SUNDAY, APRIL 9, 1878 41

TRAXX CONTINUED

During a 22-year stint in the Navy, where he earned his high school diploma, he began drawing. Some of his cartoons were published in the newspaper aboard the USS Lexington.

He enrolled in the Cooper School of Art when he was discharged in 1970, staying there about 18 months. Then, with a friend, he set up a graphics communications firm called the "H.M.S. Titanic." The offbeat name fit the. kind of work called progressive at that time.

"We called it 'funk art', doing a lot of things... you know, like walking hot dogs."

A year later, Berger went out on his own. The living was meager but he met a member of Dragonwyck, a local rock group, and things began to change. He made some posters for the group that were so well liked he was asked to become its manager.

Berger helped them get on a national tour as the preliminary act for Foghat and Edgar Winter. It was his first experience in entertainment management and allowed him an extensive view of night clubs in Ohio and other parts of the country. He was unimpressed.

"I saw so many, literally hundreds of clubs, that were really crummy. After looking at most of them, the insides painted black and just posters hanging on the walls, I knew I could really do a job."

The rock group eventually disbanded, leaving Berger to freelance again to pay the rent. But in early 1974, he got an opportunity to design The Round Table at 242 Superior Ave. Berger was asked to manage the failing restaurant and promptly turned the upstairs into a club with rock bands for those over 21 and a rathskeller in the basement for the 18-21 crowd. Berger also has redecorated two other clubs, Deja Vu and The Phantasy Nite Club, both in Lakewood.

Deja Vu owner Chuck Murray let Berger spend about $20,000 to remodel his club, formerly called Squeaky's and with a reputation as a stopping point for rough-looking motorcyclists. The main floor, like Traxx, also has a tinge of Cleveland memorabilia, such as the 1937 World Series game which used to be in Euclid Beach Park. The downstairs was designed to accommodate blues and jazz groups, such as Jimmy Ley and Robert Lockwood Jr., a first for a West Side club. Minor touches included placing the sandwich menu inside of old Superman Comic books and giving customers an illustrated schedule of entertainment acts.

The Phantasy club also was changed from a restaurant to an over-18 spot with rock bands, and drew 2,200 persons two years ago on opening night, Berger says. Owner John De Frasia, however, said Berger couldn't bring people back to the club following a rapid decline of customers, and the two men parted. Berger, claiming De Frasia didn't want to spend any money to attract customers, began laying the groundwork for his own operation.

CONTINUED

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