The pounding synth sounds that start up Giuda’s studio version of this track on their latest album E.V.A get buried in the crowd roar of this live version shot at the Bottom of The Hill in San Francisco. This energetic Italo rock band has become known for mixing 70’s style glam pop and skinhead moonstompin’ punk riffs into a new spacey interstellar sound.
The main two songwriting members of Giuda are singer Tenda and guitarist Lorenzo who have known each other since childhood in Rome, and used to perform in a band called Taxi before they had started Giuda. In fact the very first US performance of Taxi was a memorable gig at Thee Parkside in 2003, when a big redneck lookin’ dude in a “God Bless The U.S.A.” t-shirt walked up and raised the tension level by confrontationally approaching Tenda and stood stoic, eye to eye in front of him while he was performing on the barely raised stage platform, Tenda didn’t flinch. When asked about this evening at The Bottom Of The Hill, Tenda said eventually after the set ended up, the possible bad guy ended up buying Tenda beers by the end of the night.
Here’s a boppin’ lil’ single from some unlikely suspects who’ve resurfaced onto the rock scene after decades of plugging away, perfecting their pop and dodging the dustbins of history by derailing dormancy. The new Rubinoos release “From Home” just came out on Yep Roc Records, and I shot this video clip in San Francisco’s Tenderloin, literally just blocks away from where this underrated band cut their first single for Beserkley Records in the mid-70s.
Nearly 50 years since forming their first combo, and 42 years since appearing on American Bandstand, the Rubinoos have revitalized their classic pop sound and are making a go of it with their latest effort “From Home” on the Yep Roc label.
Taking their tried and true formula of vocal harmonizing with sweetly layered instrumental accompaniment, they teamed up with some production help at Hyde St Studios with longtime local fan Chuck Prophet and ace engineer Paul Q Kolderie (whose made some great records with everyone from The Go-Go’s and Dinosaur Jr to The Pixies, Radiohead and more). The results are finally garnering them their first serious 21st century press attention since getting embroiled in a lawsuit with Dr Luke and Avril Lavigne over their all too apparent uncredited copycatting of the 70’s era Rubinoos single “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend” about a decade ago.
The new song featured here, co-written with Chuck Prophet, pays tribute to the late Honey Lantree, a UK hairdresser who went on to become an iconic female drummer for the Honeycombs, a 60’s pop band produced by eccentric UK production wunderkind Joe Meek.
Despite having begun their career during the Nixon era when bubblegum rock was not yet a retro sound, and prevailing thru a decades long run with all the tawdry travails of show biz, the Rubinoos overall are actually in great shape and spirits, and seem way healthier (and far more talented) than many bands I know half their age.
To familiarize yourself with this amazing band and their past glories, you can visit a playlist on Spotify that will fill in all the blanks
Here’s to the mighty Rubinoos who I hope can provide us much needed inspiration for kids of all ages!
November 1 – The Chapel – San Francisco, CA November 3 – Harlow’s – Sacramento, CA November 17 – Bootleg Bar – Los Angeles, CA December 9 – White Eagle – Portland, OR December 11 – Sunset Tavern – Seattle, WA
Death Valley Girls (Bonnie Bloomgarden, Larry Schemel, Pickle, and The Kid) found time to visit Amoeba Records in San Francisco on a Friday night in April 2019 for an in-store signing and performance between playing at Starlite Social Club in Oakland and a run up to headline an indie rock festival in Chico CA. Currently one of the most unique bands on the indie rock touring circuit, they are promoting a new single called Dream Cleaver and have albums out on both the hipster faves Burger and Suicide Squeeze labels worth checking out.
At the event in the video they signed copies of two vinyl albums, a reissued clear & green speckled version of their Burger Records “Glow In The Dark” vinyl and pressings of their newest release on Suicide Squeeze “Darkness Rains”. Amoeba’s staff were hospitable and gave the gals matching black tees that they wore with the store’s moniker done up in white death metal lettering. The “Girls” enthralled a mixed audience comprised of music industry veterans like Invisibl Skratch Piklz DJ Q-Bert, dedicated fans who’d driven in from as far as Vacaville, random aging hipsters, and even some kids apparently seeing their very first live band performance.
DVG See Their Latest Colored Vinyl LP Version For The First Time
Bonnie Bloomgarden’s White Boots
Pickle Signing The Burger Records LP
Love Is Cool – Buy A Record!
The band is continuing a tour they started in August with Brody Dalle’s revitalized band The Distillers through much of October 2019, here are some of their remaining dates:
10/11 — Minneapolis, MN @ The Varsity Theater ^
10/12 — Des Moines, IA @ Wooly’s ^
10/13 — St Louis, MO @ The Ready Room ^
10/15 — Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall ^
10/16 — Austin, TX @ Emo’s ^
10/17 — Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater ^
10/19 — Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre ^
10/20 — Salt Lake City, UT @ The Union Event Center ^
There was a unique Roky Erickson Birthday Tribute earlier this week by several local musicians of note in San Francisco. GibbsMo emCee Parker Gibbs introduces Eric Moffatt’s JACKSHACK . This cover of Roky’s “Goodbye Sweet Dreams” was by the loose coalition known as JACKSHACK featuring Eric Moffatt on guitar & vocals, with Cindy Giuliani on bass, Ricky Wayne Garrett on drums, and Roman Yamilov on guitar.
Video is excerpted from footage I recorded at the recent Sad Bastard’s Club Roky Erickson Tribute Night held at The Make-Out Room in San Francisco July 15th 2019 … Eric Moffat insists on calling his rotating backup band JACKSHACK, and until he comes up with an even shittier name I guess I’ll let him. Personally I already suggested Chief Sour Mashantucket & His Pale White Jazz Hands but he wasn’t interested.
Video of Buck Bito and The Hall Sisters singing a beautifully bittersweet so long and farewell to a place and way of life that defined their youth along Islais Creek in SF. The song is called Cry Baby …
Sisters Laurie & Jennifer Hall musically meshed as dueling vocalists and rhythm section, with added dissonance contributed by guitarist Buck Bito were known as Ovarian Trolley.
Jennifer Hall Ovarian TrolleyBuck Bito & Laurie Hall
A 90’s era San Francisco based indie rock band, Ovarian Trolley released 3 full length CD albums, emerged from the ashes of their previous late 80’s combo Glorious Clitorious and recorded and toured from roughly 1992 thru 1998. This live video recording was made in September 8th 2018 at their a farewell show to their old San Francisco stomping grounds, a final gathering at Laurie’s Lost Door warehouse studio loft space on Islais Creek in San Francisco before eviction. The song was recorded some twenty years since they’d ostensibly ended their Ovarian Trolley musical project with Buck and moved on to other musical and creative pursuits.
Live footage of The Buttertones in San Francisco performing Life Coach, an original song that appears on their 2016 self released “American Brunch” LP.
The cinematic surf noir of The Buttertones captured on multiple foggy lensed cameras in a darkly lit crowded low ceilinged basement full of hysterical sweaty shrieking females, whats not to like?
This video is a multi-cam clip from their 2017 summer tour which I captured below the Swedish American Hall on Market St at the nocturnal retreat otherwise known as DuNord.
The Buttertones, an educated and enigmatic five-piece combo that arose from the Los Angeles basin at the time consisting of Richard Araiza (vocals/guitar), Sean Redman (bass), Modesto Cobian (drums), London Guzmán (saxophone) and Dakota Böettcher (guitar). I have just read that as of July 2019, guitarist Dakota has left the group, so it should interesting as they forge ahead without his additional musical influence.
Kendra Smith Makes Her First Appearance With The Dream Syndicate in 35 Years, And This Clip Documents The Moment Before a Sold Out Crowd In San Francisco.
This Multi-Camera Live Video Features Her Husky Voice On “Too Little Too Late” Reprised from The Band’s Acclaimed Early 1980’s Debut Album And The “Kendra’s Dream” From The Band’s Recent Reunion Recording “How Did I Find Myself Here?”. Both Songs Were Recorded at The Independent in San Francisco
Love Me From A Distance” a live version of a song from the Elettrodomestico album If You’re a Boy or a Girl.
Shortly before the Hemlock Tavern shut down for good in San Francisco, I was privileged enough to attend an evening’s show where Jane Wiedlin (formerly of the Go-Go’s) was giving her latest musical project a chance to test it’s club rock legs. Featuring her latest songwriting collaborator, Pietro Straccia on guitar, plus some local pedigreed rockers like Dawn Richardson of 4 Non-Blondes on percussion and and longtime Tom Waits’ guitarist Joe Gore playing bass, they put a great intimate show in a tiny sweaty club that has since been torn down.
Jane Wiedlin is still an energetic vital musical force and her talented backing band Elettrodomestico is living proof she’s still got it going on decades after the music industry certified her platinum!
That time Neko Case was out promoting her wonderful first new album in five years calledm called Hell-On , on -Anti and you slept through her super duper moving live musical appearance of heres “Last Lion Of Albion” on CBS This Morning Saturday edition because it aired at 5 something AM…
(sorry this video recorded in September 29th 2018 is cut in two parts for now, because only sub 3 minute CBS news video content embeds are supported and the track runs longer…)
Pickle Signing The Burger Records LP
