L. A. will be magically transformed into a winter pop wonderland

when Poptopia '97 rolls into town Jan. 31-Feb. 9. With a wide-ranging roster of

pop-happy acts ranging from Shonen Knife and the Muffs to the Loud Family,

Frosted and Cindy Lee Berryhill, the second-annual week-long, 115-band event

celebrating all things pop, from "bubblegum and powerpop, to mod, psychedelic,

glitter and alternative," according to a representative, is one of the only

events of its kind on the planet.

Although organizers say 80% of the acts

are California natives, several out-of-town bands will make the scene,

including New York's The Rooks, San Francisco's Chris Von Sneidern, Boston's

Brian Stevens (Cavedogs), Sweden's The Merrymakers and Canada's Cone of

Silence.

Co-chair Tony Perkins says he and his partner Larry Mann

conceived the event after their floating all-pop club "Bubblegum Crisis"

started to garner more and more attention in the two years they presented it in

various L.A. clubs.

"Basically, this is an outgrowth of what people call

the L.A. Pop Scene," said Perkins. "We started getting so many bands interested

in doing 'Bubblegum Crisis' shows that we thought we'd do a bunch of nights in

a row and turn it into a festival.

The average ticket price for the

shows, which will be spread out over six different venues and feature 6-8 bands

each, will be $5, with the highest-priced shows (Shonen Knife), topping out at

$15. Other bands confirmed for this year's event include: Baby Lemonade,

Astropuppees, Beat Angels, The Breetles, Brian Jones Was Murdered, Cockeyed

Ghost, Susanna Hoffs, Marvel (formerly Loaded), The Murmurs, The Negro Problem,

P-Hux, The Shakes, Slush, Brian Stevens, Ken Stringfellow (Posies), The Sun

Sawed In 1/2, Swinger, That Dog, Pluto and Velouria.