Popa Chubby’s Blues

The Battle of the Bands is a big scam where the sponsor’s favorite band always wins, right? Well, maybe sometimes, but not this time. The Popa Chubby Band won a National Talent Search Finals and ended up with a gig at last year’s Long Beach Blues Festival. And despite the lack of an obvious vowel, the dude’s name is pronounced “Papa.”

This five-piece New York band--the house band at Manny’s Car Wash, which isn’t what it sounds like, but rather the happening blues venue in NYC--will bring its stylish rockin’ blues to the Blue Monday gig at Alexander’s in Ventura.

Popa Chubby, not surprisingly, is the bandleader, singer and vocalist. He’ll doubtlessly be crooning songs off his band’s debut album, “It’s Chubby Time.” The ultimate foot tapper on that one is the John Lee Hooker-inspired boogie rocker “Lipservice.”

The show starts around 8 and will set you back $5. Fashion note: Most of the pictures show Popa Chubby wearing a Mets hat. Are they still in the league? Alexander’s is at Spinnaker Drive and Harbor Boulevard in Ventura. For more information, call 658-2000.