Total Trash Archives — Page 2 of 2 — San Francisco Bay Guardian Archive 1966

The last hurrah

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks

-

October 18, 2011

emilysavage@sfbg.com

MUSIC On the final day of Budget Rock 10, the endmost moment of the Budget Rock showcase itself, there will be pancakes and local ’80s surf-punk band the Phantom Surfers. Likely a few tear stained cheeks as well.

The daylong event at Thee Parkside — which tops off four days plus 10 years of weirdo, trashy, slack rock shows — also features the annual morning record swap and a ticketed evening lineup that includes the Legendary Stardust Cowboy, the Mothballs, Midnite Snaxxx, and Okmoniks, amongst others.

The organic pancake batter, donated by former Thee Parkside co-owner Sean O’Connor, will come in a pressurized can (he created Batter Blaster), while the bands, many brought back together specifically for Budget Rock, will come to the venue courtesy of Chris Owen and his longtime fellow organizer, Mitch Cardwell.

This year’s fest, Thursday, Oct. 20 through Sunday, Oct. 23 at Bottom of the Hill and Thee Parkside, not only brings back Phantom Surfers from the first ever Budget Rock showcase, but also returns Boston’s Lyres, the classic ’80s punk band formed from the ashes of DMZ. Organizers also recruited bands that played subsequent years — the masked Nobunny (this time playing original budget rock-esque covers), Subsonics, the Statics, Personal & the Pizzas (whose first ever show was at Budget Rock), and booked a Ripoffs reunion show — a coup for Owen, who’s been a fan of the ’90s garage rockers since college.

“The fact that Lyres and the Ripoffs are playing in San Francisco in the year 2011 is fucking incredible,” Owen enthuses from his perch at Gio’s, an old school Italian FiDi spot he says reminds him of Thee Parkside when he first started going there in late 2000. “Carpet on the ground, tablecloths on the tables.” (Obviously things have changed immensely since then.) But it was there, sharing beers after work with his friend John O’Neill, that Owen says they first came up with the idea for a Budget Rock showcase — a term he borrowed from another of his all-time favorite bands, the Mummies (which he later got to reform for Budget Rock 8). Owen and O’Neill had both been booking shows at the venue, and came up with the concept to concentrate all the then-scattered acts.

That first fest took place in 2002. Including the 2011 showcase, 190 bands will have come through Budget Rock. Over the decade it survived a move to the East Bay for a couple of years (to the Stork Club), lead organizer shifts (Owen bowed out for most of last year as his wife was pregnant) and the general chaos of unrefined rock’n’rollers. O’Neill vividly recalls when Peter Zaremba of the Fleshtones ran outside mid-song onto 17th Street to sing to a Muni bus that had just pulled up. And Phantom Surfers’ guitarist Maz “Spazz” Kattua claims “All I remember about [Budget Rock 1] was that we played in matching boxer shorts with hearts on them and sock garters.”

So why end it now? Owen chalks it up to two main reasons: the organizers of Budget Rock are in different spots in life (he now lives in Fairfax with his wife, son, and baby daughter); and the influx of other like-minded showcases like Total Trash and 1-2-3-4 Go’s contribution.

“You want to fill a void, not create one,” says Owen. “That is the guiding principle. The whole concept of this festival was filling a void, there wasn’t anything like this. There was no local garage rock or kind of dorky minimalist music showcase [then].”

Plus, he says, “Once we got to six [years], we knew we would shoot for 10. And we were like, ‘if we can get to 10, we should get Lyres to come back.'”

While all the other bands at Budget Rock 1 were local, and most other acts throughout the years have been Bay Area bred, Lyres was a special case. O’Neill had booked shows in Boston before moving out West, and managed to fly Lyres to SF through alcohol endorsements that first year. Lyres evoked the ethos of the fest, a clear marker, unlike “careerist” bands, as Owen refers to others that try to make it big or take themselves too seriously — those types have never been the Budget Rock style.

“It’s a certain kind of ‘I don’t care about the rest of the world’ mentality,” Lyres organist-vocalist Jeff Conolly says about his band’s longevity, “and a genuine love for being in a group where you enjoy the results of the process.”

It’s about having a good time in your band, without a lot of expensive hoopla. “Big picture, the whole idea of [Budget Rock] was just having fun — not professionalism or competition or reputation. Those things aren’t important,” Owen stresses. “I would like to remember having a good time. That’s the only purpose that this was ever supposed to serve.”

He later gave me a list of “perfect budget rock bands” (those that have played the fest in the past, or simply fit the vibe): the Mummies, Icky Boyfriends, the Brentwoods, Captain 9’s and the Knickerbocker Trio — and any band with Russell Quan, Tina Lucchesi, or Mike Lucas.

Lucchesi, of the Trashwomen and a zillion other Bay Area bands, has played the fest in different incarnations 18 different times. This year, she plays the final Budget Rock on Saturday with Tee’N’Dee Explosion, then the next night at Thee Parkside with both Special Ed and Midnight Snaxxx. “There’s a lot of that friend-rock thing going on this year,” Owen says, “Sunday’s going to have a lot of it, pretty much all day long.” He later adds, “This is the last hurrah, so we wanted to do something cool.”

Jokes the mischievous Nobunny, “I don’t believe for one second it won’t be back next year.”

BUDGET ROCK 10

Thurs/20-Sun/23, $5–$20

Bottom of the Hill

1233 17th, SF

(415) 621-4455

www.bottomofthehill.com

Thee Parkside

1600 17th, SF

(415) 252-1330 www.theeparkside.com

Total Trash Fest is going out with a bang

Tony Robles

-

August 25, 2011

0

Wipe away a single tear, Total Trash Fest is yet again coming to an end.* But between 9 p.m. Thursday (tonight) and 2 a.m Monday morning, there are seven more shows. That’s right, seven. And of those, there are newly added Total Trash supergroup concerts including Ty Segall and Friends – which friends? I’m schvitzing with anticipation – with Shannon and the Clams tonight at the Knockout. DJ Lee Noise of Burger Records will also be on hand to spin something dirty.

Check out our past coverage of this year’s Total Trash Fest: King Lollipop print feature and Moonhearts/Mikal Cronin Noise blog profile. For the rest of this weekend’s shows in a handy organized list (offered up by the organizer) see below:

Total Trash Fest Week 3

WHITE MYSTERY
With BURNT ONES, THE DIMPLES
Aug. 25, 9 p.m., $7
Hemlock Tavern
1131 Polk, SF

TY SEGALL AND FRIENDS
With SHANNON AND THE CLAMS
Aug. 25, 9 p.m. $5
The Knockout
3223 Mission, SF

TRADITIONAL FOOLS
With OUTDOORSMEN, UZI RASH, SHROUDS
Aug. 26, 9 p.m., $10
Thee Parkside
1600 17th St.SF

DUKES OF HAMBURG
With LEGENDARY STARDUST COWBOY, ROCK N ROLL ADVENTURE KIDS, DADDY LONG LEGS, THE SHANKERS
Aug. 27, 9 p.m., $10
Thee Parkside
1600 17th St.SF

TY SEGALL AND FRIENDS
With THE COSMONAUTS
Aug. 27 9 p.m., $5
Hemlock Tavern
1131 Polk, SF

MOONHEARTS
With PANGEA, KING LOLLIPOP, SI SI SI
Aug. 28, 2 p.m., $7
Hemlock Tavern
1131 Polk, SF

MIKAL CRONIN
With MOUTHBREATHERS, COSMONAUTS
Aug. 28, 9 p.m., $7
Hemlock Tavern
1131 Polk, SF

*Here’s to next year!

Sticky fingers

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks

-

August 2, 2011

0

emilysavage@sfbg.com

MUSIC Remember the raw, heart-thumping heat of the Jukebox Jamboree in John Waters’ 1990 cult classic Cry-Baby? A steamy musician (Johnny Depp) strums and snarls towards a crowd of excited nogoodniks. There was a similar scene a few Saturdays back at a garage rock show in Oakland, thanks largely to Cody S. Blanchard. He’s a Clam (of local trio Shannon and the Clams) but he also moonlights as King Lollipop, a John Waters-esque character with highwater pants and a tin can tied atop his head.

Most of the bands featured in the currently underway multi-venue Total Trash Festival have that same vibe: hot, sweaty fun. The festival, now in its third year, is spearheaded by Oakland promoter-musician Marc Ribak. He originally conceived of it as “a trailer park-hobo jungle in the middle of SF for [now deceased Cramps singer] Lux Interior.” He describes the like-minded sound of trash music as “dirty, sexy, filthy, and fabulous — like Chuck Berry and Stevie Nicks thrown in a closet together.”

Total Trash 3, which goes through Aug. 28, includes 69 bands, 49 of those based in the Bay Area, with sets by Audacity, the Spits, and Traditional Fools among others.

One of the bigger headliners is Vermont’s King Tuff, who will be named the temporary “King of Oakland” during the fest’s Total Trash Enchantment Under the Sea Dance and Art Show at Lobot Gallery. And yet, there’s another, more local king lurking elsewhere in the lineup — Blanchard’s King Lollipop. He’ll open for Moonhearts during a day show at Hemlock Tavern on Aug. 28.

In order to determine who fit where under his large trash genre umbrella, Ribak asked musicians a series of questions, meant to place their music sensibilities as darker rock or cuter pop (both equally appreciated): “Rolling Stones or Beatles?” “Rolling Stones or Bo Diddley?” “Rolling Stones or Ronettes?” Most answers converged somewhere in middle of the Rolling Stones, Ronettes, and Bo Diddley.

At King Lollipop’s recent show at the cavernous Oakland Metro Operahouse the influences of such styles of music were everywhere. From the high hair and tight clothes of the crowd — both male and female — to the raucous bands on stage. During his set, Blanchard vibrated with energy, backed up by no less than five standing drummers. “I want to have like, 20 people who can all play drums, then if I have a show, whoever can make it, makes it,” Blanchard says. “It’s like inviting people to a party except they’re going to play music.”

Blanchard has a specific vision for his rotating band of players. “I imagined there was a huge junkyard in the Great Depression and the people that lived there wanted to start a band, and they made crowns of tin cans.”

On stage Blanchard’s guitar is slung high, his vocals pop with bubbly rockabilly referential tone. He sings of reading diaries, and eating cheeseburgers and fries, and also does a cover of Wreckless Eric’s classic “(I’d Go The) Whole Wide World.”

Blanchard started kicking around the idea for King Lollipop a few years back when he wrote some songs that didn’t work with Shannon and Clams — songs that were simpler, poppier, and called for far more percussion. He played his first show under the moniker in early 2011.

Last year, his friend built him a guitar from scratch, using spare parts from other guitars. This year, he’s hoping to convince Raven Mahon, the guitarist from Grass Widow who is also a woodworker, to make him a wooden crown to wear at future shows. All hail!

KING LOLLIPOP

With Moonhearts, Pangea, and Si Si Si

Aug. 28, 2 p.m., $7

Hemlock Tavern

1131 Polk, S.F.

Facebook: Total Trash Fest 3

Moonhearts beam a hazy summer light on Total Trash Fest 3

Sue Vaughan

-

August 2, 2011

0

Moonhearts beam a hazy summer light on Total Trash Fest 3

In the Wed/3 Guardian you can read the tale of Total Trash Fest 3, and what exactly it takes to be a trash band. Here I present another example of the Total Trash type: Moonhearts.

The band includes vocalist-bassist Mikal Cronin, who also has a solo album out — he’ll play two Trash Fest sets Sunday, August 28 (one with Moonhearts in the afternoon, and later that night by himself). On top of that, he occasionally tours with his friend, local garage rock wizard Ty Segall, who is in Traditional Fools, also set to play Total Trash. It’s a freaky web those trash types weave.

“We’ve played with a lot of those bands [in the fest] before,” Cronin says, adding with a laugh, “I guess we’re pretty trashy, but we try to keep it under control.”

But Moonhearts represents a newer side of trash, veering slightly away from the punk and more toward a dreamy California surf sound. (Don’t worry, the band definitely keeps up the noisy garage ethos of the genre.) It’s a modern, more distorted version of those psychedelic Nuggets box sets, which introduced a generation (whether it admits it or not) to bands like the Seeds and Strawberry Alarm Clock.

Some Moonhearts tracks, such as “I Said” off its eponymous 2010 album on Tic Tac Totally, evoke those bands more directly, while other songs veer toward a more straightforward Dick Dale and the Del-Tones style with the classic, wave-like reverb.

The trio grew up in Laguna Beach, Calif., discovering surfing first, and rock ‘n’ roll second. All three attended Laguna Beach High School and it was there that Cronin first met Segall. The pair started a band, a first for them both, which Cronin describes as a “Laguna Beach party band.”

After high school Cronin went away to college in Portland, Ore., but returned to the coastal Orange Country town in 2006 and started up Moonhearts. “Growing up, we were all obsessed with surf records, so [our music] seemed appropriate. We’ve never talked directly about it, but it seems to permeate everything we do.”

The band was originally called Charlie and the Moonhearts, after drummer Charlie Mootheart, the youngest member of the group, but it has since dropped the “Charlie.” In name only, though — Mootheart, who now lives in San Francisco, continues to play with Cronin and Moonhearts guitarist Roland Cosio, though they both live in Southern California. That’s about to change: Cronin and Cosio are planning to move to the Bay Area as soon as possible.

Moonhearts
With Pangea, King Lollipop, and Si Si Si
Aug. 28, 2 p.m., $7
Hemlock Tavern
1131 Polk, S.F.

Mikal Cronin
With Mouthbreathers, Cosmonauts
Aug. 28, 9 p.m., $7
Hemlock Tavern
1131 Polk, S.F.
www.hemlocktavern.com
Facebook: Total Trash Fest 3

Music Listings

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks

-

July 27, 2011

0

Music listings are compiled by Guardian staff. Since club life is unpredictable, it’s a good idea to call ahead or check the venue’s website to confirm bookings and hours. Prices are listed when provided to us. Submit items for the listings at listings@sfbg.com. For further information on how to submit items for the listings, see Picks.

WEDNESDAY 27

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Audacity, Pterodacdudes, Hysterians Knockout. 9pm, $5. Part of Total Trash Fest 3.

Bear Hands, Birdhand, Thelittlestillnotbigenough Hotel Utah. 8pm, $8.

Buttercream Gang, Horde and the Harem, Brownshoe Café Du Nord. 8pm, $10.

Guy Davis Biscuits and Blues. 8 and 10pm, $20.

Definite Articles, Dirty Mittens, Il Gato Rickshaw Stop. 8pm, $10.

Grass Widow, Cold Showers, Dunes, Petals Thee Parkside. 8pm, $8.

Memorials, Rough Waters, Straight Ups Bottom of the Hill. 9pm, $8.

My Parade, Get Dead, Axewound Red Devil Lounge. 9pm, $6.

Sabertooth Zombie, Humilitate, Street Justice Hemlock Tavern. 9pm, $7.

Yuck Independent. 8pm, $15.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Cat’s Corner with Nathan Dias Savanna Jazz. 9pm, $10.

Cosmo Alleycats Le Colonial, 20 Cosmo, SF; www.lecolonialsf.com. 7pm.

Dink Dink Dink, Gaucho, Michael Abraham Amnesia. 7pm, free.

Jazz organ party with Graham Connah Royal Cuckoo, 3202 Mission, SF; www.royalcuckoo.com. 7:30pm, free.

Ben Marcato and the Mondo Combo Top of the Mark. 7:30pm, $10.

Realistic Orchestra Yoshi’s San Francisco.8pm, $15.

Rob Figliuzzi Trio 50 Mason Social House, 50 Mason, SF; www.50masonsocialhouse.com. 9pm, free.

DANCE CLUBS

Club Shutter Elbo Room. 10pm, $5. Goth with DJs Nako, Omar, and Justin.

Booty Call Q-Bar, 456 Castro, SF; www.bootycallwednesdays.com. 9pm. Juanita Moore hosts this dance party, featuring DJ Robot Hustle.

Buena Onda Little Baobab, 3388 19th St, SF; (415) 643-3558. 10pm, free. Funk, swing, rare grooves, and more with Dr. Musco and guests.

Full-Step! Tunnel Top. 10pm, free. Hip-hop, reggae, soul, and funk with DJs Kung Fu Chris and Bizzi Wonda.

Mary Go Round, the New Generation Lookout, 3600 16th St, SF; www.lookoutsf.com. 10pm, $5. Drag with Suppositori Spelling, Mercedez Munro, and Ginger Snap.

No Room For Squares Som., 2925 16th St, SF; (415) 558-8521. 6-10pm, free. DJ Afrodite Shake spins jazz for happy hour.

THURSDAY 28

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Billy and Dolly, Karina Denike, Carletta Sue Kay Bottom of the Hill. 9pm, $10.

Guy Davis Biscuits and Blues. 8 and 10pm, $20.

Eat Skull, Unnatural Helpers, Uzi Rash, Street Eaters Hemlock Tavern. 9pm, $7.

Flakes, Swiss Family Skiers, Poontang Wranglers Knockout. 9:30pm, $5. Part of Total Trash Fest 3.

Frail, Survival Guide, Tigercat Thee Parkside. 9pm, $8.

Skylar Grey Rickshaw Stop. 9pm, $12. With Popscene DJs.

Zach Rogue: Release the Sunbird Café Du Nord. 8pm, $14.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Gerald Albright Yoshi’s San Francisco. 8pm, $28.

Cosmo Alleycats Blondie’s, 540 Valencia, SF; (415) 864-2419. 9pm, free.

Dave Parker Quartet Purple Onion, 140 Columbus, SF; (415) 956-1653. 7:30-10:30pm, free.

Josh Smith Trio Rose Pistola, 532 Columbus, SF; www.rosepistola.com. 8pm, free.

Tom Lander and friends Medjool, 2522 Mission, SF; www.medjoolsf.com. 6-9pm, free.

Tom Lattanand, Jon Raskin Quartet El Valenciano, 1153 Valencia, SF; (415) 826-9561. 9pm, $5.

Organsm featuring Jim Gunderson and “Tender” Tim Shea Bollyhood Café. 6:30-9pm, free.

Paul Press Band featuring Kai Eckardt and Peter Horvath Savanna Jazz. 7pm, $10.

Soul jazz party with Chris Siebert Royal Cuckoo, 3202 Mission, SF; www.royalcuckoo.com. 7:30pm, free.

Stompy Jones Top of the Mark. 7:30pm, $10.

Swing with Stan Rite Spot, 2099 Folsom, SF; www.ritespotcafe.net. 9pm.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Greensky Bluegrass Slim’s. 9pm, $16.

J.L. Stiles Café Royale, 800 Post, SF; (415) 641-6033. 8pm, free.

YeYe Suarez Red Poppy Art House. 8pm, $12-20.

DANCE CLUBS

Afrolicious Elbo Room. 9:30pm, $5. Afrobeat, Tropicália, electro, samba, and funk with DJs Pleasuremaker and Señor Oz, plus guest Vibrometers.

Culture Corner Koko Cocktails, 1060 Geary, SF; www.kokococktails.com. 10pm, free. Roots reggae, dub, rocksteady, and classic dancehall with DJ Tomas, Yusuke, Vinnie Esparza, and Basshaka and ILWF.

Guilty Pleasures Gestalt, 3159 16th St, SF; (415) 560-0137. 9:30pm, free. DJ TophZilla, Rob Metal, DJ Stef, and Disco-D spin punk, metal, electro-funk, and 80s.

1984 Mighty. 9pm, $2. The long-running New Wave and 80s party features video DJs Mark Andrus, Don Lynch, and celebrity guests.

Supersonic Bollyhood Café. 10pm, $5. Fly the friendly skies with SF’s Tasty Crew, spinning wold beats from the Balkans, Brazil, Colombia, and more.

Thursday Special Tralala Revolution Café, 3248 22nd St, SF; (415) 642-0474. 5pm, free. Downtempo, hip-hop, and freestyle beats by Dr. Musco and Unbroken Circle MCs.

Thursdays at the Cat Club Cat Club. 9pm, $6 (free before 9:30pm). Two dance floors bumpin’ with the best of 80s mainstream and underground with Dangerous Dan, Skip, Low Life, and guests. This week, Romeo Void’s Debora Iyall spins a special DJ set.

Tropicana Madrone Art Bar. 9pm, free. Salsa, cumbia, reggaeton, and more with DJs Don Bustamante, Apocolypto, Sr. Saen, Santero, and Mr. E.

FRIDAY 29

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

American Steel, Angry Amputees, Shotdown Bottom of the Hill. 10pm, $12.

Bells, Steve Taylor, Alameda, We are the Willows Amnesia. 9pm, $7.

Black Dahlia Murder, Whitechapel, Darkest Hour, Six Feet Under, Dying Fetus, Powerglove, As Blood Runs Black, Oceano, Hourcast, Fleshgod Apocalypse Fillmore. 3:30pm, $27.

Lance Canales and the Flood Union Room at Biscuits and Blues. 8:30pm, $10.

Das Racist, Black Mahal, Ren the Vinyl Archaeologist Mezzanine. 9pm, $18.

Thomas Dybdahl Brick and Mortar Music Hall. 9pm, $13.

“A Good Idea Fundraiser” Rickshaw Stop. 8pm, $30. With California Honeydrops, Con Brio, Neurovoltaic Orchestra, and more.

Heather Combs Band, Ponies, Alden Café Du Nord. 9pm, $12.

John Lee Hooker Jr. Biscuits and Blues. 8 and 10pm, $22.

David J, Emily Jane White, Chelsea Set Red Devil Lounge. 9pm, $12.

Chick Jagger and the Sticky Fingers, Liquid Sky, Jean Genies Rockit Room. 8pm, $5.

Katdelic with Brian Jordan Boom Boom Room. 9:30pm, $12.

Maps and Atlases, Princeton, Sister Crayon Slim’s. 9pm, $15.

Mazer Laser Lightshow 50 Mason Social House, 50 Mason, SF; www.50masonsocialhouse.com. 9pm, free.

Mean Jeans, Black Jaspers, Guantanamo Baywatch, Teutonics Thee Parkside. 9pm, $10-30. Part of Total Trash Fest 3.

Prizehog, Nero Order, Ghetto Blaster Hemlock Tavern. 9:30pm, $7.

Ben Sollee, Thousands Swedish American Hall (upstairs from Café Du Nord). 8pm, $15.

Woods, Fresh and Onlys, Mantles, DJ Britt Govea Independent. 9pm, $15.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Gerald Albright Yoshi’s San Francisco. 8 and 10pm, $35.

Black Market Jazz Orchestra Top of the Mark. 9pm, $10.

Jazz Organ Party with Graham Connah Royal Cuckoo, 3202 Mission, SF; www.royalcuckoo.com. 7:30pm, free.

Linda Kosut Savanna Jazz. 7pm, $10.

North Beach All Stars Rose Pistola, 532 Columbus, SF; www.rosepistola.com. 8pm, free.

“Playback > Audiobus: The Genie” Million Fishes, 2501 Bryant, SF; www.me-di-ate.net. 8 and 9pm, $20-200. Live concert on a double-decker bus.

Vaughan Johnson Jazz Combo Jack’s Club, 2545 24th St., SF; (415) 641-1880. 7pm, free.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Family Vibes featuring Sila and Nonstop Bhangra Elbo Room. 10pm, $10.

Tango No. 9 Red Poppy Art House. 8pm, $12-20.

DANCE CLUBS

Afro Bao Little Baobab, 3388 19th St, SF; (415) 643-3558. 10pm, $5. Afro and world music with rotating DJs including Stepwise, Steve, Claude, Santero, and Elembe.

Blow Up DNA Lounge. 10pm-2am, $20. Electro with Jeffrey Paradise and guests.

DJ Dirty Dreams Medjool, 2522 Mission, SF; www.medjoolsf.com. 10:30pm, $10.

Mission United Public Works. 9pm. Celebrate the Mission with Afrolicious, Hard French Crew, a fashion show, and more.

Sweater Funk’s Three Year Anniversary with Steve Arrington Som. 9pm, $15. Funk.

Teenage Dance Craze: The Number One Twisting Party in the Universe Knockout. 10pm, $4. With DJs Russell Quan, dX the Funky Granpaw, and Okieoran Scott.

Vintage Orson, 508 Fourth St, SF; (415) 777-1508. 5:30-11pm, free. DJ TophOne and guest spin jazzy beats for cocktalians.

SATURDAY 30

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Bam Bam, Silent Pictures, Schande Hemlock Tavern. 9:30pm, $7.

Cornmeal, TV Mike and the Scarecrows Café Du Nord. 9:30pm, $15.

Delta Bombers Knockout. 9pm, $7. With DJs Badass Daniel Bermudez and dX the Funky Granpaw.

Fab Four Yoshi’s San Francisco. 8pm, $35.

Fiver Brown and the Good Sinners 50 Mason Social House, 50 Mason, SF; www.50masonsocialhouse.com. 9pm, free.

Julia Fordham and Paul Reiser Bimbo’s 365 Club. 9pm, $28.

Hank IV, John Wesley Coleman, Rayon Beach El Rio. 9pm, $7.

South Bay Surfers, Okmoniks, Shruggs, Night Howls, S’Lobsters Thee Parkside. 2pm, $8. Part of Total Trash Fest 3.

Spits, Black Jaspers, Personal and the Pizzas, Therapists, Apache Thee Parkside. 9pm, $15. Part of Total Trash Fest 3.

Earl Thomas and the Blues Ambassadors Biscuits and Blues. 8 and 10pm, $22.

Those Darlins, White Arrows, Motopony Bottom of the Hill. 10pm, $12.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Daniel Casares Trio Rose Pistola, 532 Columbus, SF; www.rosepistola.com. 8pm, free.

Erik Deutsch, Scott Amendola, John Schifflett Red Poppy Art House. 9pm, $12-20.

Jazz Organ Party with Graham Connah Royal Cuckoo, 3202 Mission, SF; www.royalcuckoo.com. 7:30pm, free.

“Playback > Audiobus: Christopher Willits” Everybody Bikes, 1288 15th Ave, SF; www.me-di-ate.net. 8 and 9pm, $20-200. Live concert on a double-decker bus.

Savanna Jazz Trio Savanna Jazz. 7pm, $5.

Lavay Smith and Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers Club Deluxe, 1511 Haight, SF; www.sfclubdeluxe.com. 10pm, $10.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Toshio Hirano Rite Spot, 2099 Folsom, SF; www.ritespotcafe.net. 9pm.

Tango No. 9 St. Cyprian’s Church, 2097 Turk, SF; www.noevalleymusicseries.com. 8pm, $15.

DANCE CLUBS

Afro Bao Little Baobab, 3388 19th St, SF; (415) 643-3558. 10pm, $5. Afro and world music with rotating DJs including Stepwise, Steve, Claude, Santero, and Elembe.

Blowoff Slim’s. 10pm, $15. With DJs Bob Moul and Rich Morel.

Bootie’s Best Dance Crew Mezzanine. 9pm, $8-15. Dance crews perform live, plus DJ sets by Adrian and Mysterious D.

DeeCee’s Soulshakedown Eighth Anniversary Bash Club Six. 9pm, $10-15. Reggae, dancehall, and hip-hop with Jan Warrior Shelter Hi-Fi, SAKE 1, ACTIV808, and more.

DJ Johnny 5 Medjool, 2522 Mission, SF; www.medjoolsf.com. 10:30pm, $10.

Icee Hot with MK, Scottie Deep, and Todd Edwards Public Works. 10pm, $10. House-garage.

Jock Jams Elbo Room. 10pm, $5. Hip-hop with the Arabian Prince and DJ Thrifty Lips, plus residents Nu-Jack and X2SIH.

Kafana Balkan Rickshaw Stop. 9pm, $10. With Brass Menazeri and DJ Zeljko.

New Wave City: 19th Anniversary DNA Lounge. 9pm, $7-12. Eighties dance party with DJs Skip and Shindog, Lowlife, and guests.

Roots and Rhythm Amoeba, 1855 Haight, SF; (415) 831-1200. 2pm, free. With DJ Harry Duncan.

SUNDAY 31

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Matt Adams, Ayla Nereo, Trails, Katie Clover Hemlock Tavern. 9pm, $5.

Bone Cootes and friends Rite Spot, 2099 Folsom, SF; www.ritespotcafe.net. 9pm.

Fab Four Yoshi’s San Francisco. 7pm, $35.

Debora Iyall, True Margrit, Kate Kilbane and the Cellar Doors Bottom of the Hill. 6pm, $8.

Olin and the Moon Café Du Nord. 8pm, $10.

Rasputina, Smoke Fairies Great American Music Hall. 8pm, $16.

Zoé Regency Ballroom. 8pm, $38.

JAZZ/NEW MUSIC

Jennifer Bryce, Josh Workman Bliss Bar, 4026 24th St, SF; www.blissbarsf.com. 4:30pm, $10.

Jazz organ party with Lavay Smith and Chris Siebert Royal Cuckoo, 3202 Mission, SF; www.royalcuckoo.com. 7:30pm, free.

Tom Lander and friends Medjool, 2522 Mission, SF; www.medjoolsf.com. 6-9pm, free.

Savanna Jazz Jam Savanna Jazz. 7pm, $5.

Sunday jazz jam 50 Mason Social House, 50 Mason, SF; www.50masonsocialhouse.com. 9pm, free.

FOLK/WORLD/COUNTRY

Mandatory Merle Thee Parkside. 4pm, free.

DANCE CLUBS

Batcave Cat Club. 10pm, $5. Death rock, goth, and post-punk with Steeplerot Necromos and c_death.

Dub Mission Elbo Room. 9pm, $6. Dub, roots, and classic dancehall with DJ Sep, Ludichris, and guest Roommate.

45 Club Knockout. 10pm, free. Funky soul with DJs Dirty Dishes, English Steve, and dX the Funky Granpaw.

Jock Lookout, 3600 16th St, SF; www.lookoutsf.com. 3pm, $2. Raise money for LGBT sports teams while enjoying DJs and drink specials.

La Pachanga Blue Macaw, 2565 Mission, SF; www.thebluemacawsf.com. 6pm, $10. Salsa dance party with live Afro-Cuban salsa bands.

MONDAY 1

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Blues Traveler Yoshi’s San Francisco. 8pm, $45.

Buffalo Killers, Greg Ashley Band, Strangers Family Band Hemlock Tavern. 6pm, $6.

Screamin’ Cyn Cyn and the Pons, Hepa/Titus, Deep Teens, WWE, Shane Shane, Shlitz Claiborne Stud. 9pm, $5.

Tally Hall, Speak, Casey Shea Bottom of the Hill. 9pm, $12.

Yemen Blues Independent. 8pm, $20.

DANCE CLUBS

Death Guild DNA Lounge. 9:30pm, $3-5. Gothic, industrial, and synthpop with Joe Radio, Decay, and Melting Girl.

M.O.M. Madrone Art Bar. 6pm, free. DJs Timoteo Gigante, Gordo Cabeza, and Chris Phlek playing all Motown every Monday.

Sausage Party Rosamunde Sausage Grill, 2832 Mission, SF; (415) 970-9015. 6:30-9:30pm, free. DJ Dandy Dixon spins vintage rock, R&B, global beats, funk, and disco at this happy hour sausage-shack gig.

TUESDAY 2

ROCK/BLUES/HIP-HOP

Audacity, Fuzz Hemlock Tavern. 9pm, $7.

Blues Traveler Yoshi’s San Francisco. 8pm, $45.

Dismantled, Everyting Goes Cold, Limnus DNA Lounge. 8pm, $13.

Matisyahu, Trevor Hall, John West Regency Ballroom. 8pm, $32.

Nerv, Lean, Radio Revolt, DJ Taypoleon Knockout. 9:30pm, $5.

One A-Chord, Bobby Tenna Elbo Room. 9pm, $8.

Real Estate, Dominant Legs, Melted Toys Independent. 8pm, $15.

Scattered Treets, Alternative Routes, Halsted Rickshaw Stop. 8pm, $10.

Nobunny unmasked!

David Talbot

-

September 14, 2010

2

arts@sfbg.com

MUSIC The morning of our scheduled interview, he sends me a text message, asking me to push things back a bit. Because he says he’s been up until 5:30 a.m., I figured he’s spent the previous night out being a bad bunny. But my assumptions are incorrect: the self-professed early bird known as Nobunny has stayed up late getting work done. The masked man, who now lives in Oakland, is out and about in San Francisco. I remain patient, knowing that he has plenty on his plate, including the release of his new album and an imminent European tour.

Nobunny’s First Blood (Goner Records) is more polished in production than previous efforts, including Love Visions (1-2-3-4 Go! Records), his breakthrough from 2008. He’s been at it for nearly 10 years now, but our hometown hero’s ascent to garage-rock stardom hasn’t come easy. Before getting off the phone with me, he speaks of darker days in Chicago, where he went from two-time Bozo Show visitor to “lying and stealing heroin addict,” only to be saved by a heartbroken sister and a pre-Hunx and His Punx member of the now-defunct Gravy Train. And by the time I finish interviewing him, he shares some information that I didn’t expect him to delve into, giving me glimpses of original obsessions, addictions, and future ambitions.

Still, at about the 30-minute mark, our first conversation comes to a sudden halt when Nobunny alerts me he has to put money in his parking meter. My time is up. After all, Blag Dahlia of Dwarves fame is expecting him for a radio interview. (Nobunny takes a page out of that fellow Chicago-to-Bay Area transplants’ book by shedding his threads on stage with the exception of the mask.)

I have the sense that Nobunny is holding back a little, like there is a wall. Is he guarded? Maybe a little nervous? He’d publicly admitted to shooting heroin before, but it isn’t until after our initial phone call that he begins to be genuine and upfront about his humbling experiences and the struggle that made him who he is today. All the while, I feel he is in complete control of our interactions, and imagine that’s probably what it’s like to work with someone so self-critical in the studio. The dichotomy of the man behind the mask begins to unravel.

We initially speak through a dodgy cell phone connection, interrupted by distracting wind and disruptive sirens. I’m in the TL, and he’s in the Mission. Both environments are worn down, sort of like the mangy Muppet-looking mask Nobunny wears during show time. He’s lived through misery before. He spent one winter in Chicago with a trash bag serving as his front door, and worked the graveyard shift at a highway gas station during his last year in the city. “I lived in a cage in a squatted grocery store that had become a shooting gallery-crack house,” Nobunny says. “Things were not all right.”

Just a week earlier, I’d seen Nobunny at the Total Trash Fest. He did what he does best: live rock ‘n’ roll, delivered sweaty and in briefs, with some crowd-surfing. The one new song worked into the set hinted at First Blood‘s tone. The album itself clocks in at a short but very sweet 26 minutes. Nobunny rips through the tracks, playing guitar, bass, and drums himself. He gets some assistance from his pal Jason “Elvis Christ” Testasecca, who’s aided him with home recordings in the past, and a couple of other musicians who get honorable mentions in the credits.

“Blow Dumb,” First Blood‘s first single, has been described as “Velvet-y” sounding. Perhaps because the Velvet Underground is associated with New York’s high-art scene by way of Warhol’s Factory, Nobunny points out that the track is a love song to California. It gives a special nod to the Bay Area and hyphy, but also shows some love for SoCal, with a possible Burger Records shout out. The end result is ideal for a groovy road trip with friends, riding down Highway 1 with nothing better to do than smile in the sun.

Content-wise, not everything on First Blood is so buoyant. Elsewhere, Nobunny’s lyrics confront sexual desire, unbalanced relationships, inner weakness, and the self improvements necessary to pull yourself out of the proverbial gutter and see the world. Plenty of lustful longings are laid out as he expresses exactly what he wants in the twangy-sounding “Pretty Please Me”: a noncommittal fling, no questions asked, just as long as it feels right.

The blatant “(Do the) Fuck Yourself” conjures up perverse images straight from Nobunny’s stage show, where his masked persona goes public, employing ball-gags while prancing around scantily-clad. When we finally meet in person, I ask him where these antics come from. His answer is quite simple, and makes sense coming from a rabbit, “I’m just horny,” he says. All the while, in order to maintain a “shred of anonymity,” he wears his favorite deranged-looking mask. It never seems to come off.

“I don’t think I’d like to deal with being in an un-masked band at, say, Hunx’s or Thee Oh Sees’ comparable level of popularity.” Nobunny says, when asked about the get-up. “Knowing eyes are on you when you are not on stage sounds maybe not always fun.” Nonetheless, a fruitful creative partnership with Hunx has been vital to Nobunny’s survival: “Seth [Bogart, a.k.a. Hunx] has been a very supportive friend, and, yes, in some ways I feel he saved me, or at the very least vastly improved my living situation.”

Though Nobunny often expresses the wish to record and play alone, he’s no stranger to collaboration, including a recent live session with Jack White at Nashville’s Third Man Records. Not all dream teams come true, though — since childhood he’d hoped to work with another master of disguises, the famously introverted King of Pop. “Michael Jackson was my first obsession, ” he says. “I wanted to be him. I still want to be him. According to Rocktober’s History of Masked Rock ‘n’ Roll, MJ was a masked musician with all his surgeries and what not. We all wear masks, some are just easier to spot than others.”

Speaking of costumed camouflage, First Blood‘s final track, “I Was On (The Bozo Show)” is a psyched-out, swirling down-tempo dirge with many levels of dedication. One could read it as homage to the late clown-god Larry Harmon (a.k.a. Bozo), as Nobunny hazily recalls his lost innocence and how he sat in the back row of a Chicago television with his little brother to meet the world-famous archetype on two separate occasions. Yes, Nobunny was on The Bozo Show — twice.

But behind its showbiz facade, “I Was On (The Bozo Show)” is also an agonizing confession from a former addict. “It’s for my blood brother and sister as well as my friends who struggle with drug addiction,” Nobunny says. “In another time, clowns made children happy and the circus was fun, but now they’ve become just another relic of past, tarnished by the more common association that their images are horrifying and that they are to be feared. I’m pretty sure no Juggalo ever went to clown school.”

A mythical creature from garage rock’s underbelly, Nobunny has earned his success, even securing a gig at the Playboy Mansion in L.A. as part of his 10-year anniversary celebration next Easter. But he’s no stranger to the addictions he sings about on First Blood final track. “My sister had been buggin’ me a bit to come visit her in Arizona, and I finally decided to take her up on it before I killed myself,” he says, still discussing “I Was On (The Bozo Show)”‘s origins. “I drove across the country shooting dope the whole way to the desert west of Tucson. She didn’t even know I was using. She nursed me back to health out there all alone in the desert. Our only neighbor was an 80-something yogi from India who was out there on a 30-day silent meditative prayer.”

If that sounds like material for a boulevard of broken dreams tell-all, in all seriousness, Nobunny has come out of the experience stronger, poised for new adventures, but most of all, grateful. “I am thankful to have enough fans to make touring worthwhile,” he said. “While I’d still be writing and recording and performing with no one looking, it’s really nice to see people at our shows dancing and singing along and smiling.”

Pie or die

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks

-

August 17, 2010

0

johnny@sfbg.com

MUSIC This year’s Total Trash Fest delivers a number of reasons why the Bay Area is a peerless pizzeria of garage rock: Shannon and the Clams, Hunx and His Punx (or Punkettes), and Nobunny are on hand to serve the most powerful, flirtatious, and leporid trash, whether they’re in outerwear or underwear that’s fun to wear. But the freshest studio delivery of the event belongs to Hoboken, N.J.’s Personal and the Pizzas, who’ll be delivering 12-inch black discs of the debut album Raw Pie (1-2-3-4 Go! Records). Unlike the regular slices the group shares with lucky audiences, they ain’t free, though.

Raw Pie kicks off with the heartfelt anthem “I Don’t Wanna Be No Personal Pizza” before moving on to declare love for a girl with “Pepperoni Eyes” and make it clear that “Nobody Makes My Girl Cry But Me.” Raw Pie‘s lead guitar sound — one that bears an uncanny resemblance to the livewire riffing on a great album by a Bay Area band last year — is the one-of-a-kind sauce that makes songs like “Pizza Army” so tasty. Will Personal and the Pizzas hook up with Italy’s Miss Chain and the Broken Heelz at Total Trash? Who knows? As Raw Pie‘s most inspiring song “I Can Reed” attests, Personal is a man of few words, but I recently cornered him to get some answers about what matters most in his world.

SFBG Can you tell me about how Personal and the Pizzas met and what your upbringings were like?

Personal Uh, we met at this pizza joint called Benny Tudino’s in Hoboken [N.J.] after some rock ‘n’ roll gig in the city. We were all real young, but we didn’t go to school or nothin’. We just hung out on the street and sang Stooges songs and stuff. Real dropouts.

SFBG What pizzeria makes your favorite pizza, and what do you like on it?

P Carmine’s Original in Greenpoint [N.Y.) Totonno’s is good, too — the Coney Island one. I usually just get a regular.

SFBG What’s your favorite place — pizzeria or not — to take a girl with pepperoni eyes?

P Usually just get a pie delivered, watch the tube, and make out on the couch. Drink a few brews. Get real loose, ya know?

SFBG Personal, you’re a talented guitarist who has lent your abilities to some Bay Area bands. Raw Pie rips. What are the keys to your signature guitar sound, and how do you keep your fingers from catching on fire?

P Thanks. You know those hand grippers? Yeah, I just work out with those everyday. Do a few reps, then crank my ax to 12. The thing just starts rippin’. SMOKIN’ HOT!

SFBG This is the drug issue, so if you’re high, what would you order on your pizza? Is pizza your favorite drug?

P I don’t smoke dope. I ain’t no hippie.

SFBG “I Ain’t Takin’ You Out” is a timely song. What is your idea of a perfect night in?

P Usually just get a pie delivered, watch the tube, and make out on the couch. Drink a few brews. Get real loose, ya know?

SFBG “$7.99 for Love” makes me wonder if you might be penning a beer-and-pizza diet book sometime. Do you eat anything other than pizza and drink anything except beer?

P Uh, no. I mean, I like spaghetti.

SFBG If you curl up at night with a good book or magazine, what do you read?

P Hustler, Barely Legal, Buttman. You know, all the classics

SFBG Personal, are you a lover, or a fighter, or both?

P I’m the world’s best lover. I like to get in fights though, too, if I’m bored.

SFBG What shouldn’t be put on a pizza?

P Lay off the artichokes, man. Spinach can get lost, too. C’mon! Gimme somethin’ REGULAR!

SFBG What do you have to do to become a member of the Pizza Army?

P Gimme 5 bucks and you’re in!

SFBG When Personal and the Pizzas hit the Motor City, what are you going to do?

P Gonna burn it down! Gonna tear that mother apart! Gonna kick its ass!

SFBG What would Joey Ramone and Iggy Stooge think of Personal and the Pizzas?

P Not sure what those turkeys would think.

SFBG What’s next for Personal and the Pizzas? Any new musical directions or song subjects that you haven’t tackled before?

P We gotta new single comin’ out on Trouble In Mind in September. Got one ballad on there called “I Want You.” Gotta rocker on there, too, called “Don’t Trust No Party Boy.” Gonna stick to writin’ about real stuff. Girls. Pizza. Beatin’ up nerds. Rock ‘n’ roll. Stuff that matters, ya know? *

TOTAL TRASH FEST: PERSONAL AND THE PIZZAS

With Gentleman Jesse and His Men, Barreracudas, Wrong Words, Beercaz

Fri/20, 9 p.m., $10 ($33 for four-day Total Trash Fest passes)

Thee Parkside

1600 17th St., SF

(415) 252-1330

www.theeparkside.com

Sonic Reducer Overage: Paris, Total Trash Weekend, Garrett Pierce, and more

-

April 30, 2009

0

Babes in Ty land: Ty Segall messes with ya as part of Total Trash Weekend.

By Kimberly Chun

Bay rap vets and raucous rock sprats – it all goes splat this week. I’m guessing you’ll find plenty of trouble to get into – and musical artistry to appreciate – when you’re not busy downing scrump-dilly-icious (and cheap!) pastor tacos at the Gallo Giro taco truck at 23rd and Treat.

Goapele
Oakland’s own draws the curtain on new music: check her site for the spanking, sinuous “Milk + Honey.” With Cody Chestnutt. Fri/1, 9 p.m., $27. Independent, 628 Divisadero, SF. (415) 771-1422.

Zion-I
This is the weekend Bay hip-hop stages The TakeOver. The local twosome takes it to another level in honor of its new long-player. With Kev Choice Ensemble and Trackademicks and the Honor Roll. Fri/1, 9 p.m., $19-$23. Slim’s, 333 11th St., SF. (415) 522-0333.