The punks are all right

By Heidi Siegmund Cuda

April 21, 2005 12 AM PT

Special to The Times

Veteran promoter Darryl Potter says he’s doing it for the kids.

The South Bay rock music mainstay, along with partner Eddie Amago, has created a safe environment to see old- and new-school bands at the Rock It Cafe, a Hawthorne bar and restaurant with a skate-punk heart.

“Punk rock got really ugly in the South Bay from ’85 to ‘90,” Potter says. “It started to be about gangs and it wasn’t fun anymore. If you were a nobody, you got hassled, and if you were a somebody, you had to fight. The clubs all started shutting down.”

Potter, 42 and a father of five, says he’s on a mission. “I want to offer first-rate shows without any of the bad elements,” he says.

So far, so good. In two years of booking live shows at the Rock It, he’s had zero fights. Like many of the venues that host punk music, the Rock It is primarily a bar that evolved into a club.

“There’s a lot of neighborhood bars in Hawthorne, and we wanted to set ourselves apart,” says owner Ken Britton, who took over the Rock It from his father two years ago. “I started upgrading right away. We brought in our own PA, built out the stage, threw on some paint, and Darryl started bringing in great shows.”

The Rock It’s thrasher exterior contradicts the low-key, comfortable attitude you’ll find inside. Built in 1957, the Rock It is essentially a bar’s bar: three pool tables, darts, TVs and video games, and a variety of areas to chill. But once a band starts to play, it may as well be CBGB’s.

On the nights Potter and his Ignite Productions staff bring in performers, you’ll find everyone from such punk rock vets as the Dickies, Instigator and D.I. to newcomers like the STD’s and Love Equals Death. They also bring in psychobilly bands such as Death Harbor or rockabilly artists like Gambler’s Mark.

“What blew us away about the Rock It was that the crowd felt like a bunch of big kids hanging out,” says Dominic Davi, the bass player in Love Equals Death.

“Everyone watched us and paid attention, and that is rare for a bar show.”

“They take care of the bands, the sound has improved drastically, and the new stage is much bigger and better,” says Joe Vangelisti, the singer of Instigator. “A freak like me has room to get my groove on.”

Then there are the club’s finer features. For instance, notes patron Ali Ohta, who turned out for a recent Instigator show: “It’s the only bar where I’ve seen a Breathalyzer machine available for patrons so they know when to say ‘when.’ ”

The Rock It can switch it up to host all-ages shows because it’s also an eatery. Oh, and the Rock It makes a mean tri-tip sandwich, courtesy of its “Big Belly Bar-B-Que.”

Upcoming Ignite Productions shows include Channel 3 on April 23 and the original Nipdrivers, with Overkill, on April 30. In addition to Ignite shows, the Rock It hosts a Thursday ‘80s dance club, Vortex, a Sunday comedy night and a bimonthly disco rager called Burn.

But the true flavor of Rock It is on display on the full-throttle Ignite shows.

“Even the Hawthorne police officers come by and see everything’s cool,” Potter says. “It makes me feel so good because now it’s about the music again.”

Reach Heidi Siegmund at [email protected].

Rock It Cafe

Where: 14239 Hawthorne Blvd., Hawthorne

When: 6 a.m.-2 a.m. daily. Live music 9 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays.

Price: Free to $10, depending on entertainment. 21 and older, but some shows are all ages.

Info: (310) 676-1867 or www.rockitcafe.com.