SF Chronicle's 96 Hours

In late 1999, Debra Zeller and a friend thought it might be cool and useful to post an online calendar of all the Bay Area gigs she and her friends were planning to see.

Then it grew to writing live reviews.

Then album reviews.

Then there came the invitations to be the official gig photographer.

Before long, Zeller found herself booking the best bands around in the coolest clubs in town for a monthly showcase called Playing in Fog."It really grew into this little monster and eventually out of control," says the mellow Zeller, whose latest Playing in Fog showcase is tonight at the Make-Out Room with a triple bill of Love Is Chemicals, Peloton and Dora Flood.

With a strong six-year track record of helping bands and clubs get the best out of each other, Playing in Fog has earned a reputation for reliable, high-quality but never too-cool-for-school nightlife that sometimes can be hard to find in San Francisco. Zeller, a native of Napa who moved to the city in 1987, is just happy to have finally overcome her biggest fear.

"I was always most afraid that people would confuse Playing in Fog with KFOG, the radio station," says Zeller, who at first didn't like the name, which was thought up by her close friend Kate Izquierdo (a.k.a. "Squid," a writer with the Bay Guardian). "It actually happened once, in the beginning. I was at a bar when I overheard someone tell another person that Playing in Fog was definitely a KFOG event," remembers Zeller with a pause and a sigh.

Those days are done. With past lineups that include the likes of Scissors for Lefty, Seventeen Evergreen, Kelley Stoltz, Rykarda Parasol, Music for Animals and Elephone, Playing in Fog has had a knack for figuring out the best bands in the bay long before KFOG ever could.

Zeller also promotes Playing in Fog by getting the groups college radio play, guest DJ spots and print reviews -- stuff bands are typically expected to figure out on their own. But perhaps the biggest perk for playing with Playing in Fog is getting to be on one of the souvenir posters that Zeller's monster is known for.

Artists like Terrence "Lil Tuffy" Ryan, Michael Hester, Nathalie Roland and Summer Makovkin have helped create a collection of concert posters destined to be San Francisco classics like the Fillmore stuff.

But the posters aren't so popular with the San Francisco Department of Public Works, which last year fined Zeller $750 for posting Playing in Fog flyers that were causing "a visual blight." Turns out it was a few of the bands who were posting the flyers. The guilty guitarists offered to pay the fine, but Zeller insisted on fighting the city.

"A visual blight? That's ridiculous," says Zeller, who has paid more than $750 in attorney fees to fight the fight even though Playing in Fog is basically pro-bono work that she finances with a day job. "They're basically saying that it makes the city ugly. Walk up Mission Street and I think you'll find a lot bigger concerns than flyers."