Spring Brings Area Arts Scene Into Bloom : Bands: Canoga Park’s Club M and more than a dozen other Valley clubs agree that live music is back after a January lull, caused largely by the Gulf War<i> . : </i>

For about a week in mid-January, the Valley music scene practically came to a grinding halt. ‘It was a graveyard,” said Matt Smyrnos, the promoter for Club M in Canoga Park, about the first days of the Persian Gulf War. “Bands canceled. There wasn’t more than 10 people in the audience on most nights. Even I could hardly pull myself away from the TV.”

Since February, it’s been business as usual, said Smyrnos, who’s kicking Club M into its second year with performances six nights a week. In general, more than a dozen other Valley clubs agreed that live music is back on the beat after the January lull. There’s even new venues emerging such as the Glendale Grill and the Cobalt Cafe in Woodland Hills.

For rock music, Club M has become something of an underground haven for established talent. “We get a lot of celebrity players who either drop in to jam or bring their own musicians and test out fresh material.”

Professionals feel so comfortable at Club M, Smyrnos said, that someone like former Doors guitarist Robby Krieger or blues guitarist Coco Montoya “can feel free to try out their stuff.” The club promoter also said that, by summer, he hopes to expand the place so that it can accommodate as many as 400.

Krieger and his band are scheduled to perform at 11 p.m. Monday, he said.

Tuesdays, beginning this week, the club will host Bootleg Radio Night, which features performances by local, unsigned groups. The shows are recorded for later broadcast on several stations, including the Valley’s KWNK, 670-AM. The show begins at 9 p.m. Admission to the live performances ranges from $3 to $4.

Mondays, the rock ‘n’ roll of Steam Machine with Martin Gerschwitz and members of Private Life will be featured. Wednesdays will be dedicated to a super jam with about 10 bands playing sets of 20 to 25 minutes throughout the evening. The weekends will still be used to showcase hot bands.

Sets begin at 9 p.m. Covers vary from $3 to $7, depending on the artist. Call (818) 996-1395.

Here’s a peek at what some other Valley clubs have planned this spring.

* Cal State Northridge: Every Wednesday CSUN stages free noon concerts at the Student Union.

“This year, we’re offering more than just rock ‘n’ roll,” said David Ilan, the assistant director for Student Productions and Campus Entertainment. “Cultural awareness and diversity are the themes” of the Noontime Concert Series, he said.

Wednesday, the series presents From the Other Side, an instrumental jazz group that blends Ethiopian-Jewish prayer and party songs in big band arrangements.

“I’m not sure I can describe the sound,” said manager Hani Shafran about the musicians that formed 10 years ago in Israel. The diverse group--which includes Israelis, Germans and Americans--released a jazz vocal record in 1989 and has recorded an instrumental one that’s scheduled for U.S. distribution this summer.

“We also do Yemenite rhythms and melodies that have never been heard by the American public prior to our versions and recordings. It’s a unique weaving of the East and the West,” Shafran said.

The Noontime Concert Series continues through May 8. Call (818) 885-2966.

* Cobalt Cafe: Maia Wright opened this Woodland Hills coffeehouse in January. An intimate setting with tables and sofas, the room is perfect for acoustic performers, poetry and spoken-work readings.

“There’s so many of these places on the Westside,” Wright, a resident of Woodland Hills, said. “I want to offer a broad range of talent and styles for people on this side of the hill as well as a place where artists can really express themselves.”

Fridays and Saturdays, Cobalt will feature acoustic jazz or folk music. Mondays are reserved for Open Mike Night, Tuesdays for poetry. Thursdays are an acoustic jam night.

Sets begin at 8 p.m. There’s no age limit since the cafe serves nonalcoholic beverages. Admission is free. Call (818) 348-3789.

* The Glendale Grill: The restaurant has been open 10 years but live jazz wasn’t incorporated until April.

“This is for a particular type of jazz fan,” manager Gail Santora said of the Glendale nightclub. “No fusion. No big bands. Just real straight-ahead stuff.”

Sets run from 8 p.m. to midnight Thursdays through Saturdays. Some regulars include The Pete Jolly Trio, Wally Stryk and saxophonist Benn Clatworthy. If the nights continue to draw large audiences, the club plans to add additional days to the lineup. There is no cover or drink minimum. Call (818) 241-1187.

* FM Station: Now in its 20th year, the North Hollywood club is something of a rock institution.

“The club hit pay dirt with its Pure Rock Search ’90. We’re definitely doing it again,” said booking agent Susette Andres about the Tuesday night battle of the bands that begins again in June. The finals, set for August, will be recorded and released as a live album at a later date. Some of last year’s finalists in the club’s first competition included Asphalt Ballet, Mozart and Mogg. Admission is $5-$6.

The Policeman’s Ball is another successful holdover from 1990, Andres said. The Wednesday night event, cooked up and hosted by Janie Lane of Warrant and music promoter Howie H., has featured surprise performances by Flock of Seagulls, Poison, Eddie Money and members of Warrant, among others. More of the same is planned. Although the lineup is never publicly announced in advance, sometimes there are subtle clues about who’s playing that night on the marquee, she said.

Admission varies, depending on the guest. The box office opens at 8:30 p.m. Call (818) 769-2220.

* The Palomino: Right up the street on Lankershim, and equally as famous, is this other North Hollywood spot that consistently offers a range of rock, blues, country and pop seven nights a week. Only one night--Tuesday--has a theme: the wildly popular Barn Dance.

Mack said that Rose Maddox, considered the “Queen of California Country Music,” plays April 9. The singer is known for introducing rockabilly in the 1940s. Her 1964 duet with Buck Owens, “Mental Cruelty,” won Country Record of the Year.

Another rockabilly artist, Johnny Powers, will be featured April 16. The legendary singer was signed in the 1950s by Sun Records, the label that first recorded Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis. Powers hasn’t appeared in Los Angeles for about 15 years.

Music begins at 9 p.m. Admission is always free. Call (818) 764-4010.