Interview with Black Cat Entertainment: Valentine's Ball, Feb. 13, featuring Frantic Flintstones

Black Cat presents a Valentine's Ball this Saturday.

The highly-anticipated Second Annual Valentine’s Ball event this upcoming Saturday, February 13, 2010 is organized by Black Cat Entertainment, the same promoter that presents a variety of 80s, punk, psychobilly, and rockabilly events throughout Southern California, most notably the annual Hollywood Showdown (which has been going strong for ten years now).

I got a chance to talk to Black Cat’s owner, Rich, and it’s clear that he loves providing fun and entertaining events for all types of music fans. Here are some clips from the interview:

What’s the best part of running these events?
Rich: Definitely the satisfaction of putting on the event and seeing the fans involved, happy, and excited to see and meet the bands. I take thousands of photos, and it’s great to see everyone having such a good time. I make it fun by adding all the pre-show events and I try to keep it feeling like a party, a fun thing.
[Check the end of this article for all details on the main event, as well as the pre-show activities on Thursday and Friday]

What’s the most challenging aspect?
Rich: These days it’s harder to get people to go to shows. Before, it was automatic, but with today’s financial situation, people have to pick and choose what they’re going to spend their money on. It was the worst when gas went up, because if you had $20, it went to filling your tank. But I think things are picking up, and I really appreciate all the shop owners who sell our Valentine’s Ball tickets in their store. We all really try to help each other out.

Why did you pick the Fox Theater Pomona for this event?
Rich: It reopened last April after a major renovation, but it still has an original 1931 look. Bands who have played there since it reopened (like Marilyn Manson, NOFX, and Morrissey) have all said great things about it. It will be a fun, cool, new place to have this event.
[To learn more about the historic Fox Theater and its renovation, click here]

Image from www.foxpomona.com

Have you presented Frantic Flintstones before?
Rich: The last time was in 2007 at the Knitting Factory. It’s great to work with them and I thought it was definitely time to bring them back. Plus, the reunion of Mad Marge & the Stonecutters is a big draw this year.

The schedule lists a “Coffin Case” fashion show before Frantic Flintstones. What’s that?
Rich: Coffin Case is a company in Burbank that makes coffin-shaped cases for guitars and pedals with a goth/psychobilly twist. They bring in the female spokesmodels who do their photo shoots and set up a whole fashion show with a runway. It’s going to be great when that curtain pulls back and the crowd sees this! [Click here for photos and info on their MySpace page]

   Image from http://www.myspace.com/coffincase

What else do you like about these big annual events as opposed to your local events that happen weekly?
Rich: It’s great to get out-of-towners come into LA for the event. I provide hotel ideas for them and flights aren’t as expensive now as compared to summer rates. Having a larger crowd with bands and fans from all over the world adds a lot of excitement that we don’t normally get at the local shows.

Do you advertise this event as more of a rockabilly or psychobilly event?
Rich: I’m interested in mixing up all the styles. In the late 1990s I noticed that rockabilly, psychobilly, 80s, and punk fans would all show up at certain shows, but the shows themselves were billed as specifically one of those types of music. Even myself – what I like is built on the 1950s, but I grew up in the 80s, so I also like a mix of new wave and neo-rockabilly. So I like to have different types of music and get a diverse crowd. I don’t bill it as specifically “psychobilly” or “rockabilly.” It’s just the Valentine’s Ball and fans come if they like the bands.

How did you get involved in promotion?
Back in the 1990s, a friend told me to go see Big Sandy, so I went to this 50s rockabilly show in Pasadena and it was like going back in time. But the shows were small back then, and I wanted to find a big show with that atmosphere. There was no Viva Las Vegas back then, only little underground shows that you had to find out about (there was no MySpace back then either, obviously). Then I saw Reverend Horton Heat and the Cramps at the first Hootenanny in 1995, and what was it! That was back when the Hootenanny was much smaller than it is now. But it was still the first time that people from different cities met, and different car clubs got together. It was a unifying event with all these people finally in one spot. Right away, I knew I wanted to do promo and organize those types of fun events for a lot of different people.

What else should we know about the event this Saturday?
Rich: I made sure to put ALL the details on the custom-made flyer. You can still buy pre-sale tickets at one of the stores listed on the flyer or through PayPal. It’s an all ages event and starts early, at 6 PM. There will be DJs, food, bars, photographers, vendors… And most importantly, it’s going to have a really fun, party-like atmosphere so fans can just have a great time.

Click here to read a preview that highlights each of the bands playing this Saturday.

COMPLETE EVENT DETAILS:

- 2nd Annual Valentine’s Ball
Saturday, February 13, 2010
6:00 PM to 2:00 AM
The Fox Theater
301 S. Garey Blvd., Pomona, CA 91766
All Ages

Cost: $25 at the door, or buy your tickets presale for a discount (click here to get into on the PayPal site or click here to see the flyer for ticket sale locations at stores across Southern California)

Preliminary schedule (subject to change):
Dr. Bizarro’s Victims (San Fernando Valley) – 6:30 PM
Stellar Corpses (Santa Cruz) – 7:30 PM
Mad Marge & The Stonecutters (Victorville) – 9:30 PM
The Swampy’s (Belguim) – 10:45
Coffin Case Fashion Show – 11:30 PM
Frantic Flintstones (UK) – 12:15 PM
All-star rockin’DJ’s spinning the best rockabilly, psychobilly, 80’s flashbacks before, in-between and after the bands: Rockin’Vic (RumbleBar, RABvs80s), Satoki (Batcave), DJ Eser (Rockit, Got80s, Klub Metro), Rockin’ Psycho (Special Events), Devil-One (Psychotonic), DJ Von Badsville (Spikes)

PRE-BALL EVENTS:

- “Pre-Valentine’s Ball Party” at Psychotonic!
Meet and Greet the Frantic Flintstones and other Valentine’s Ball bands
Presented by Black Cat Entertainment
Thursday, February 11, 2010 at 10:00 PM – 2:00 AM
Bigfoot Lodge
3172 Los Feliz Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90039
21 and over
Free

-  In-store Appearance of bands playing the Valentine's Ball
Friday, February 12, 2010 at 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Red Zone in Panorama City Mall
8401 Van Nuys Blvd., Panorama City, CA 91402

If you go to this event, please come back and leave a comment or email me about your experience!