Offspring Springs for Charity Help

Last seen merrily withstanding a shower of garbage at Irvine Meadows (they had urged the crowd at the recent KROQ Weenie Roast to hurl trash at the stage), the Offspring will return to action with three California dates to raise money for a new charitable foundation.

The shows, June 29 at the Ventura Theatre, June 30 at the Glass House in Pomona and July 2 in Santa Cruz, will generate grant money for a punk-rock answer to the Grateful Dead’s Rex Foundation.

Jello Biafra, the veteran San Francisco-based punk rocker and agitator, came up with the idea. Friend Dexter Holland, the Offspring’s singer, agreed to serve as co-founder and provide start-up funding. The foundation is called F.S.U., which stands for Freedom Starts Underground, Holland says, although Biafra uses a variant that isn’t printable here. AIDS Project Los Angeles, Poor People’s United Fund, Trees Foundation and Amnesty International will be beneficiaries of the upcoming Offspring shows.

The Offspring’s deep pockets won’t do charity much good, though, if the band allows them to be picked clean by people suing for injuries and gross negligence. What if the Weenie Roast trash barrage had knocked somebody comatose?

The stunt apparently caused no injuries, said Matt Curto, director of operations at Irvine Meadows. “Fortunately, I have not had one phone call [reporting mishaps]. We dodged one there.”

But Curto was not happy about the Offspring’s novel bit of stage-craft, which triggered trash-tossing throughout the 15,400-capacity amphitheater. “Somebody could have gotten hurt, whether it’s a bottle of water to the back of the head, or somebody decides to throw car keys--it can really do damage. Telling people to toss their garbage, that’s a first in all the years I’ve been doing this.”

Curto said Tuesday that he hadn’t complained yet to the band or its manager, Jim Guerinot. “I’ve been thinking of sending [Guerinot] a crumpled-up Coke cup saying, ‘Thanks a lot.’ Chalk it up to another rock ‘n’ roll experience.”

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APART FROM THE CROWD: The Crowd is thinning out but not dispersing. Bassist Jay Decker will play his final gig with Huntington Beach’s first-ever punk band tonight at the Clipper in Long Beach.

“I think he’s tired of playing our genre of music. It’s our first lineup change in 17 years,” said founding guitarist Jim Kaa. Kaa, singer Jim Decker (Jay’s older brother) and drummer Dennis Walsh are auditioning bassists.

Next year marks the Crowd’s 20th anniversary, not counting a few years’ hiatus during the mid-’80s. The band, which last year released a CD, “Letter Bomb,” plans to mark the anniversary with more new recordings.

* The Crowd, Yum Yum Tree and Decline play tonight at the Clipper, 3325 Anaheim Blvd., Long Beach. 9 p.m. $6. (562) 597-0014 (club) or (562) 803-0024 (taped information).

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FAB FOURISH: Beatlemaniacs are invited to roll up again for the Classical Mystery Tour, in which a four-member rock band and a 48-piece orchestra play live replications of the Fab Four’s more elaborate studio creations.

The show, July 5 at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, is the sequel to a November concert there that made history of sorts by expanding the concept of Beatles impersonation to a symphonic scale.

The impresario is Jim Owen of Westminster, who plays George Harrison for a living in various touring Beatles tributes. Owen said the second Classical Mystery Tour features three faux Beatles from the first, with a new Ringo. Roger Hickman will again conduct rockers and orchestra in a 22-song program including “Lady Madonna,” “Penny Lane,” “A Day in the Life” and other Beatles tracks involving horns or strings.

Owen hopes to turn the Mystery Tour into an actual tour; the first out-of-town show is July 12 in Louisville, Ky.

* “Classical Mystery Tour: A Tribute to the Beatles,” July 5 at 8 p.m. at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. $15-$45. (714) 740-7878 (Ticketmaster) or (714) 556-2787 (center).