Multi-platinum alt-metal rockers Orgy celebrated the release of their second album, Vapor Transmission, in Hollywood at the El Capitan Entertainment Center on Friday night with an evening of decadence and debauchery that was christened The First Annual Orgy Ball. Pulling out all the stops to ensure this was the ultimate record release event, the band decided to throw a party where everyone could come.

"This is our keg party," the bandmembers told RollingStone.com. "This is for our friends, because every time we play L.A., each bandmember only gets like three guests each, so this time we each got 150 guests." The guest-list, in fact, was all over the map, covering the gamut from the expected ( Fred Durst, Mark McGrath , various members of Korn and Courtney Love) to the left field ( Rod Stewart, A.J. and Howie from the Backstreet Boys, actor Crispin Glover and porn star Ron Jeremy).

"This is what I do on my time off -- I follow Orgy around," exclaimed Danny Boy of House of Pain fame. "I'm a groupie." Meanwhile, Tobey Torres, whose band Snake River Conspiracy shares a label with Orgy, nearly brought the party to a standstill when she flashed her chest in front of a herd of adoring paparazzi.

The lavish party boasted everything from free makeovers by Skinmarket and endless trays of digital ice cream pellets and fresh crabmeat to an uber-hip "aerial fashion show" and an upstairs orgy room where a quartet of barely-clad girls squirmed and wiggled all over each other on a plexi glass bed while disco and hip-hop blared.

Later in the evening, Orgy -- vocalist Jay Gordon, guitarist Ryan Shuck, guitar synthesist Amir Derakh, bassist Paige Haley and drummer Bobby Hewitt -- performed a dynamic live set of their electro-tinged rock in the main room, despite repeated threats from the fire marshal to shut down the event in the 1,300 capacity facility.

Formed in late 1997, Orgy became the first band signed to Korn's Elementree subsidiary of Reprise Records. Their 1998 debut album, Candyass, was a hit with a cover of New Order's "Blue Monday."

JIM FREEK
(October 17, 2000)