What’s up with San Francisco skate-metal-punk contenders Hightower?
Well, they’re kind of on hiatus, according to bassist Dave Fallis, taking a break from his SF picture-framing business to talk despite his bandmates’ absence – “We can’t form the Voltron,” he warned. Hightower has made the rounds, touring every summer for the last six years, so this time, they’ve decided to just “concentrate on getting their lives back together” before writing songs and recording – once they raise enough funds.
“We’re, like, the least marketable band out there,” Fallis explained matter-of-factly. “We’re not quite a metal band and not a, quote-unquote, punk rock band. It just seems like when we’re at punk rock show, we’re the regular dudes in jeans and T-shirts, and when we go to a metal show, we’re the same way.” Still, the band that met each other skateboarding around their SF neighborhood continues to find their way with the help of kindred skaters. “If we didn’t skate we wouldn’t know each other,” Fallis said, “and as far as touring and getting shows, we’ll contact people we know through skateboarding, and we’ll decide which town to go to according to which ones have a great skateboarding spot or swimming hole.”
HIGHTOWER’S TOP FIVE SPOTS TO SKATE OR SWIM WHILE ON THE ROAD
– Montreal, the Big O or the Olympic Stadium
– Chattanooga, Tenn., Suck Creek (“A great spot in the Smoky Mountains.”)
– “Late-night skinny-dipping in Lawrence, Kansas.”
– Maine’s cliff jumps
– Assorted skateparks in Louisville, Ky.
HIGHTOWER
With Walken, Three Weeks Clean, and Soulbroker
May 1, 9 p.m., $8
Cafe Du Nord
2170 Market, SF
(415) 861-5016