Underage Dance Jams Not in the Starz

Orange County–based promotion company Club Starz organizes weekly teenage dance parties. The event is booked into nightclubs on slow nights. The booze is put away but security is on duty, and the kids have a safe way to experience DJ dance music in a nightclub setting. The kids, who must be between the ages of 14 and 19, pay upwards of $20 for admission.

Attorney Stephen Cummings, 55, says he’s been dropping his teenaged daughter off at Club Starz since it started at House of Blues. “They had kids waiting in line to get in. Supposedly it was so crowded, they moved it to On Broadway.”

Cummings adds, “I spoke with a cop [outside of On Broadway], and he told me that they ran a pretty decent operation, that they didn’t have a lot of problems. They even sniffed kids’ Cokes to make sure there wasn’t any booze in it.”

But On Broadway suddenly pulled the plug on Club Starz, canceling the event planned for July 20.

On its website (ocstarz.net), Club Starz announced that it was moving the Monday-night event to Stingaree starting July 20. “We found a bigger and better location,” the site read. But then last week, the website announced that the Stingaree show was canceled “due to Stingaree permit issues and other circumstances beyond our control.”

One longtime local promoter thinks she knows why Club Starz was snuffed. “There is no permit that exists that allows dancing for people under 18, or I would have had DJ nights years ago.”

SDPD’s Lt. Ernie Herbert directed calls to Lt. Rudy Tai, who oversees such matters. Tai did not respond to a request for comment, but Herbert said he thought the event cancellation may pertain to the under-age crowd and permitting.

“On Broadway thought they had the right permits,” says a representative from Club Starz who asked not to be identified. “We are talking to a few different places who do have the right permits. We have things in the works…

the only problem is summer is almost over. It’s hard to do something like this when school is in [session] unless you find [a venue that] will give up [its] weekends.” He says his company does not have this problem in Orange County or L.A. “San Diego seems to be a bit conservative.”

Last week it was announced that Club Starz moved to the Sports Arena. Kathy Padilla, booking manager for the arena, confirmed that the event was scheduled starting July 27, but she would not say how much the facility was charging Club Starz.