The Casbah has achieved an even higher national profile recently with MTV News's repeated airing of a puffy feature on rising young pop-rock belter Alanis "You Oughta Know" Morissette, filmed at the Middletown-club in July. Between live shots of the petite Canadian wailing her "Buzz Bin" hit against the Casbah's familiar black upholstered stage backdrop, there are glowing testimonials from fans outside (one beachy-lookin' dude: "She expresses her emotions straight from the heart...") and snippets of the singer getting interviewed in the club's office. The latter offers MTV viewers the chance to see various fliers for memorable Casbah- promoted and/or -sited events adorning the walls, but one item that venue co-owner Tim Mays had hoped would make it on-screen didn't. "Yeah, it looked like the way they were filming that the picture I have up of my son might've gotten in -- that would've been cool."

Nonetheless, Mays was happy to have accommodated the MTV crew and of course the short~notice, easily-soId-out weeknight show itself. Morissette's handlers must be pIeased, proving once again the viability of booking a whirlwind tour of too-small clubs (guaranteeing turn-away crowds) that are regarded as hip dives (earning the artist some "street cred" and producing the perception of the budding star "paying dues") as a way to build up thee buzz on your breaking "commercial alternative" act.