CALIFORNIA METAL FEST Facing Obstacles

April 11, 2006

Pam Wight of the Whittier Daily News has issued the following report:

Tickets are selling briskly for a two-day heavy metal festival at Rome Fine Dining in Uptown Whittier, featuring more than 40 bands [including SUFFOCATION, NECROPHAGIST, CALIBAN, SWORN ENEMY and DARKEST HOUR] and expected to draw up to 2,000 fans per day.

There's just one problem: The club's owners say they never contracted the event.

The first annual California Metal Fest (web site) is scheduled for May 13 and May 14, with a warm-up day May 12, said promoter Ashley Avildsen of E.E. Booking.

"It's definitely happening," Avildsen said.

But Ricardo Bobdillia, manager of Rome Fine Dining, said festival organizers approached the club about the event, but no written deal was struck. Besides, the club can legally hold a maximum of 750 people, he added.

"I don't know what he is thinking," Bobdillia said. "We only have a 750 capacity. The Fire Department would shut us down so quick. What would we do with all those people on the streets?"

Formerly called Ibizas, Rome Fine Dining lost its permit to sell alcohol last fall, after city officials cited violations of the former nightclub's operating license and complaints about late-night fights in the club's parking lot.

"We already have problems," Bobdillia said. "We're not crazy."

Read the rest of the article at www.whittierdailynews.com.

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