by Keavin Wiggins

Happenin' Harry (real name Marc Harrison) promotes shows at the club every Sunday (Happenin' Harry's Hellhole) and Wednesday nights (Happenin' Harry's HoLLyWEirD) and also occasional one off shows on other nights and sometimes at other venues. These shows have become one of Hollywood's coolest happenin's (pardon the pun). 

As I discovered that first night seeing one of Happenin' Harry's shows he offers something rather unique in this day and age where most promoters and club booking agents tend to book bands that fit whatever genre is popular at the moment. Happenin' Harry on the other hand, books bands across the full musical spectrum. It's not unusual to find a hard rock band followed by a folksy singer songwriter and then a punk band performs followed by a soul group. As schizophrenic as it sounds, it works beautifully. The crowds at the shows all seem to have a great time and enjoy all the artists' performances. 

Happenin' Harry was born and raised in Chicago and made the trek out west at the age of 19. After a year and a half of hard core partying he decided it was time to clean up his act and get started on making his presence known in Hollywood music circles. He started out by helping out a friend's dad promote shows at a club he owned. It was really back in those days that Happenin' Harry's Hellhole was born. In under a year Harry helped turn the club around, it went from a languishing spot on the strip to a much buzzed about club with celebrities dropping in every night because it was the "place to be". The owner of the club (it was called the Central at the time) had been trying to unload the place for years but there were no takers. After Harry built up the venue's reputation Johnny Depp took an interest, bought the club and renamed it The Viper Room. The rest as they say is history.

Having established himself as an effective promoter Harry branched out, hosting Happenin' Harry's Hellhole nights and other promotions at other Hollywood area clubs including The Troubadour, The Roxy, On The Rox, Goodies, FM Station and he brought live music to The Thai Ice Cafe', a Thai food restaurant that became for a time under Harry's promotion one of the hottest music spots on Hollywood Blvd. 

Harry was a renegade from the start, he butted heads with other Hollywood promoters because he refused to play the "pay to play" game. "Pay to play" was a common practice on the Hollywood strip back in the 80's and early 90's. Bands would actually have to pay the promoter to get booked into the clubs, the promoters reasoned that the bands would play harder and promote the shows better if they had a financial stake in bring people in. The idea was that the band had to sell a certain amount of tickets or pay out of their pocket for the gigs. 

Harry not only didn't buy this concept he took it even further. He remembers back to those days in a recent interview at AceFrehley.com, "...a lot of promoters were hating the fact that I would supply the gear for the bands, pay for the fliers, and give bands a cut of the door if they were a drawing act.  Some even say that I was the one responsible for abolishing �pay to play' in Hollywood," said Harry in the interview. "Many promoters back then aren't around anymore because many bands would stop playing for the promoters that were lining their pockets with the bands' hard earned money.  Maybe I'm crazy, but I don't think it's right to have bands come up with $500 to play a show at any venue...?  What the hell is that?  I do admit, many bands don't work very hard when there isn't a lot at risk. Sometimes I even have to ask my own friends....'what the hell is so hard about getting 25 people down for a show at the damn club...?'  Not promoting "pay to play" does have it's disadvantages financially, but if a band doesn't draw....then they get the s***ty slots, settled.  I have given many chances to many bands, sometimes too many.  But, if I believe a certain act is worth building, then I'll stand behind them!" 

Harry's reputation as a straight shooting promoter who isn't above calling an artist with an ego on their "s***" has enabled him to become one of the most repected promoters in Los Angeles, and the music fans that frequent Harry's shows know they will get what they paid for. 

After giving it it a year off, Harry brought  "Happenin' Harry's Hellhole" back to life about 11 months ago at the Cat Club and it has quickly grown into a Hollywood institution once again. Each Sunday people pack the Cat Club to watch four or five performances ranging from talented local acts to major label artists and special appearances by established stars. After the booked artists have performed the audience gets a special treat in the form of Happenin' Harry & The Haptones, a jam band comprised of a whose who of music featuring Happenin' Harry on lead vocals belting out classic rock and metal tunes from Guns N' Roses, AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Aerosmith, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, The Rolling Stones and if they are in a rare mood Donna Summer. Harry can hold his own on vocals, belting out powerful versions of Bon Scott, Steven Tyler, Ian Gillan and Axl Rose but it's the unpredictability of who will play with him that makes the Haptone's such a cool band to catch each week. Harry has been known to duet with Teen Idol Leif Garrett, Beautiful Creatures & Bang Tango's Joe Leste', and W. Earl Brown--an actor and singer best know for his part as Warren, Cameron Diaz's retarded brother ("franks and Beans!") in Something About Mary as well as playing Meatloaf in the VH1 Meatloaf movie. I didn't witness Harry's duet with W. Earl Brown but I have been told that  Brown "sings awesome!" 
 

The "All Star Jam" make up of the Haptone's changes from week to week and has featured members as diverse as Zakk Wylde, Jeff Pilson (Dokken), Greg D'Angelo (White Lion), James Lomenzo (David Lee Roth Band & White Lion), Jason Bonham, Jeff Scott Soto (Yngwie Malmsteen & Talisman), Darrel Dwarf (The Killer Dwarves), Mickey Dee (Motorhead), Phil Campbell (Motorhead), Vik Foxx (Enuff Z'Nuff & Vince Niel Band), Eric Stacy (Faster Pussycat) Tracii Gunns (L.A. Guns), Philip Bynoe (Steve Vai Band), James Bradley Jr. (Crazy Town & Mary's Danish), Greg Bissonette (David Lee Roth Band), Ray Luzier (David Lee Roth Band & The Nixons), Russ Parrish (Fight & Danger Kitty), Jeff Duncan (Armored Saint), Scott Shriner (Weezer), Derek Frigo (Enuff Z'Nuff), Chip Z'Nuff (Enuff Z'Nuff), Melle Vasquez (Cyndi Lauper Band), Nigel Mogg (The London Quireboys), Pete Way (UFO), Scott Warren  (Warrant, Dio & Berlin), Donald Rutherford (The Dizzy F***in' Reed Band), Ty Longly (Samantha 7 & Great White), Mark Kendal (Great White), Lizzy Valentine (D'Molls), Paul Gilbert (Mr. Big), Billy Sheehan, CC Deville, Anthony Focx  (Beautiful Creatures) plus most Sundays you can kind Actor Zack Thorne (90210, Party of Five, The Heights, VH1's Meatloaf movie) sitting in with the band jamming with the best of them. It's a great way to end an evening of cool music and Harry makes you wonder if Bon Scott really did die or if he is living incognito in Hollywood going by the name Happenin' Harry. 

A few months back Happenin' Harry launched his "Happenin' Harry's HoLLYWEirD" on Wednesday nights at the Cat Club.  These  shows also feature three to five performers and have quickly become yet another great Happenin' Harry productions, with people filling the Cat Club each week to see what Harry "has up his sleeve". 

So far I have been on hand to see Donnie Vie perform three times for Happenin' Harry sponsored shows, which is a rarity for L.A. area Enuff Z'nuff fans who are lucky if Donnie and his Enuff Z'nuff bandmates make it to California once every 18 months. I've also seen some rising stars like Jenn Grinels (an amazing solo artists who is one of the most powerful female singers I've seen in years),  Anthony Miller (a great singer songwriter), Riff Rockers (a kick ass group of drunkin punks with a singer who sounds like Jim Morrison. Because of this my buddy Ron nicknamed the group "Punk Morrison") and Rodney Branigan.  Rodney one of the most amazing performers I have ever seen, during his performance he plays two guitars, a bass drum, tambourine and harmonica all at the same time! It's not just a gimmick as he writes some incredible music, delivered with his soulful vocals that are reminiscent of a male Tracy Chapman. Branigan is a skilled performer with a great sense of humor and music that captivates the audience. You really have to see him play with your own eyes to believe it. His recent stop in Hollywood playing two nights at Happenin' Harry sponsored events has created a buzz and it looks like a major label bidding war in the works. 

This series is meant to cover "music scenes" so the reader might have expected an article on the whole Hollywood music scene but as you can see Happenin' Harry has created a scene all his own. I readily admit, Happenin' Harry shows have become somewhat of an addiction, you can go check out a variety of great musical performances twice a week that cover the whole range of musical styles and see rare performances of artists you won't find anywhere else, plus see some of the coolest jam bands in existence. You never know who is going to show up in the audience either, whether it's Scott or Frankie from Anthrax or members of L.A. Guns, Guns N' Roses, Slayer or the Nixons.

So there you have it, if you're a music junky and ever find yourself anywhere near Hollywood on a Sunday or Wednesday night you owe it to yourself to check out on one of the coolest scenes happenin' in music today. 

Read the AceFrehley.com interview with Happenin' Harry

Check out live photos of Happenin' Harry and Haptones performing live at Las Vegas' PinkE's Nightclub

Sign up for the Happenin' Harry newsletter to get weekly updates on Happenin' Harry's Hellhole and HollyWEird shows, special performances and news. (click this link to email Harry and ask him to add you to the mailing list.) Bands wishing to book shows with Harry can use this email address as well.

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