorification of violence in our culture. We’re into things that are positive. There’s plenty of depression out there. We like to put out songs that reinforce autonomy and thinking for yourself. Instead of dragging things down, we like to boost them up.”

That philosophy is applauded by even some who have had concerns about past punk shows at the Palladium. Joe Shea, president of the Ivar Hill Community Assn., welcomes these events as vital to the cultural and economic health of the neighborhood.

“One of our concerns is that the Palladium continues to be a place where alternative music can find a home,” says Shea, who attributes past problems at the venue to shows being oversold and people being angered about not getting in.

One thing’s a definite contrast to Woodstock ‘94: the ticket price.

The tab for two days of Woodstock comes to $135 a pop. The “Summer Nationals” run just $6 a ticket per night. And while Woodstock has multinational corporations drooling at the potential profits from the show’s recording and television rights, the Epitaph show is actually costing the label close to $100,000.

“It’s a thank you to all the people who supported Epitaph over the years,” says Gurewitz. “The groups are grateful and I’m grateful and we want to give something back to the fans--six bands for $6 each night, T-shirts for $5 and super lights and sound.

“People might say, ‘Oh yeah, you’re getting a lot of publicity for it,’ but that’s not what this is for. I always dreamed of doing this kind of show.”

* The Epitaph “Summer Nationals” at the Hollywood Palladium starts Wednesday with a show featuring the Offspring, Down by Law, Claw Hammer, Ten Foot Pole and Red Aunts. Thursday’s concert includes Pennywise, Rancid, Total Chaos and the Other. Friday’s show features NOFX, RKL, SNFU, Gas Huffer and a special appearance by Bad Religion. All three shows are sold out.

L.A. POP DATE BOOK

Returning to Southern California with an Oct. 15 show at the Glen Helen Blockbuster Pavilion: Aerosmith. Tickets are on sale today. . . . A third Tori Amos date at the Pantages Theatre, Aug. 25, goes on sale Sunday. Aug. 23 and 24 shows are sold out. . . . On sale now is the Mekons at the Troubadour, Aug. 10. . . . Candlebox’s show Monday at the Palace has been canceled and a Wednesday date at the Ventura Theatre has been postponed. Refunds are available at point of purchase. . . . On sale today: Latin star Antonio Aguilar at the Blockbuster Pavilion, Sept. 13. . . . X will be at the House of Blues, Aug. 30 and 31. Also new on the club’s schedule are Hot Tuna, Sept. 1, and Mahlathini & the Mahotella Queens, Sept. 7. . . . On sale Friday is Peter Case at McCabe’s on Aug. 12.

O.C. POP DATE BOOK

An all-Orange County bill--No Doubt, Cadillac Tramps, Korn and Lidsville--comes to UC Irvine’s Crawford Hall Sept. 13. Tickets are on sale today. . . . New for the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano are Joe Louis Walker (Aug. 13), the Fabulous Thunderbirds (Aug. 20), Blue Oyster Cult (Sept. 10), Pato Banton (Sept. 11) and the Hoodoo Gurus (Sept. 29), all on sale now, and Barenaked Ladies (Sept. 12) and John Wesley Harding and Rob Wasserman (Sept. 13), on sale Tuesday.