It’s All Happening!

On ruthless Web-rag Buddyhead.com,TravisKellerand AaronNorthskewer everyone from FredDurstto Evanescenceto the chubby guy from MyChemicalRomance(easy targets, some might say), so it was a bit surprising when the guys put themselves on the chopping block a few months ago as promoters of their own weekly rock club. You had to wonder: If it sucked, would they talk smack about themselves? Well, DiveBombdidn’t suck, but it still crashed and burned. The club featured some great local noise-rock and DJs spinning thrashin’ obscurities every Wednesday at TheKnittingFactory,but now that North, best known as former guitarist for punk schlockers TheIcarusLine,has joined NineInchNails,it looks like the party is living up to its name. Last Wednesday (4/20, dude!), North’s going-away bash featured a totally unironic grunge night with PennyRoyaland DirtyFrank(Nirvana and PearlJamcopycats, respectively); Thursday the 28th, the night’s final blast features Frausdotsonstage and metal he-man look-alike Thorfrom Canada on the decks. Crappy or happy ending . . . you decide. L.A. boys RunRunRundidn’t escape the wrath of Buddyhead, who had nothing nice to say about their cover of MazzyStar’s“Fade Into You” on the site. But if B-Head had seen these fellas live, it might have been a different story. We saw RRR during their monthlong residency at ClubMoscowat Boardners,and their atmospheric rock seemed to have plenty of appeal for the long-banged babes who frequent the spot. (And we do mean babes.) Moscow’s promoter KeithWilsonfirst got into the nightlife biz with Club82(formerly at the Echo,now at LittlePedro’s)— named for the year he and his pals were born! To put it into context, they were fresh outta the oven when the Go-Gos’ “We Got the Beat” and Hall and Oates’ “Maneater” were hits. Speaking of H&O, they’re suddenly back on everyone’s radar: First they were on AmericanIdol,then SteveJonesgushed over the duo when they guested on Jonesy’sJukebox,and just last week we heard DJ JustinSterlingrock the floor with “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)” during Warhol Factory night at Radioat StarShoes.Uh, no can do is right. [Speak foryourself,lady!—ed.]Those who actually admit to watching Idolmay have seen the cameras focus on a flamboyant blonde in the audience last week after longhaired Greek god ConstantineMaroulis’(who got voted out this week) performance. You read it here first: It was local artist/scene chick GiddlePartridge,who attended the taping with Maroulis’ older brother, AthanMaroulis— singer of now-defunct gloom-industrial sensations SpahnRanchand head of NYC indie label SepiatoneRecords.After the taping, Partridge took the bros to her favorite eatery, Canter’sdeli, and nearly caused a riot on Fairfax, as fans and freaks flocked around their table — the very one where RodneyBingenheimereats nightly. The Mayor of Sunset Strip wasn’t there at the time, but if he had been, we wonder if he and Maroulis might have discussed the great injustice of the week: RyanSeacrest’sstar on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Now that his bio-flick is on heavy cable rotation, everyone knows Bingenheimer is the more deserving jock, and some enterprising fans are actually doing something about it. Check out www.rodneyonthewalk.comto find out how you can help raise dough (it costs 15 grand!) and spread the word. By the way, in addition to his late-Sunday-night shift, Rodney’s back on KROQ when we can all actually hear him: every day around 12:45 p.m. doing a short but sweet new-music segment called FlashForward.And that’s “what’s happening.”