emilysavage@sfbg.com
FALL ARTS The Bay Area has been through so many musical waves, it’s hard to remember what was cool five years ago, let alone three decades back. Former San Francisco resident and band manager Christel Sweet Burris came up with a creative solution: Deathstock, a fest of bands from the ’80s San Francisco underground reunited for a two-day festival at Red Devil Lounge and Slim’s. Fittingly, partial proceeds go to Save KUSF.
The lineup includes formerly big-banged, heavily eyelinered creatures such as Fade to Black, Thrill of the Pull, Bohemian Love Jones, Fountains of Use, Tripsychord, Talking Book, and Madonna Summer.
SFBG How did Deathstock start? Who came up with the idea?
Christel Burris The idea for a reunion started in October of 2010 on a secret Facebook group (SF 80s) and has grown from there. Originally it was to be a gathering of old friends, a lot of whom were musicians, but then I made the mistake of suggesting maybe some of the old bands would like to reform and play. The next thing I knew, we needed two days to accommodate all the people who wanted to play.
Brad Orgeron (he’ll be playing in several bands at the event) and I started planning, with me concentrating on the business aspects of the events, and Brad concentrating on gathering the musicians up and coordinating sets. The moniker “Deathstock” was coined by Chuck Davis, who will also be playing in several bands at the events.
SFBG What was your role in the ’80s scene?
CCB I managed a few bands, Fade to Black, Fountains of Use — both will be playing at the events — and, very briefly, Faith No More. Bill Gould, FNM bass player, will be playing at the Slim’s event with his new musical endeavor, The Talking Book. SFBG How did you track down the bands?
CB Facebook was instrumental in tracking down every one of these bands. Many of the people in the group hadn’t spoken in close to 25 years; but Facebook brought us all back together.
SFBG What was the response when you contacted these people?
CB I was amazed at how many people jumped at the chance to not only play but to attend. We’ve got people coming from all over the country, Canada, possibly Sweden and Japan. I’m traveling from Asheville, North Carolina (where I moved after leaving San Francisco 14 years ago).
SFBG Anything else people should know about Deathstock?
CB Due to the tremendous feedback we’ve been getting, we are hoping to make this an annual event. If anyone is interested in performing at Deathstock 2012, they should contact me. *
DEATHSTOCK
Sept. 10, 8 p.m., $10
Red Devil Lounge
1695 Polk, SF
Sept. 11, 8 p.m., $21
Slim’s
333 11th St, SF