Touring over a new Leif

Paul Saitowitz

On Halloween, he holiday that lets adults parade around in a world of

fantasy, where they can pretend to be anything from rock stars to

movie stars, a man who has at times qualified as both will grace La

Cave in Costa Mesa.

Yes, the curly, blond locks -- or what is left of them (it’s hard

to tell with the ever-present bandanna) -- of Leif Garrett will be at

the cavernous subterranean club on 17th Street and Irvine Avenue to

be one of the judges in a costume contest Saturday night.

Garrett maintains a career as an “entertainer,” and since coming

on the scene with his self-titled album at 14, he has managed to

steadily find work in “the business” for the past three decades.

A young, excitable Garrett first gained prominence as a teen idol

in the 1970s, when he recorded the disco hit “I Was Made For Dancing”

-- a song that set many teenage girls’ hearts aflutter and launched a

television and movie career. He went on to guest star in several TV

shows throughout the ‘80s and made his way to the big screen in such

schlock masterpieces as “Kid Vengeance” and “Diamante Lobo.”

A series of disappointments led to forays into drugs and alcohol,

but the dark period made for excellent drama. Garrett became a staple

on VH1 -- he had his own “Behind the Music” (supposedly, his episode

was the only one that did not end on a happy note) -- and became

known to a new generation for his struggles. He even hosted an

episode of “VH1’s Eight-Track Flashback.”

Now clean and sober, the one-time pop idol is focused on what gave

him his start in the first place -- making music.

“I’ve been writing a lot and have been lucky enough to have some

really quality musicians play with me,” the 42-year-old Garrett said.

One of those musicians is Dave Navarro of seminal Los Angeles band

Jane’s Addiction. Another is one-time Alice in Chains guitarist Jerry

Cantrell.

Garrett met Navarro while the two were tangled in their chemically

dependent days, but he has remained close to the guitarist since

cleaning up.

“We’ve been through a lot together, and to me there is no better

guitar player out there,” Garrett said. “I actually asked him to play

piano on a cover I did of ‘Lola’ [by the Kinks], because everyone

wants him to play guitar, and I wanted to do something different.”

He’s also been playing live, most recently at the Wiltern Theatre

in Los Angeles for the DKNY Vanity Fair Breast Cancer Benefit, where

he performed Iggy Pop’s “I Wanna Be Your Dog” with Camp Freddy --

Navarro’s latest project along with former Jane’s Addiction drummer

Stephen Perkins. He’s also gone on a few short tours of the East

Coast.

“I love getting out there playing live, but at this point, I’m

focused on getting my songs together and shopping them around to a

label,” he said.

Like any child celebrity who has been through battles with fame

and addiction, Garrett is in the midst of working on a book about his

life. He isn’t sure when it will be released. At this point, the best

way to find out will be to talk to him at La Cave on Saturday night.

Don’t forget to wear a costume.