Sticky Rkcndy Marks A Milestone

HIPPO BIRDIE TWO EWE: RKCNDY celebrated its one-year anniversary at a private party held at the club Monday night.

By the time I got there - after the Beastie Boys concert FINALLY ground to a halt - the floor was so sticky it took me 20 minutes to get from the front door across the floor, up the stairs and back down, a distance of perhaps a hundred yards. This stands as a warning: Never serve grunge and metal rock-'n'-roll types free beer and watermelon. My shoes felt like they had octopus suckers on them and made a sound akin to an alien death rattle. It was grim.

But everyone else seemed to be having a fine time. The evening was described by one start-to-finisher as a major schmooze-a-thon. DJ Riz was playing fine funky noise, there were people sandwich-dancing (threesomes) on the stage, journalists everywhere - myself excluded - were storing beers for winter, and I haven't seen so much blatantly visible black lingerie since the Christmas issue of the Victoria's Secret catalog. And that was just the guys.

The public gets to partake of the birthday festivities tonight when Paisley Sin, Bathtub Gin, Inflatable Soule, the Gits, and Bliss play the CNDY of RK. Admission is free, but you'll have to cover your own beer and melon costs. Sorry.

Also at the RK: Sweetwater plays tomorrow. Scotland's Soup Dragons, touring behind their new release, "Hotwired," show up next Tuesday night with opening act Catherine Wheel, from the "unpromising English seaside town of Yarmouth." KING's X plays Wednesday.

THE BIG EYE IN THE SKY: "CBS Evening News" showed up in Seattle last Thursday at the Crocodile Cafe and the aforementioned RKCNDY for the purpose of gathering industry and fan opinions about the wonderful new dirty-lyric law, HB2554. Among those captured for the subsequent network telecasts were SubPop's Dave Rosencrans, Chris Novoselic of Nirvana, Chris Eckman of Marmont, Tina Chopp, Tad, Sir Mix-a-Lot, and the one who got the ball rolling - shown missing a spare and the point - Karen Leslie.

Boom Talle Posse and Andy O play the Croc tonight. Molasses and Funky Stew are in tomorrow.

THE SAMPLES return to the Off Ramp next Wednesday night. The Colorado-based reggae band has severed its ties with Arista Records and joined forces with W.A.R.? Ltd. (What Are Records) out of New York. Guitarist Sean Kelly says the powers that be at Arista were trying to corner the band into a hit-factory position. "We had to decide what it was we really wanted, and what we really wanted to make our music and maintain our dignity" says Kelly, adding that the new label works at a real grass-roots level and has some pretty radical ideas about marketing and distribution. So far, those ideas seem to be working. The band's new album, "No Room," is moving right along.

The Samples always put on a very energetic, highly musical show. Also on the bill are the Ganja Farmers and Red Skeleton.

THE FIRE SALE GROWS: The Ballard Firehouse's $15 special now covers six shows: Canned Heat June 15, Savoy Brown July 1, Sonny Rhodes July 2, Johnny Copeland July 15, the Outlaws July 8, and the Tubes August 13. Call for more info.

THE FIRST R.E.M. SIGHTING of the season was logged by Terry Lee Hale at The Backstage Tuesday night. Hale said he counted two R.E.M.s, Michael Stipe and one of the other guys. The band's in town recording at the Wilsons' new studio.