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"slug": "mosswood-meltdown-2026-review-photos-oakland-punk-festival",
"title": "Mosswood Meltdown, the Music Festival for People Who Hate Music Festivals",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/mosswood-meltdown\">Mosswood Meltdown\u003c/a> is for the diehards. The people who heard that you’re supposed to stop caring about new music at age 30 and rolled their eyes. They don’t want distractions like a silent disco, a culinary stage or a “Chocolands,” and they sure as hell don’t need Vitamin B12 infusions. They sweat out their hangovers like they always have: in the pit while their new favorite band plays. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That much was clear this past weekend at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/oakland\">Oakland\u003c/a>’s Mosswood Park, where the opening acts, 20 in all, were sometimes celebrated more actively than headliners Pavement, Iggy Pop and Bikini Kill. On Sunday, Bikini Kill’s Kathleen Hanna even saluted the bands that hadn’t formed yet, but would after attending the festival: “I can’t wait,” she said, “to open for \u003cem>you\u003c/em> in 10 years.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_115-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991806\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_115-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_115-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_115-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_115-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bikini Kill perform during the closing set of Mosswood Meltdown on July 19, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Or consider the scene Friday afternoon, when Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus emerged from his tour bus, a few feet away from the long line of fans along MacArthur Boulevard. No one so much as twitched. Instead, they filed into the park and held aloft a Rasputin-looking septuagenarian crowdsurfer while Wednesday’s Karly Hartzman erupted in otherworldly screams, which she dedicated to those dead from the wars promoted by recently deceased Republican senator Lindsey Graham.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On Saturday, the Dirtbombs slayed the concrete amphitheater and Otoboke Beaver, from Kyoto, won over new recruits with their frenetic energy. Oakland’s Bitchfit played a furious stageless set on Sunday, and drag queen Kochina Rude performed as Pee-Wee Herman singing the Germs’ “Lexicon Devil.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_056-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991783\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_056-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_056-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_056-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_056-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Japanese punk band Otoboke Beaver performs on the Field Stage during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For annual music festivals, this sort of renegade authenticity is all too easy to lose after a few years. A festival will have some success, organizers decide to maximize their investment, and slowly, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101911699/cory-doctorow-on-why-the-internet-got-so-terrible-so-fast-and-what-to-do-about-it\">enshittification\u003c/a> creeps in: more branding, more advertising, more “experiences” and more pandering to people with money. Somehow the Foo Fighters are always involved.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mosswood has grown plenty in its various iterations over the past 17 years. It’s now large enough to attract Pavement, who amusingly covered part of “Stairway to Heaven”; Iggy Pop, who proved that one can still embody rock ‘n’ roll at 79; and Bikini Kill, who brought out Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney for “Rebel Girl.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_027_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991809\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_027_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_027_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_027_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_027_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pavement headlines the Mosswood Meltdown pre-party on July 17, 2026, in Oakland.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This year, a completed renovation of Mosswood Park also meant a more spacious layout. Newly situated at the north end of the park, the once-modest main stage was replaced by a more standard festival-issue truss stage, complete with a giant LED screen and tall scaffolding.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But wouldn’t you know it? It only took two days for a band, Snooper, to \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DbBaMjeByT2/\">climb high up the scaffolding\u003c/a>. As for sponsors and branding, when representatives of a tequila company sponsoring the festival gave their onstage product spiel before Pavement’s set, the crowd responded with jeering and scattered boos. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_095-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991796\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_095-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_095-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_095-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_095-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Iggy Pop performs during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One could scoff at this as Gen-X groupthink, of sheep in different clothing. (To be sure, there is something of a uniform coalescing among this cohort. For the men, black zip-up hoodies, mesh caps, jeans and a beard. For the women, either a Nooworks jumpsuit or black skirt, denim jacket, nice-but-orthopedic shoes and a bob.) \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But really, who likes advertising? Who wants to download some app? Who genuinely wants to go to a Verizon tent and talk about data plans? Who wants to stand in front of a plastic foliage wall with pink, faux-neon cursive, brought to you by some “artisanal” snack company actually owned by Nestle?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Not the grandparents and teenagers alike that flock to Mosswood each year, and not the organizers either, thank goodness.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_097_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991807\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_097_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_097_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_097_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_097_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Dead Milkmen perform during Mosswood Meltdown on July 19, 2026, in Oakland.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Take the set finale of the Dead Milkmen, who played classics like “Punk Rock Girl” and “Life Is Shit” to a massive crowd that took over the small amphitheatre’s fences and trees on Sunday. (Sample improvised lyric: “Hey Stephen Miller! / I don’t wanna see ya / I think you’re the cause / of explosive diarrhea!”)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the wings, Mosswood cofounder Marc Ribak stood watch, singing along and simultaneously trying in vain to curtail the steady flow of stagedivers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But by the last song? Ribak said the hell with it, stood atop the monitors — and then leapt with abandon into the tattooed arms of the crowd.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>More photos below.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_003_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991808\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_003_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_003_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_003_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_003_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">John Waters introduces indie rock band Wednesday on the Field Stage during the Mosswood Meltdown pre-party on July 17, 2026, in Oakland. Waters returns as host for his 12th year at the annual punk music festival.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_051-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991782\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_051-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_051-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_051-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_051-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Japanese punk band Otoboke Beaver performs on the Field Stage during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1334\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_066-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991788\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_066-KQED.jpg 1334w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_066-KQED-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_066-KQED-768x1151.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_066-KQED-1025x1536.jpg 1025w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1334px) 100vw, 1334px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Adam Walker pushes his 5-year-old daughter, Wynonna Walker, on a swing during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. The family traveled from Jersey City, New Jersey. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_015-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991768\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_015-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_015-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_015-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_015-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Karly Hartzman of Wednesday performs on the Field Stage during the Mosswood Meltdown pre-party on July 17, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_037-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991777\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_037-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_037-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_037-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_037-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Spits perform at the amphitheater stage during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_112-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991805\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_112-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_112-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_112-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_112-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">B. Gallagher (right) and Jamie Ridener (center) cheer from the front row during Bikini Kill’s closing set at Mosswood Meltdown on July 19, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_107-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991803\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_107-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_107-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_107-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_107-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kathleen Hanna and Kathi Wilcox of Bikini Kill perform during the closing set of Mosswood Meltdown on July 19, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_100-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991799\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_100-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_100-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_100-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_100-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Musician H.P. Mendoza of Peaches Christ’s Punk Pride poses for a portrait during Mosswood Meltdown on July 19, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_047-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991781\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_047-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_047-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_047-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_047-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Festivalgoers browse vendor booths during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_033-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991774\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_033-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_033-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_033-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_033-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pavement headlines the Mosswood Meltdown pre-party on July 17, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_067-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991789\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_067-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_067-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_067-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_067-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Friends Raquel, left, and Lorna take a smoke break during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_036-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991776\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_036-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_036-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_036-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_036-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Fans react during The Spits’ performance at the amphitheater stage during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1333\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_076-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991792\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_076-KQED.jpg 1333w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_076-KQED-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_076-KQED-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_076-KQED-1024x1536.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1333px) 100vw, 1333px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Curator Kai Wada Roath offers $1 palm readings during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_005-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991765\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_005-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_005-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_005-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_005-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nico Banuelos of Richmond waits near the Field Stage before Wednesday’s performance during the Mosswood Meltdown pre-party on July 17, 2026, in Oakland. Banuelos said the band was the reason they bought a ticket. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_042-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991780\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_042-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_042-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_042-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_042-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Mannequin Pussy performs on the Field Stage during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_071-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991791\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_071-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_071-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_071-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_071-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Friends Graaciella E., left, and DJaune A. pose for a portrait during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. They traveled from Southern California. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_008-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991767\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_008-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_008-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_008-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_008-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Cyrus Kayhan, left, and Akeylah Hernandez pose in the grass during the Mosswood Meltdown pre-party on July 17, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_098-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991798\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_098-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_098-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_098-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_098-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A fan crowd surfs during The Dead Milkmen’s set at Mosswood Meltdown on July 19, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/mosswood-meltdown\">Mosswood Meltdown\u003c/a> is for the diehards. The people who heard that you’re supposed to stop caring about new music at age 30 and rolled their eyes. They don’t want distractions like a silent disco, a culinary stage or a “Chocolands,” and they sure as hell don’t need Vitamin B12 infusions. They sweat out their hangovers like they always have: in the pit while their new favorite band plays. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/mosswood-meltdown\">Mosswood Meltdown\u003c/a> is for the diehards. The people who heard that you’re supposed to stop caring about new music at age 30 and rolled their eyes. They don’t want distractions like a silent disco, a culinary stage or a “Chocolands,” and they sure as hell don’t need Vitamin B12 infusions. They sweat out their hangovers like they always have: in the pit while their new favorite band plays. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That much was clear this past weekend at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/oakland\">Oakland\u003c/a>’s Mosswood Park, where the opening acts, 20 in all, were sometimes celebrated more actively than headliners Pavement, Iggy Pop and Bikini Kill. On Sunday, Bikini Kill’s Kathleen Hanna even saluted the bands that hadn’t formed yet, but would after attending the festival: “I can’t wait,” she said, “to open for \u003cem>you\u003c/em> in 10 years.”\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>That much was clear this past weekend at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/oakland\">Oakland\u003c/a>’s Mosswood Park, where the opening acts, 20 in all, were sometimes celebrated more actively than headliners Pavement, Iggy Pop and Bikini Kill. On Sunday, Bikini Kill’s Kathleen Hanna even saluted the bands that hadn’t formed yet, but would after attending the festival: “I can’t wait,” she said, “to open for \u003cem>you\u003c/em> in 10 years.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_115-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_115-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_115-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_115-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_115-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991806\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_115-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_115-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_115-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_115-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bikini Kill perform during the closing set of Mosswood Meltdown on July 19, 2026, in Oakland.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_115-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991806\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bikini Kill perform during the closing set of Mosswood Meltdown on July 19, 2026, in Oakland.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Or consider the scene Friday afternoon, when Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus emerged from his tour bus, a few feet away from the long line of fans along MacArthur Boulevard. No one so much as twitched. Instead, they filed into the park and held aloft a Rasputin-looking septuagenarian crowdsurfer while Wednesday’s Karly Hartzman erupted in otherworldly screams, which she dedicated to those dead from the wars promoted by recently deceased Republican senator Lindsey Graham.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Or consider the scene Friday afternoon, when Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus emerged from his tour bus, a few feet away from the long line of fans along MacArthur Boulevard. No one so much as twitched. Instead, they filed into the park and held aloft a Rasputin-looking septuagenarian crowdsurfer while Wednesday’s Karly Hartzman erupted in otherworldly screams, which she dedicated to those dead from the wars promoted by recently deceased Republican senator Lindsey Graham.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On Saturday, the Dirtbombs slayed the concrete amphitheater and Otoboke Beaver, from Kyoto, won over new recruits with their frenetic energy. Oakland’s Bitchfit played a furious stageless set on Sunday, and drag queen Kochina Rude performed as Pee-Wee Herman singing the Germs’ “Lexicon Devil.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>On Saturday, the Dirtbombs slayed the concrete amphitheater and Otoboke Beaver, from Kyoto, won over new recruits with their frenetic energy. Oakland’s Bitchfit played a furious stageless set on Sunday, and drag queen Kochina Rude performed as Pee-Wee Herman singing the Germs’ “Lexicon Devil.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_056-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991783\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_056-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_056-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_056-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_056-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Japanese punk band Otoboke Beaver performs on the Field Stage during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_056-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991783\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Japanese punk band Otoboke Beaver performs on the Field Stage during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For annual music festivals, this sort of renegade authenticity is all too easy to lose after a few years. A festival will have some success, organizers decide to maximize their investment, and slowly, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101911699/cory-doctorow-on-why-the-internet-got-so-terrible-so-fast-and-what-to-do-about-it\">enshittification\u003c/a> creeps in: more branding, more advertising, more “experiences” and more pandering to people with money. Somehow the Foo Fighters are always involved.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For annual music festivals, this sort of renegade authenticity is all too easy to lose after a few years. A festival will have some success, organizers decide to maximize their investment, and slowly, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101911699/cory-doctorow-on-why-the-internet-got-so-terrible-so-fast-and-what-to-do-about-it\">enshittification\u003c/a> creeps in: more branding, more advertising, more “experiences” and more pandering to people with money. Somehow the Foo Fighters are always involved.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Mosswood has grown plenty in its various iterations over the past 17 years. It’s now large enough to attract Pavement, who amusingly covered part of “Stairway to Heaven”; Iggy Pop, who proved that one can still embody rock ‘n’ roll at 79; and Bikini Kill, who brought out Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney for “Rebel Girl.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Mosswood has grown plenty in its various iterations over the past 17 years. It’s now large enough to attract Pavement, who amusingly covered part of “Stairway to Heaven”; Iggy Pop, who proved that one can still embody rock ‘n’ roll at 79; and Bikini Kill, who brought out Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney for “Rebel Girl.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_027_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_027_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_027_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_027_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_027_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991809\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_027_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_027_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_027_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_027_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pavement headlines the Mosswood Meltdown pre-party on July 17, 2026, in Oakland.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_027_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991809\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pavement headlines the Mosswood Meltdown pre-party on July 17, 2026, in Oakland.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This year, a completed renovation of Mosswood Park also meant a more spacious layout. Newly situated at the north end of the park, the once-modest main stage was replaced by a more standard festival-issue truss stage, complete with a giant LED screen and tall scaffolding.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>This year, a completed renovation of Mosswood Park also meant a more spacious layout. Newly situated at the north end of the park, the once-modest main stage was replaced by a more standard festival-issue truss stage, complete with a giant LED screen and tall scaffolding.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But wouldn’t you know it? It only took two days for a band, Snooper, to \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DbBaMjeByT2/\">climb high up the scaffolding\u003c/a>. As for sponsors and branding, when representatives of a tequila company sponsoring the festival gave their onstage product spiel before Pavement’s set, the crowd responded with jeering and scattered boos. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But wouldn’t you know it? It only took two days for a band, Snooper, to \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DbBaMjeByT2/\">climb high up the scaffolding\u003c/a>. As for sponsors and branding, when representatives of a tequila company sponsoring the festival gave their onstage product spiel before Pavement’s set, the crowd responded with jeering and scattered boos. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_095-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991796\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_095-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_095-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_095-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_095-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Iggy Pop performs during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_095-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991796\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Iggy Pop performs during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>One could scoff at this as Gen-X groupthink, of sheep in different clothing. (To be sure, there is something of a uniform coalescing among this cohort. For the men, black zip-up hoodies, mesh caps, jeans and a beard. For the women, either a Nooworks jumpsuit or black skirt, denim jacket, nice-but-orthopedic shoes and a bob.) \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>One could scoff at this as Gen-X groupthink, of sheep in different clothing. (To be sure, there is something of a uniform coalescing among this cohort. For the men, black zip-up hoodies, mesh caps, jeans and a beard. For the women, either a Nooworks jumpsuit or black skirt, denim jacket, nice-but-orthopedic shoes and a bob.) \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But really, who likes advertising? Who wants to download some app? Who genuinely wants to go to a Verizon tent and talk about data plans? Who wants to stand in front of a plastic foliage wall with pink, faux-neon cursive, brought to you by some “artisanal” snack company actually owned by Nestle?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But really, who likes advertising? Who wants to download some app? Who genuinely wants to go to a Verizon tent and talk about data plans? Who wants to stand in front of a plastic foliage wall with pink, faux-neon cursive, brought to you by some “artisanal” snack company actually owned by Nestle?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Not the grandparents and teenagers alike that flock to Mosswood each year, and not the organizers either, thank goodness.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Not the grandparents and teenagers alike that flock to Mosswood each year, and not the organizers either, thank goodness.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_097_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991807\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_097_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_097_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_097_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_097_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Dead Milkmen perform during Mosswood Meltdown on July 19, 2026, in Oakland.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_097_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991807\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Dead Milkmen perform during Mosswood Meltdown on July 19, 2026, in Oakland.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Take the set finale of the Dead Milkmen, who played classics like “Punk Rock Girl” and “Life Is Shit” to a massive crowd that took over the small amphitheatre’s fences and trees on Sunday. (Sample improvised lyric: “Hey Stephen Miller! / I don’t wanna see ya / I think you’re the cause / of explosive diarrhea!”)\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Take the set finale of the Dead Milkmen, who played classics like “Punk Rock Girl” and “Life Is Shit” to a massive crowd that took over the small amphitheatre’s fences and trees on Sunday. (Sample improvised lyric: “Hey Stephen Miller! / I don’t wanna see ya / I think you’re the cause / of explosive diarrhea!”)\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In the wings, Mosswood cofounder Marc Ribak stood watch, singing along and simultaneously trying in vain to curtail the steady flow of stagedivers.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In the wings, Mosswood cofounder Marc Ribak stood watch, singing along and simultaneously trying in vain to curtail the steady flow of stagedivers.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But by the last song? Ribak said the hell with it, stood atop the monitors — and then leapt with abandon into the tattooed arms of the crowd.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But by the last song? Ribak said the hell with it, stood atop the monitors — and then leapt with abandon into the tattooed arms of the crowd.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>More photos below.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>More photos below.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_003_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991808\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_003_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_003_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_003_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_003_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">John Waters introduces indie rock band Wednesday on the Field Stage during the Mosswood Meltdown pre-party on July 17, 2026, in Oakland. Waters returns as host for his 12th year at the annual punk music festival.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_003_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991808\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">John Waters introduces indie rock band Wednesday on the Field Stage during the Mosswood Meltdown pre-party on July 17, 2026, in Oakland. Waters returns as host for his 12th year at the annual punk music festival.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"excerpt": "With headliners like Bikini Kill and Iggy Pop on an expanded stage, this year’s garage-punk soiree kept its underground roots.",
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"title": "Mosswood Meltdown 2026: Review and Photos of Oakland's Annual Punk Festival | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/mosswood-meltdown\">Mosswood Meltdown\u003c/a> is for the diehards. The people who heard that you’re supposed to stop caring about new music at age 30 and rolled their eyes. They don’t want distractions like a silent disco, a culinary stage or a “Chocolands,” and they sure as hell don’t need Vitamin B12 infusions. They sweat out their hangovers like they always have: in the pit while their new favorite band plays. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That much was clear this past weekend at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/oakland\">Oakland\u003c/a>’s Mosswood Park, where the opening acts, 20 in all, were sometimes celebrated more actively than headliners Pavement, Iggy Pop and Bikini Kill. On Sunday, Bikini Kill’s Kathleen Hanna even saluted the bands that hadn’t formed yet, but would after attending the festival: “I can’t wait,” she said, “to open for \u003cem>you\u003c/em> in 10 years.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_115-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991806\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_115-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_115-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_115-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_115-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bikini Kill perform during the closing set of Mosswood Meltdown on July 19, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Or consider the scene Friday afternoon, when Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus emerged from his tour bus, a few feet away from the long line of fans along MacArthur Boulevard. No one so much as twitched. Instead, they filed into the park and held aloft a Rasputin-looking septuagenarian crowdsurfer while Wednesday’s Karly Hartzman erupted in otherworldly screams, which she dedicated to those dead from the wars promoted by recently deceased Republican senator Lindsey Graham.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On Saturday, the Dirtbombs slayed the concrete amphitheater and Otoboke Beaver, from Kyoto, won over new recruits with their frenetic energy. Oakland’s Bitchfit played a furious stageless set on Sunday, and drag queen Kochina Rude performed as Pee-Wee Herman singing the Germs’ “Lexicon Devil.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_056-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991783\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_056-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_056-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_056-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_056-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Japanese punk band Otoboke Beaver performs on the Field Stage during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For annual music festivals, this sort of renegade authenticity is all too easy to lose after a few years. A festival will have some success, organizers decide to maximize their investment, and slowly, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101911699/cory-doctorow-on-why-the-internet-got-so-terrible-so-fast-and-what-to-do-about-it\">enshittification\u003c/a> creeps in: more branding, more advertising, more “experiences” and more pandering to people with money. Somehow the Foo Fighters are always involved.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mosswood has grown plenty in its various iterations over the past 17 years. It’s now large enough to attract Pavement, who amusingly covered part of “Stairway to Heaven”; Iggy Pop, who proved that one can still embody rock ‘n’ roll at 79; and Bikini Kill, who brought out Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney for “Rebel Girl.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_027_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991809\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_027_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_027_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_027_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_027_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pavement headlines the Mosswood Meltdown pre-party on July 17, 2026, in Oakland.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This year, a completed renovation of Mosswood Park also meant a more spacious layout. Newly situated at the north end of the park, the once-modest main stage was replaced by a more standard festival-issue truss stage, complete with a giant LED screen and tall scaffolding.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But wouldn’t you know it? It only took two days for a band, Snooper, to \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DbBaMjeByT2/\">climb high up the scaffolding\u003c/a>. As for sponsors and branding, when representatives of a tequila company sponsoring the festival gave their onstage product spiel before Pavement’s set, the crowd responded with jeering and scattered boos. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_095-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991796\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_095-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_095-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_095-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_095-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Iggy Pop performs during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One could scoff at this as Gen-X groupthink, of sheep in different clothing. (To be sure, there is something of a uniform coalescing among this cohort. For the men, black zip-up hoodies, mesh caps, jeans and a beard. For the women, either a Nooworks jumpsuit or black skirt, denim jacket, nice-but-orthopedic shoes and a bob.) \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But really, who likes advertising? Who wants to download some app? Who genuinely wants to go to a Verizon tent and talk about data plans? Who wants to stand in front of a plastic foliage wall with pink, faux-neon cursive, brought to you by some “artisanal” snack company actually owned by Nestle?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Not the grandparents and teenagers alike that flock to Mosswood each year, and not the organizers either, thank goodness.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_097_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991807\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_097_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_097_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_097_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_097_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Dead Milkmen perform during Mosswood Meltdown on July 19, 2026, in Oakland.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Take the set finale of the Dead Milkmen, who played classics like “Punk Rock Girl” and “Life Is Shit” to a massive crowd that took over the small amphitheatre’s fences and trees on Sunday. (Sample improvised lyric: “Hey Stephen Miller! / I don’t wanna see ya / I think you’re the cause / of explosive diarrhea!”)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the wings, Mosswood cofounder Marc Ribak stood watch, singing along and simultaneously trying in vain to curtail the steady flow of stagedivers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But by the last song? Ribak said the hell with it, stood atop the monitors — and then leapt with abandon into the tattooed arms of the crowd.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>More photos below.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_003_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991808\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_003_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_003_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_003_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_003_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">John Waters introduces indie rock band Wednesday on the Field Stage during the Mosswood Meltdown pre-party on July 17, 2026, in Oakland. Waters returns as host for his 12th year at the annual punk music festival.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_051-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991782\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_051-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_051-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_051-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_051-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Japanese punk band Otoboke Beaver performs on the Field Stage during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1334\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_066-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991788\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_066-KQED.jpg 1334w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_066-KQED-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_066-KQED-768x1151.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_066-KQED-1025x1536.jpg 1025w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1334px) 100vw, 1334px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Adam Walker pushes his 5-year-old daughter, Wynonna Walker, on a swing during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. The family traveled from Jersey City, New Jersey. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_015-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991768\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_015-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_015-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_015-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_015-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Karly Hartzman of Wednesday performs on the Field Stage during the Mosswood Meltdown pre-party on July 17, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_037-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991777\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_037-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_037-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_037-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_037-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Spits perform at the amphitheater stage during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_112-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991805\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_112-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_112-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_112-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_112-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">B. Gallagher (right) and Jamie Ridener (center) cheer from the front row during Bikini Kill’s closing set at Mosswood Meltdown on July 19, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_107-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991803\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_107-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_107-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_107-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_107-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kathleen Hanna and Kathi Wilcox of Bikini Kill perform during the closing set of Mosswood Meltdown on July 19, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_100-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991799\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_100-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_100-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_100-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_100-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Musician H.P. Mendoza of Peaches Christ’s Punk Pride poses for a portrait during Mosswood Meltdown on July 19, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_047-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991781\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_047-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_047-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_047-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_047-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Festivalgoers browse vendor booths during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_033-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991774\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_033-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_033-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_033-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_033-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pavement headlines the Mosswood Meltdown pre-party on July 17, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_067-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991789\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_067-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_067-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_067-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_067-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Friends Raquel, left, and Lorna take a smoke break during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_036-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991776\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_036-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_036-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_036-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_036-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Fans react during The Spits’ performance at the amphitheater stage during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1333\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_076-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991792\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_076-KQED.jpg 1333w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_076-KQED-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_076-KQED-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_076-KQED-1024x1536.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1333px) 100vw, 1333px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Curator Kai Wada Roath offers $1 palm readings during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_005-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991765\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_005-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_005-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_005-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_005-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nico Banuelos of Richmond waits near the Field Stage before Wednesday’s performance during the Mosswood Meltdown pre-party on July 17, 2026, in Oakland. Banuelos said the band was the reason they bought a ticket. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_042-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991780\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_042-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_042-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_042-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_042-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Mannequin Pussy performs on the Field Stage during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_071-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991791\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_071-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_071-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_071-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_071-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Friends Graaciella E., left, and DJaune A. pose for a portrait during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. They traveled from Southern California. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_008-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991767\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_008-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_008-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_008-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_008-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Cyrus Kayhan, left, and Akeylah Hernandez pose in the grass during the Mosswood Meltdown pre-party on July 17, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_098-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991798\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_098-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_098-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_098-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_098-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A fan crowd surfs during The Dead Milkmen’s set at Mosswood Meltdown on July 19, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "mission-district-punk-generator-shows-san-francisco",
"title": "When Generator Punk Shows Ruled the Mission District",
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"headTitle": "When Generator Punk Shows Ruled the Mission District | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>The scene: 16th and Mission BART in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a>, 1998. Trains careen underground, while above, another kind of noise is happening.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Ivy Jeanne’s raspy, blues-inflected voice screams out of PAs borrowed from friends, powered by a generator borrowed from other friends. Erica Lyle’s guitar wails into the ether, making its way to Capp Street. Young punks dance, free of harassment. The show is over before anyone really knows it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Miami and Shotwell have just played an illegal show at BART.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You’d roll up. Sometimes I was with whoever had the PA. You would just see punks on the periphery. Nobody was assembled in the plaza exactly. You could just see people around, and as soon as the gear started coming out, everyone would just descend,” said Karoline Collins, a local photographer and roadie for the band \u003ca href=\"https://mattyluv.com/\">Hickey\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1326\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Miami-9-Ivy-Pointing_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991192\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Miami-9-Ivy-Pointing_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins.jpg 1326w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Miami-9-Ivy-Pointing_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-160x241.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Miami-9-Ivy-Pointing_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-768x1158.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Miami-9-Ivy-Pointing_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-1018x1536.jpg 1018w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1326px) 100vw, 1326px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ivy McClelland sings with the Mission District punk band Miami at 16th and Mission BART plaza, circa 2000. (Karoline Collins)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This would be one of many illegal generator-powered \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/punk\">punk\u003c/a> shows happening on Mission Street, a tradition that would carry into San Francisco’s present day. While San Francisco’s punk shows of the ’70s and ’80s had taken place in unlikely settings — a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13980619/mabuhay-gardens-reopening-sf-punk-club-north-beach\">Filipino restaurant\u003c/a>, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13938024/old-san-francisco-punk-venues-deaf-club-farm-sound-music-tool-die\">social club for the deaf\u003c/a>, literal \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13902953/alternative-voices-1980s-san-francisco-punk-jeanne-hansen-photography-jonah-raskin\">beer vats\u003c/a> — the tradition of guerilla generator shows that flourished in Mission District’s ragged and dedicated punk scene of the ’90s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13923420/punk-show-on-bart\">continues today with bands like False Flag, Surprise Privilege and WIFE\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/mission-district\">Mission District\u003c/a>’s punk history runs deep, boasting bands like MDC and Jawbreaker, and venues like Tool & Die, Kommotion and Epicenter. But in the late ’90s, something shifted. A new wave of punks dedicated to cheap living, harm reduction and the DIY ethos took over the streets. From 1994 through 2002, bands like Hickey, Shotwell, 50 Million and the aforementioned Miami would creatively resist San Francisco’s then-Mayor \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/willie-brown\">Willie Brown\u003c/a> and the powers that be with both music and action.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Their headquarters would become Mission Records, and later 16th and Mission BART Plaza, for amplifying their frustrations with gentrification, war and the police.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The City That Never Sleeps\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Ivy Jeanne McClelland moved to San Francisco in 1997 after years of moving back and forth, sometimes by hopping trains, between her hometown of Miami and the East Bay as a teenage runaway. Though she’d crossed paths with Bay Area bands like Rancid, Green Day and Blatz, she decided to make San Francisco home thanks to Hickey. That year, McClelland hopped in the band’s van on their final tour, and moved into the band’s squalid apartment, the Hickey Hotel, on 24th Street.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1326\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Aesop-Kitchen-Patches_1996_Karoline-Hanson-Collins.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991186\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Aesop-Kitchen-Patches_1996_Karoline-Hanson-Collins.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Aesop-Kitchen-Patches_1996_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Aesop-Kitchen-Patches_1996_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-768x509.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Aesop-Kitchen-Patches_1996_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-1536x1018.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Aesop Dekker screenprints Hickey patches in the kitchen at the Hickey Hotel, circa mid-1990s. (Karoline Collins)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>McClelland had played in bands like the Tri-Rails and Los Canadians, but when she made it to San Francisco, she teamed up with best friend and fellow Floridian Erica Dawn Lyle to start a new band called Miami, bolstered by Dekker and Luv from Hickey.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>With more and more local venues like Klub Kommotion, Starcleaners Warehouse and Epicenter Records winding down operations, Miami and their longtime friends in the band Shotwell colluded to create a new commotion down Mission Street. Lyle and Broutis decided to host an illegal pop-up show, powered by generators, in front of the defunct Leed’s Shoes building at 22nd and Mission. Borrowing the idea from a band of buskers known as Rube Waddell, the two fueled their iteration with political angst.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The generator shows were a product of when gentrification really ramped up in the Mission,” said McClelland. “There was already this feeling of frustration and upset about all of these DIY show spaces that were targeted and shut down, and in our grumblings, we decided to have generator shows in response to them.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1326\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Miami-7-Matty_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991194\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Miami-7-Matty_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins.jpg 1326w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Miami-7-Matty_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-160x241.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Miami-7-Matty_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-768x1158.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Miami-7-Matty_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-1018x1536.jpg 1018w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1326px) 100vw, 1326px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Matty Luv plays with Mission District punk band Miami at 16th and Mission BART Plaza, circa 2000. (Karoline Collins)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Miami didn’t last long, breaking up around 2001. Luv’s addiction to heroin had gotten more serious. He’d moved back to Florida for a time before being convinced to come back to San Francisco. Luv helped operate Mission Records in its near-final days, and played music with friends, but the scene was on its last legs.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Miami and its generator shows, to be clear, came from a lineage of Mission punks before them. Half of Miami, after all, had roots in a band that had started four years prior. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The Naked Cult of Hickey\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Led by \u003ca href=\"https://www.mattyluv.com/\">Matty Luv\u003c/a>, a charismatic, manic frontman dedicated to a DIY anticapitalist interpretation of punk rock, Hickey was the band often called The Naked Cult of Hickey. With best friend Aesop Dekker behind the drum kit, the two produced a controlled chaos that would come to define the band. Originally accompanied by friend Chubby on bass, Hickey became known for confrontational antics and a prolific catalog of music, fueled by members’ use of both methamphetamine and heroin. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hickey burned bright and fast, touring constantly. Their song titles included “Hickey Is About Long Hair and Getting High” and “Everything I Know About Sex I Learned From KISS.” Live shows would often devolve into standoffs with the crowd, where the band might play one or two songs and then rant at the audience.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We would show up with the intention of being a band and playing our fucking songs as good as we could for an adoring crowd,” said Dekker. “A lot of times that would go fucky because the promoter was a dick, or, before we even played, would express how they weren’t going to pay us. Or the bands we were playing with were dicks.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The band’s live sets amplified their view on how punk rock should operate, with the members dedicated to an ethic that rebelled against the intrusion of money and power into their scene.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"766\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/HickeyLPs.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991199\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/HickeyLPs.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/HickeyLPs-160x77.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/HickeyLPs-768x368.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/HickeyLPs-1536x735.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(L–R) Hickey’s full-length self-titled LP, and ‘Various States of Disrepair,’ a compilation of songs released posthumously. (Probe Records / Poverty Records)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We hated the fucking corporatization of punk, and we hated people making money off of this. And we were at war with people that didn’t care about this shit,” said Dekker.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The chaos that famously propelled the band eventually led to their downfall. During a 1997 U.S. tour, the band decided to break up. The three members had a fight in Tuscon, Arizona, and realized that none of them wanted to continue with the project. After that decision, they felt a shift amongst themselves.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“A weird curse had been lifted, because we went back to our friend’s house and sat under the fire, drank and talked,” said Dekker. “We were friends again, like, this fucking weight had been lifted.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1326\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ivy-in-Crowd-cool-hands_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991187\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ivy-in-Crowd-cool-hands_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins.jpg 1326w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ivy-in-Crowd-cool-hands_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-160x241.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ivy-in-Crowd-cool-hands_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-768x1158.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ivy-in-Crowd-cool-hands_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-1018x1536.jpg 1018w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1326px) 100vw, 1326px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ivy McClelland (center) during a show at 16th and Mission BART plaza, circa 2000. (Karoline Collins)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mission Records \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After opening its doors in 1997, Mission Records, run by Adam White and Chris Myers, quickly became a place of refuge. Located at 2548 Mission Street, the shop soon had to move to its more permanent location across the street, on the corner of Mission and 19th, and gradually shifted to exist less as a record store and more as a living space and venue for shows.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It started off as a straight-up business proposition,” said White. “I got a bunch of credit cards. We both borrowed as much money as we could from whoever, and fucking went for it. And then, right away, we started getting decimated as a record store. It was the worst time. CDs were at their peak, and the internet was just starting to take the whole thing and destroy it. And we also didn’t know what the fuck we were doing.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As time went on, members of several bands lived at Mission Records, helping volunteer and put on shows. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1535\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/liveatleedsflier.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991188\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/liveatleedsflier.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/liveatleedsflier-160x123.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/liveatleedsflier-768x589.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/liveatleedsflier-1536x1179.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">‘The cops can shut down Mission punk clubs, but not Mission Street’: A flyer for a ‘short, illegal show’ on 22nd and Mission. (Erica Dawn Lyle)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Across the Bay, another wave of bands was gaining traction. Green Day had already signed to a major label and released their massive record \u003cem>Dookie\u003c/em>, and Rancid was taking off. The East Bay and San Francisco punk scenes weren’t completely isolated, and Mission District bands still made their way across the bridge. But in San Francisco, there was a different energy emanating. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Maybe they played faster, maybe they were more confrontational. And maybe it was the drugs.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It was all benzos,” said Broustis. “You go to Mission Records, and there’d be a band rehearsing there at two in the morning while people are trying to sleep.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Band members got drugs from local corner stores, and used that to fuel their productivity.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We did so much crystal meth in the fucking ’90s, and then it was heroin, and we were also eating lots of pills and drinking a lot — all the things that go with doing tons of crystal meth,” said Dekker. “That’s why we did so much in three years. Because we didn’t fucking sleep.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1319\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/LOW-RES-Matty_Broken-Tub_Hickey-Hotel_KHC.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991189\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/LOW-RES-Matty_Broken-Tub_Hickey-Hotel_KHC.jpg 1319w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/LOW-RES-Matty_Broken-Tub_Hickey-Hotel_KHC-160x243.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/LOW-RES-Matty_Broken-Tub_Hickey-Hotel_KHC-768x1165.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/LOW-RES-Matty_Broken-Tub_Hickey-Hotel_KHC-1013x1536.jpg 1013w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1319px) 100vw, 1319px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Matty Luv, and a broken bathtub, at the Hickey Hotel, circa mid-1990s. (Karoline Collins)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>A sudden shock \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As the drugs took their toll, elements of the scene wound down. Miami broke up, White left Mission Records, and increasingly, cops harassed local punks. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On Oct. 5, 2002, Matty Luv, 34, was found dead of a heroin overdose at the Hickey Hotel. He had spent the day helping out at Mission Records, while McClelland and other friends went to a protest against the Iraq war. The group of friends had crossed paths on the way to the protest, and Luv waved hi. It would be the last time many of them would see him. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The next day, a show at Mission Records was turned into a wake. Later, a number of his friends gathered at Dolores Park for his funeral, where \u003ca href=\"https://web.archive.org/web/20180107014931/https://archives.sfweekly.com/sanfrancisco/make-sure-there-arent-any-squares-at-my-funeral/Content?oid=2146143\">zines and Hickey records were handed out\u003c/a>, and where Luv was remembered by his friends as funny, prolific and intense.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Learning how to take better care of each other. I think that’s the lesson. And the wisdom of losing him was about really changing. It changed my relationship to what it meant to show up for people in need or in crisis,” said McClelland.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“He was the funniest person I’ve ever met, and I think I was the funniest person he ever met. And when we met, that was our bond, is that we felt the same way ideologically about everything, and we were both funny,” said Dekker.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Shortly after Luv’s death, Mission Records closed. White attempted to pass the business on to Buzz Lee, but the finances weren’t there. Dekker had recently found sobriety and become a father. McClelland continued to play in bands, and remains active in activism and harm reduction to this day.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1326\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Erica-Aesop_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991191\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Erica-Aesop_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Erica-Aesop_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Erica-Aesop_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-768x509.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Erica-Aesop_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-1536x1018.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(L–R) Erica Dawn Lyle and Aesop Dekker of the punk band Miami play a generator show at 16th and Mission BART plaza, circa 2000. (Karoline Collins)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Today, a new generation is picking up the torch. San Francisco bands False Flag and Surprise Privilege have played generator shows on the sidewalks in front of \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/groups/228217405293069/posts/1372002734247858/\">the Warfield \u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13984468/best-concerts-2025-bay-area-live-music\">and the Castro Theatre\u003c/a>, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13923420/punk-show-on-bart\">on a moving BART train\u003c/a>. (Their store \u003ca href=\"https://ihaterecords.com/pages/about-us\">I Hate Records\u003c/a>, in the Lower Haight, carries echoes of Mission Records.) A group known as the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/outhouse_sf/?hl=en\">Outhouse Collective\u003c/a> puts on their own generator shows, and have been taken under the wing by McClelland.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Last year saw the return of the \u003ca href=\"https://clarionalleymuralproject.org/clarion-alley-block-party/\">Clarion Alley Block Party\u003c/a>, which has largely been organized by McClelland since 1998. In its most recent installment, McClelland brought on members of Outhouse Collective to help organize the day’s live music. The combining of these two forces hints at an intergenerational cross-pollination which McClelland sees as essential for the continuation of the punk community into the future.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have shared visions, we have shared values. We have shared connection through these rad creative and rad political movements,” said McClelland. “When we are able to embrace people across community lines, build solidarity across race, gender, ability, mental health — finding those connections is really, really sacred.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The scene: 16th and Mission BART in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a>, 1998. Trains careen underground, while above, another kind of noise is happening.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The scene: 16th and Mission BART in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a>, 1998. Trains careen underground, while above, another kind of noise is happening.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Ivy Jeanne’s raspy, blues-inflected voice screams out of PAs borrowed from friends, powered by a generator borrowed from other friends. Erica Lyle’s guitar wails into the ether, making its way to Capp Street. Young punks dance, free of harassment. The show is over before anyone really knows it.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Ivy Jeanne’s raspy, blues-inflected voice screams out of PAs borrowed from friends, powered by a generator borrowed from other friends. Erica Lyle’s guitar wails into the ether, making its way to Capp Street. Young punks dance, free of harassment. The show is over before anyone really knows it.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Miami and Shotwell have just played an illegal show at BART.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Miami and Shotwell have just played an illegal show at BART.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“You’d roll up. Sometimes I was with whoever had the PA. You would just see punks on the periphery. Nobody was assembled in the plaza exactly. You could just see people around, and as soon as the gear started coming out, everyone would just descend,” said Karoline Collins, a local photographer and roadie for the band \u003ca href=\"https://mattyluv.com/\">Hickey\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“You’d roll up. Sometimes I was with whoever had the PA. You would just see punks on the periphery. Nobody was assembled in the plaza exactly. You could just see people around, and as soon as the gear started coming out, everyone would just descend,” said Karoline Collins, a local photographer and roadie for the band \u003ca href=\"https://mattyluv.com/\">Hickey\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Miami-9-Ivy-Pointing_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991192\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Miami-9-Ivy-Pointing_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins.jpg 1326w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Miami-9-Ivy-Pointing_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-160x241.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Miami-9-Ivy-Pointing_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-768x1158.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Miami-9-Ivy-Pointing_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-1018x1536.jpg 1018w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ivy McClelland sings with the Mission District punk band Miami at 16th and Mission BART plaza, circa 2000.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Miami-9-Ivy-Pointing_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991192\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ivy McClelland sings with the Mission District punk band Miami at 16th and Mission BART plaza, circa 2000.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This would be one of many illegal generator-powered \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/punk\">punk\u003c/a> shows happening on Mission Street, a tradition that would carry into San Francisco’s present day. While San Francisco’s punk shows of the ’70s and ’80s had taken place in unlikely settings — a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13980619/mabuhay-gardens-reopening-sf-punk-club-north-beach\">Filipino restaurant\u003c/a>, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13938024/old-san-francisco-punk-venues-deaf-club-farm-sound-music-tool-die\">social club for the deaf\u003c/a>, literal \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13902953/alternative-voices-1980s-san-francisco-punk-jeanne-hansen-photography-jonah-raskin\">beer vats\u003c/a> — the tradition of guerilla generator shows that flourished in Mission District’s ragged and dedicated punk scene of the ’90s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13923420/punk-show-on-bart\">continues today with bands like False Flag, Surprise Privilege and WIFE\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>This would be one of many illegal generator-powered \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/punk\">punk\u003c/a> shows happening on Mission Street, a tradition that would carry into San Francisco’s present day. While San Francisco’s punk shows of the ’70s and ’80s had taken place in unlikely settings — a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13980619/mabuhay-gardens-reopening-sf-punk-club-north-beach\">Filipino restaurant\u003c/a>, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13938024/old-san-francisco-punk-venues-deaf-club-farm-sound-music-tool-die\">social club for the deaf\u003c/a>, literal \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13902953/alternative-voices-1980s-san-francisco-punk-jeanne-hansen-photography-jonah-raskin\">beer vats\u003c/a> — the tradition of guerilla generator shows that flourished in Mission District’s ragged and dedicated punk scene of the ’90s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13923420/punk-show-on-bart\">continues today with bands like False Flag, Surprise Privilege and WIFE\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/mission-district\">Mission District\u003c/a>’s punk history runs deep, boasting bands like MDC and Jawbreaker, and venues like Tool & Die, Kommotion and Epicenter. But in the late ’90s, something shifted. A new wave of punks dedicated to cheap living, harm reduction and the DIY ethos took over the streets. From 1994 through 2002, bands like Hickey, Shotwell, 50 Million and the aforementioned Miami would creatively resist San Francisco’s then-Mayor \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/willie-brown\">Willie Brown\u003c/a> and the powers that be with both music and action.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Their headquarters would become Mission Records, and later 16th and Mission BART Plaza, for amplifying their frustrations with gentrification, war and the police.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/mission-district\">Mission District\u003c/a>’s punk history runs deep, boasting bands like MDC and Jawbreaker, and venues like Tool & Die, Kommotion and Epicenter. But in the late ’90s, something shifted. A new wave of punks dedicated to cheap living, harm reduction and the DIY ethos took over the streets. From 1994 through 2002, bands like Hickey, Shotwell, 50 Million and the aforementioned Miami would creatively resist San Francisco’s then-Mayor \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/willie-brown\">Willie Brown\u003c/a> and the powers that be with both music and action.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Their headquarters would become Mission Records, and later 16th and Mission BART Plaza, for amplifying their frustrations with gentrification, war and the police.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The City That Never Sleeps\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The City That Never Sleeps\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Ivy Jeanne McClelland moved to San Francisco in 1997 after years of moving back and forth, sometimes by hopping trains, between her hometown of Miami and the East Bay as a teenage runaway. Though she’d crossed paths with Bay Area bands like Rancid, Green Day and Blatz, she decided to make San Francisco home thanks to Hickey. That year, McClelland hopped in the band’s van on their final tour, and moved into the band’s squalid apartment, the Hickey Hotel, on 24th Street.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Ivy Jeanne McClelland moved to San Francisco in 1997 after years of moving back and forth, sometimes by hopping trains, between her hometown of Miami and the East Bay as a teenage runaway. Though she’d crossed paths with Bay Area bands like Rancid, Green Day and Blatz, she decided to make San Francisco home thanks to Hickey. That year, McClelland hopped in the band’s van on their final tour, and moved into the band’s squalid apartment, the Hickey Hotel, on 24th Street.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Aesop-Kitchen-Patches_1996_Karoline-Hanson-Collins.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991186\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Aesop-Kitchen-Patches_1996_Karoline-Hanson-Collins.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Aesop-Kitchen-Patches_1996_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Aesop-Kitchen-Patches_1996_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-768x509.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Aesop-Kitchen-Patches_1996_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-1536x1018.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Aesop Dekker screenprints Hickey patches in the kitchen at the Hickey Hotel, circa mid-1990s. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Aesop-Kitchen-Patches_1996_Karoline-Hanson-Collins.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991186\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Aesop Dekker screenprints Hickey patches in the kitchen at the Hickey Hotel, circa mid-1990s. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>McClelland had played in bands like the Tri-Rails and Los Canadians, but when she made it to San Francisco, she teamed up with best friend and fellow Floridian Erica Dawn Lyle to start a new band called Miami, bolstered by Dekker and Luv from Hickey.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>McClelland had played in bands like the Tri-Rails and Los Canadians, but when she made it to San Francisco, she teamed up with best friend and fellow Floridian Erica Dawn Lyle to start a new band called Miami, bolstered by Dekker and Luv from Hickey.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>With more and more local venues like Klub Kommotion, Starcleaners Warehouse and Epicenter Records winding down operations, Miami and their longtime friends in the band Shotwell colluded to create a new commotion down Mission Street. Lyle and Broutis decided to host an illegal pop-up show, powered by generators, in front of the defunct Leed’s Shoes building at 22nd and Mission. Borrowing the idea from a band of buskers known as Rube Waddell, the two fueled their iteration with political angst.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>With more and more local venues like Klub Kommotion, Starcleaners Warehouse and Epicenter Records winding down operations, Miami and their longtime friends in the band Shotwell colluded to create a new commotion down Mission Street. Lyle and Broutis decided to host an illegal pop-up show, powered by generators, in front of the defunct Leed’s Shoes building at 22nd and Mission. Borrowing the idea from a band of buskers known as Rube Waddell, the two fueled their iteration with political angst.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The generator shows were a product of when gentrification really ramped up in the Mission,” said McClelland. “There was already this feeling of frustration and upset about all of these DIY show spaces that were targeted and shut down, and in our grumblings, we decided to have generator shows in response to them.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The generator shows were a product of when gentrification really ramped up in the Mission,” said McClelland. “There was already this feeling of frustration and upset about all of these DIY show spaces that were targeted and shut down, and in our grumblings, we decided to have generator shows in response to them.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Miami-7-Matty_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins.jpg 1326w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Miami-7-Matty_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-160x241.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Miami-7-Matty_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-768x1158.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Miami-7-Matty_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-1018x1536.jpg 1018w",
"sizes": "(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Miami-7-Matty_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991194\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Miami-7-Matty_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins.jpg 1326w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Miami-7-Matty_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-160x241.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Miami-7-Matty_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-768x1158.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Miami-7-Matty_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-1018x1536.jpg 1018w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Matty Luv plays with Mission District punk band Miami at 16th and Mission BART Plaza, circa 2000.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Miami-7-Matty_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991194\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Matty Luv plays with Mission District punk band Miami at 16th and Mission BART Plaza, circa 2000.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Miami didn’t last long, breaking up around 2001. Luv’s addiction to heroin had gotten more serious. He’d moved back to Florida for a time before being convinced to come back to San Francisco. Luv helped operate Mission Records in its near-final days, and played music with friends, but the scene was on its last legs.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Miami didn’t last long, breaking up around 2001. Luv’s addiction to heroin had gotten more serious. He’d moved back to Florida for a time before being convinced to come back to San Francisco. Luv helped operate Mission Records in its near-final days, and played music with friends, but the scene was on its last legs.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Miami and its generator shows, to be clear, came from a lineage of Mission punks before them. Half of Miami, after all, had roots in a band that had started four years prior. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Miami and its generator shows, to be clear, came from a lineage of Mission punks before them. Half of Miami, after all, had roots in a band that had started four years prior. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The Naked Cult of Hickey\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The Naked Cult of Hickey\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Led by \u003ca href=\"https://www.mattyluv.com/\">Matty Luv\u003c/a>, a charismatic, manic frontman dedicated to a DIY anticapitalist interpretation of punk rock, Hickey was the band often called The Naked Cult of Hickey. With best friend Aesop Dekker behind the drum kit, the two produced a controlled chaos that would come to define the band. Originally accompanied by friend Chubby on bass, Hickey became known for confrontational antics and a prolific catalog of music, fueled by members’ use of both methamphetamine and heroin. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Led by \u003ca href=\"https://www.mattyluv.com/\">Matty Luv\u003c/a>, a charismatic, manic frontman dedicated to a DIY anticapitalist interpretation of punk rock, Hickey was the band often called The Naked Cult of Hickey. With best friend Aesop Dekker behind the drum kit, the two produced a controlled chaos that would come to define the band. Originally accompanied by friend Chubby on bass, Hickey became known for confrontational antics and a prolific catalog of music, fueled by members’ use of both methamphetamine and heroin. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Hickey burned bright and fast, touring constantly. Their song titles included “Hickey Is About Long Hair and Getting High” and “Everything I Know About Sex I Learned From KISS.” Live shows would often devolve into standoffs with the crowd, where the band might play one or two songs and then rant at the audience.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Hickey burned bright and fast, touring constantly. Their song titles included “Hickey Is About Long Hair and Getting High” and “Everything I Know About Sex I Learned From KISS.” Live shows would often devolve into standoffs with the crowd, where the band might play one or two songs and then rant at the audience.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We would show up with the intention of being a band and playing our fucking songs as good as we could for an adoring crowd,” said Dekker. “A lot of times that would go fucky because the promoter was a dick, or, before we even played, would express how they weren’t going to pay us. Or the bands we were playing with were dicks.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We would show up with the intention of being a band and playing our fucking songs as good as we could for an adoring crowd,” said Dekker. “A lot of times that would go fucky because the promoter was a dick, or, before we even played, would express how they weren’t going to pay us. Or the bands we were playing with were dicks.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The band’s live sets amplified their view on how punk rock should operate, with the members dedicated to an ethic that rebelled against the intrusion of money and power into their scene.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The band’s live sets amplified their view on how punk rock should operate, with the members dedicated to an ethic that rebelled against the intrusion of money and power into their scene.\u003c/p>\n"
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"imageCredit": "Probe Records / Poverty Records",
"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/HickeyLPs.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/HickeyLPs-160x77.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/HickeyLPs-768x368.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/HickeyLPs-1536x735.jpg 1536w",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/HickeyLPs.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991199\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/HickeyLPs.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/HickeyLPs-160x77.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/HickeyLPs-768x368.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/HickeyLPs-1536x735.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(L–R) Hickey’s full-length self-titled LP, and ‘Various States of Disrepair,’ a compilation of songs released posthumously. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/HickeyLPs.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991199\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(L–R) Hickey’s full-length self-titled LP, and ‘Various States of Disrepair,’ a compilation of songs released posthumously. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We hated the fucking corporatization of punk, and we hated people making money off of this. And we were at war with people that didn’t care about this shit,” said Dekker.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We hated the fucking corporatization of punk, and we hated people making money off of this. And we were at war with people that didn’t care about this shit,” said Dekker.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The chaos that famously propelled the band eventually led to their downfall. During a 1997 U.S. tour, the band decided to break up. The three members had a fight in Tuscon, Arizona, and realized that none of them wanted to continue with the project. After that decision, they felt a shift amongst themselves.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The chaos that famously propelled the band eventually led to their downfall. During a 1997 U.S. tour, the band decided to break up. The three members had a fight in Tuscon, Arizona, and realized that none of them wanted to continue with the project. After that decision, they felt a shift amongst themselves.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“A weird curse had been lifted, because we went back to our friend’s house and sat under the fire, drank and talked,” said Dekker. “We were friends again, like, this fucking weight had been lifted.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“A weird curse had been lifted, because we went back to our friend’s house and sat under the fire, drank and talked,” said Dekker. “We were friends again, like, this fucking weight had been lifted.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ivy-in-Crowd-cool-hands_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins.jpg 1326w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ivy-in-Crowd-cool-hands_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-160x241.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ivy-in-Crowd-cool-hands_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-768x1158.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ivy-in-Crowd-cool-hands_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-1018x1536.jpg 1018w",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ivy-in-Crowd-cool-hands_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991187\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ivy-in-Crowd-cool-hands_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins.jpg 1326w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ivy-in-Crowd-cool-hands_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-160x241.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ivy-in-Crowd-cool-hands_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-768x1158.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ivy-in-Crowd-cool-hands_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-1018x1536.jpg 1018w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ivy McClelland (center) during a show at 16th and Mission BART plaza, circa 2000.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ivy-in-Crowd-cool-hands_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991187\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ivy McClelland (center) during a show at 16th and Mission BART plaza, circa 2000.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mission Records \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>After opening its doors in 1997, Mission Records, run by Adam White and Chris Myers, quickly became a place of refuge. Located at 2548 Mission Street, the shop soon had to move to its more permanent location across the street, on the corner of Mission and 19th, and gradually shifted to exist less as a record store and more as a living space and venue for shows.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>After opening its doors in 1997, Mission Records, run by Adam White and Chris Myers, quickly became a place of refuge. Located at 2548 Mission Street, the shop soon had to move to its more permanent location across the street, on the corner of Mission and 19th, and gradually shifted to exist less as a record store and more as a living space and venue for shows.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It started off as a straight-up business proposition,” said White. “I got a bunch of credit cards. We both borrowed as much money as we could from whoever, and fucking went for it. And then, right away, we started getting decimated as a record store. It was the worst time. CDs were at their peak, and the internet was just starting to take the whole thing and destroy it. And we also didn’t know what the fuck we were doing.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“It started off as a straight-up business proposition,” said White. “I got a bunch of credit cards. We both borrowed as much money as we could from whoever, and fucking went for it. And then, right away, we started getting decimated as a record store. It was the worst time. CDs were at their peak, and the internet was just starting to take the whole thing and destroy it. And we also didn’t know what the fuck we were doing.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As time went on, members of several bands lived at Mission Records, helping volunteer and put on shows. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/liveatleedsflier.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991188\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/liveatleedsflier.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/liveatleedsflier-160x123.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/liveatleedsflier-768x589.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/liveatleedsflier-1536x1179.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">‘The cops can shut down Mission punk clubs, but not Mission Street’: A flyer for a ‘short, illegal show’ on 22nd and Mission. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/liveatleedsflier.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991188\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">‘The cops can shut down Mission punk clubs, but not Mission Street’: A flyer for a ‘short, illegal show’ on 22nd and Mission. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Across the Bay, another wave of bands was gaining traction. Green Day had already signed to a major label and released their massive record \u003cem>Dookie\u003c/em>, and Rancid was taking off. The East Bay and San Francisco punk scenes weren’t completely isolated, and Mission District bands still made their way across the bridge. But in San Francisco, there was a different energy emanating. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Across the Bay, another wave of bands was gaining traction. Green Day had already signed to a major label and released their massive record \u003cem>Dookie\u003c/em>, and Rancid was taking off. The East Bay and San Francisco punk scenes weren’t completely isolated, and Mission District bands still made their way across the bridge. But in San Francisco, there was a different energy emanating. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Maybe they played faster, maybe they were more confrontational. And maybe it was the drugs.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Maybe they played faster, maybe they were more confrontational. And maybe it was the drugs.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It was all benzos,” said Broustis. “You go to Mission Records, and there’d be a band rehearsing there at two in the morning while people are trying to sleep.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“It was all benzos,” said Broustis. “You go to Mission Records, and there’d be a band rehearsing there at two in the morning while people are trying to sleep.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Band members got drugs from local corner stores, and used that to fuel their productivity.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We did so much crystal meth in the fucking ’90s, and then it was heroin, and we were also eating lots of pills and drinking a lot — all the things that go with doing tons of crystal meth,” said Dekker. “That’s why we did so much in three years. Because we didn’t fucking sleep.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We did so much crystal meth in the fucking ’90s, and then it was heroin, and we were also eating lots of pills and drinking a lot — all the things that go with doing tons of crystal meth,” said Dekker. “That’s why we did so much in three years. Because we didn’t fucking sleep.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/LOW-RES-Matty_Broken-Tub_Hickey-Hotel_KHC.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991189\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/LOW-RES-Matty_Broken-Tub_Hickey-Hotel_KHC.jpg 1319w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/LOW-RES-Matty_Broken-Tub_Hickey-Hotel_KHC-160x243.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/LOW-RES-Matty_Broken-Tub_Hickey-Hotel_KHC-768x1165.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/LOW-RES-Matty_Broken-Tub_Hickey-Hotel_KHC-1013x1536.jpg 1013w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Matty Luv, and a broken bathtub, at the Hickey Hotel, circa mid-1990s. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/LOW-RES-Matty_Broken-Tub_Hickey-Hotel_KHC.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991189\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Matty Luv, and a broken bathtub, at the Hickey Hotel, circa mid-1990s. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>A sudden shock \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As the drugs took their toll, elements of the scene wound down. Miami broke up, White left Mission Records, and increasingly, cops harassed local punks. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On Oct. 5, 2002, Matty Luv, 34, was found dead of a heroin overdose at the Hickey Hotel. He had spent the day helping out at Mission Records, while McClelland and other friends went to a protest against the Iraq war. The group of friends had crossed paths on the way to the protest, and Luv waved hi. It would be the last time many of them would see him. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>On Oct. 5, 2002, Matty Luv, 34, was found dead of a heroin overdose at the Hickey Hotel. He had spent the day helping out at Mission Records, while McClelland and other friends went to a protest against the Iraq war. The group of friends had crossed paths on the way to the protest, and Luv waved hi. It would be the last time many of them would see him. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The next day, a show at Mission Records was turned into a wake. Later, a number of his friends gathered at Dolores Park for his funeral, where \u003ca href=\"https://web.archive.org/web/20180107014931/https://archives.sfweekly.com/sanfrancisco/make-sure-there-arent-any-squares-at-my-funeral/Content?oid=2146143\">zines and Hickey records were handed out\u003c/a>, and where Luv was remembered by his friends as funny, prolific and intense.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The next day, a show at Mission Records was turned into a wake. Later, a number of his friends gathered at Dolores Park for his funeral, where \u003ca href=\"https://web.archive.org/web/20180107014931/https://archives.sfweekly.com/sanfrancisco/make-sure-there-arent-any-squares-at-my-funeral/Content?oid=2146143\">zines and Hickey records were handed out\u003c/a>, and where Luv was remembered by his friends as funny, prolific and intense.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Learning how to take better care of each other. I think that’s the lesson. And the wisdom of losing him was about really changing. It changed my relationship to what it meant to show up for people in need or in crisis,” said McClelland.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Learning how to take better care of each other. I think that’s the lesson. And the wisdom of losing him was about really changing. It changed my relationship to what it meant to show up for people in need or in crisis,” said McClelland.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“He was the funniest person I’ve ever met, and I think I was the funniest person he ever met. And when we met, that was our bond, is that we felt the same way ideologically about everything, and we were both funny,” said Dekker.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“He was the funniest person I’ve ever met, and I think I was the funniest person he ever met. And when we met, that was our bond, is that we felt the same way ideologically about everything, and we were both funny,” said Dekker.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Shortly after Luv’s death, Mission Records closed. White attempted to pass the business on to Buzz Lee, but the finances weren’t there. Dekker had recently found sobriety and become a father. McClelland continued to play in bands, and remains active in activism and harm reduction to this day.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Shortly after Luv’s death, Mission Records closed. White attempted to pass the business on to Buzz Lee, but the finances weren’t there. Dekker had recently found sobriety and become a father. McClelland continued to play in bands, and remains active in activism and harm reduction to this day.\u003c/p>\n"
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"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Erica-Aesop_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Erica-Aesop_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Erica-Aesop_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-768x509.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Erica-Aesop_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-1536x1018.jpg 1536w",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Erica-Aesop_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991191\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Erica-Aesop_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Erica-Aesop_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Erica-Aesop_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-768x509.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Erica-Aesop_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-1536x1018.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(L–R) Erica Dawn Lyle and Aesop Dekker of the punk band Miami play a generator show at 16th and Mission BART plaza, circa 2000.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Erica-Aesop_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991191\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(L–R) Erica Dawn Lyle and Aesop Dekker of the punk band Miami play a generator show at 16th and Mission BART plaza, circa 2000.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Today, a new generation is picking up the torch. San Francisco bands False Flag and Surprise Privilege have played generator shows on the sidewalks in front of \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/groups/228217405293069/posts/1372002734247858/\">the Warfield \u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13984468/best-concerts-2025-bay-area-live-music\">and the Castro Theatre\u003c/a>, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13923420/punk-show-on-bart\">on a moving BART train\u003c/a>. (Their store \u003ca href=\"https://ihaterecords.com/pages/about-us\">I Hate Records\u003c/a>, in the Lower Haight, carries echoes of Mission Records.) A group known as the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/outhouse_sf/?hl=en\">Outhouse Collective\u003c/a> puts on their own generator shows, and have been taken under the wing by McClelland.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Today, a new generation is picking up the torch. San Francisco bands False Flag and Surprise Privilege have played generator shows on the sidewalks in front of \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/groups/228217405293069/posts/1372002734247858/\">the Warfield \u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13984468/best-concerts-2025-bay-area-live-music\">and the Castro Theatre\u003c/a>, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13923420/punk-show-on-bart\">on a moving BART train\u003c/a>. (Their store \u003ca href=\"https://ihaterecords.com/pages/about-us\">I Hate Records\u003c/a>, in the Lower Haight, carries echoes of Mission Records.) A group known as the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/outhouse_sf/?hl=en\">Outhouse Collective\u003c/a> puts on their own generator shows, and have been taken under the wing by McClelland.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Last year saw the return of the \u003ca href=\"https://clarionalleymuralproject.org/clarion-alley-block-party/\">Clarion Alley Block Party\u003c/a>, which has largely been organized by McClelland since 1998. In its most recent installment, McClelland brought on members of Outhouse Collective to help organize the day’s live music. The combining of these two forces hints at an intergenerational cross-pollination which McClelland sees as essential for the continuation of the punk community into the future.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Last year saw the return of the \u003ca href=\"https://clarionalleymuralproject.org/clarion-alley-block-party/\">Clarion Alley Block Party\u003c/a>, which has largely been organized by McClelland since 1998. In its most recent installment, McClelland brought on members of Outhouse Collective to help organize the day’s live music. The combining of these two forces hints at an intergenerational cross-pollination which McClelland sees as essential for the continuation of the punk community into the future.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We have shared visions, we have shared values. We have shared connection through these rad creative and rad political movements,” said McClelland. “When we are able to embrace people across community lines, build solidarity across race, gender, ability, mental health — finding those connections is really, really sacred.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "From 1994–2002, a group of scrappy punks forged a template for today's guerrilla shows in San Francisco.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The scene: 16th and Mission BART in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a>, 1998. Trains careen underground, while above, another kind of noise is happening.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Ivy Jeanne’s raspy, blues-inflected voice screams out of PAs borrowed from friends, powered by a generator borrowed from other friends. Erica Lyle’s guitar wails into the ether, making its way to Capp Street. Young punks dance, free of harassment. The show is over before anyone really knows it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Miami and Shotwell have just played an illegal show at BART.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You’d roll up. Sometimes I was with whoever had the PA. You would just see punks on the periphery. Nobody was assembled in the plaza exactly. You could just see people around, and as soon as the gear started coming out, everyone would just descend,” said Karoline Collins, a local photographer and roadie for the band \u003ca href=\"https://mattyluv.com/\">Hickey\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1326\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Miami-9-Ivy-Pointing_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991192\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Miami-9-Ivy-Pointing_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins.jpg 1326w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Miami-9-Ivy-Pointing_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-160x241.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Miami-9-Ivy-Pointing_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-768x1158.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Miami-9-Ivy-Pointing_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-1018x1536.jpg 1018w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1326px) 100vw, 1326px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ivy McClelland sings with the Mission District punk band Miami at 16th and Mission BART plaza, circa 2000. (Karoline Collins)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This would be one of many illegal generator-powered \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/punk\">punk\u003c/a> shows happening on Mission Street, a tradition that would carry into San Francisco’s present day. While San Francisco’s punk shows of the ’70s and ’80s had taken place in unlikely settings — a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13980619/mabuhay-gardens-reopening-sf-punk-club-north-beach\">Filipino restaurant\u003c/a>, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13938024/old-san-francisco-punk-venues-deaf-club-farm-sound-music-tool-die\">social club for the deaf\u003c/a>, literal \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13902953/alternative-voices-1980s-san-francisco-punk-jeanne-hansen-photography-jonah-raskin\">beer vats\u003c/a> — the tradition of guerilla generator shows that flourished in Mission District’s ragged and dedicated punk scene of the ’90s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13923420/punk-show-on-bart\">continues today with bands like False Flag, Surprise Privilege and WIFE\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/mission-district\">Mission District\u003c/a>’s punk history runs deep, boasting bands like MDC and Jawbreaker, and venues like Tool & Die, Kommotion and Epicenter. But in the late ’90s, something shifted. A new wave of punks dedicated to cheap living, harm reduction and the DIY ethos took over the streets. From 1994 through 2002, bands like Hickey, Shotwell, 50 Million and the aforementioned Miami would creatively resist San Francisco’s then-Mayor \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/willie-brown\">Willie Brown\u003c/a> and the powers that be with both music and action.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Their headquarters would become Mission Records, and later 16th and Mission BART Plaza, for amplifying their frustrations with gentrification, war and the police.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The City That Never Sleeps\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Ivy Jeanne McClelland moved to San Francisco in 1997 after years of moving back and forth, sometimes by hopping trains, between her hometown of Miami and the East Bay as a teenage runaway. Though she’d crossed paths with Bay Area bands like Rancid, Green Day and Blatz, she decided to make San Francisco home thanks to Hickey. That year, McClelland hopped in the band’s van on their final tour, and moved into the band’s squalid apartment, the Hickey Hotel, on 24th Street.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1326\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Aesop-Kitchen-Patches_1996_Karoline-Hanson-Collins.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991186\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Aesop-Kitchen-Patches_1996_Karoline-Hanson-Collins.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Aesop-Kitchen-Patches_1996_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Aesop-Kitchen-Patches_1996_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-768x509.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Aesop-Kitchen-Patches_1996_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-1536x1018.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Aesop Dekker screenprints Hickey patches in the kitchen at the Hickey Hotel, circa mid-1990s. (Karoline Collins)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>McClelland had played in bands like the Tri-Rails and Los Canadians, but when she made it to San Francisco, she teamed up with best friend and fellow Floridian Erica Dawn Lyle to start a new band called Miami, bolstered by Dekker and Luv from Hickey.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>With more and more local venues like Klub Kommotion, Starcleaners Warehouse and Epicenter Records winding down operations, Miami and their longtime friends in the band Shotwell colluded to create a new commotion down Mission Street. Lyle and Broutis decided to host an illegal pop-up show, powered by generators, in front of the defunct Leed’s Shoes building at 22nd and Mission. Borrowing the idea from a band of buskers known as Rube Waddell, the two fueled their iteration with political angst.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The generator shows were a product of when gentrification really ramped up in the Mission,” said McClelland. “There was already this feeling of frustration and upset about all of these DIY show spaces that were targeted and shut down, and in our grumblings, we decided to have generator shows in response to them.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1326\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Miami-7-Matty_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991194\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Miami-7-Matty_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins.jpg 1326w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Miami-7-Matty_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-160x241.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Miami-7-Matty_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-768x1158.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Miami-7-Matty_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-1018x1536.jpg 1018w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1326px) 100vw, 1326px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Matty Luv plays with Mission District punk band Miami at 16th and Mission BART Plaza, circa 2000. (Karoline Collins)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Miami didn’t last long, breaking up around 2001. Luv’s addiction to heroin had gotten more serious. He’d moved back to Florida for a time before being convinced to come back to San Francisco. Luv helped operate Mission Records in its near-final days, and played music with friends, but the scene was on its last legs.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Miami and its generator shows, to be clear, came from a lineage of Mission punks before them. Half of Miami, after all, had roots in a band that had started four years prior. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The Naked Cult of Hickey\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Led by \u003ca href=\"https://www.mattyluv.com/\">Matty Luv\u003c/a>, a charismatic, manic frontman dedicated to a DIY anticapitalist interpretation of punk rock, Hickey was the band often called The Naked Cult of Hickey. With best friend Aesop Dekker behind the drum kit, the two produced a controlled chaos that would come to define the band. Originally accompanied by friend Chubby on bass, Hickey became known for confrontational antics and a prolific catalog of music, fueled by members’ use of both methamphetamine and heroin. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hickey burned bright and fast, touring constantly. Their song titles included “Hickey Is About Long Hair and Getting High” and “Everything I Know About Sex I Learned From KISS.” Live shows would often devolve into standoffs with the crowd, where the band might play one or two songs and then rant at the audience.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We would show up with the intention of being a band and playing our fucking songs as good as we could for an adoring crowd,” said Dekker. “A lot of times that would go fucky because the promoter was a dick, or, before we even played, would express how they weren’t going to pay us. Or the bands we were playing with were dicks.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The band’s live sets amplified their view on how punk rock should operate, with the members dedicated to an ethic that rebelled against the intrusion of money and power into their scene.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"766\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/HickeyLPs.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991199\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/HickeyLPs.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/HickeyLPs-160x77.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/HickeyLPs-768x368.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/HickeyLPs-1536x735.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(L–R) Hickey’s full-length self-titled LP, and ‘Various States of Disrepair,’ a compilation of songs released posthumously. (Probe Records / Poverty Records)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We hated the fucking corporatization of punk, and we hated people making money off of this. And we were at war with people that didn’t care about this shit,” said Dekker.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The chaos that famously propelled the band eventually led to their downfall. During a 1997 U.S. tour, the band decided to break up. The three members had a fight in Tuscon, Arizona, and realized that none of them wanted to continue with the project. After that decision, they felt a shift amongst themselves.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“A weird curse had been lifted, because we went back to our friend’s house and sat under the fire, drank and talked,” said Dekker. “We were friends again, like, this fucking weight had been lifted.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1326\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ivy-in-Crowd-cool-hands_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991187\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ivy-in-Crowd-cool-hands_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins.jpg 1326w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ivy-in-Crowd-cool-hands_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-160x241.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ivy-in-Crowd-cool-hands_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-768x1158.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ivy-in-Crowd-cool-hands_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-1018x1536.jpg 1018w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1326px) 100vw, 1326px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ivy McClelland (center) during a show at 16th and Mission BART plaza, circa 2000. (Karoline Collins)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mission Records \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After opening its doors in 1997, Mission Records, run by Adam White and Chris Myers, quickly became a place of refuge. Located at 2548 Mission Street, the shop soon had to move to its more permanent location across the street, on the corner of Mission and 19th, and gradually shifted to exist less as a record store and more as a living space and venue for shows.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It started off as a straight-up business proposition,” said White. “I got a bunch of credit cards. We both borrowed as much money as we could from whoever, and fucking went for it. And then, right away, we started getting decimated as a record store. It was the worst time. CDs were at their peak, and the internet was just starting to take the whole thing and destroy it. And we also didn’t know what the fuck we were doing.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As time went on, members of several bands lived at Mission Records, helping volunteer and put on shows. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1535\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/liveatleedsflier.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991188\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/liveatleedsflier.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/liveatleedsflier-160x123.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/liveatleedsflier-768x589.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/liveatleedsflier-1536x1179.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">‘The cops can shut down Mission punk clubs, but not Mission Street’: A flyer for a ‘short, illegal show’ on 22nd and Mission. (Erica Dawn Lyle)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Across the Bay, another wave of bands was gaining traction. Green Day had already signed to a major label and released their massive record \u003cem>Dookie\u003c/em>, and Rancid was taking off. The East Bay and San Francisco punk scenes weren’t completely isolated, and Mission District bands still made their way across the bridge. But in San Francisco, there was a different energy emanating. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Maybe they played faster, maybe they were more confrontational. And maybe it was the drugs.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It was all benzos,” said Broustis. “You go to Mission Records, and there’d be a band rehearsing there at two in the morning while people are trying to sleep.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Band members got drugs from local corner stores, and used that to fuel their productivity.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We did so much crystal meth in the fucking ’90s, and then it was heroin, and we were also eating lots of pills and drinking a lot — all the things that go with doing tons of crystal meth,” said Dekker. “That’s why we did so much in three years. Because we didn’t fucking sleep.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1319\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/LOW-RES-Matty_Broken-Tub_Hickey-Hotel_KHC.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991189\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/LOW-RES-Matty_Broken-Tub_Hickey-Hotel_KHC.jpg 1319w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/LOW-RES-Matty_Broken-Tub_Hickey-Hotel_KHC-160x243.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/LOW-RES-Matty_Broken-Tub_Hickey-Hotel_KHC-768x1165.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/LOW-RES-Matty_Broken-Tub_Hickey-Hotel_KHC-1013x1536.jpg 1013w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1319px) 100vw, 1319px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Matty Luv, and a broken bathtub, at the Hickey Hotel, circa mid-1990s. (Karoline Collins)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>A sudden shock \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As the drugs took their toll, elements of the scene wound down. Miami broke up, White left Mission Records, and increasingly, cops harassed local punks. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On Oct. 5, 2002, Matty Luv, 34, was found dead of a heroin overdose at the Hickey Hotel. He had spent the day helping out at Mission Records, while McClelland and other friends went to a protest against the Iraq war. The group of friends had crossed paths on the way to the protest, and Luv waved hi. It would be the last time many of them would see him. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The next day, a show at Mission Records was turned into a wake. Later, a number of his friends gathered at Dolores Park for his funeral, where \u003ca href=\"https://web.archive.org/web/20180107014931/https://archives.sfweekly.com/sanfrancisco/make-sure-there-arent-any-squares-at-my-funeral/Content?oid=2146143\">zines and Hickey records were handed out\u003c/a>, and where Luv was remembered by his friends as funny, prolific and intense.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Learning how to take better care of each other. I think that’s the lesson. And the wisdom of losing him was about really changing. It changed my relationship to what it meant to show up for people in need or in crisis,” said McClelland.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“He was the funniest person I’ve ever met, and I think I was the funniest person he ever met. And when we met, that was our bond, is that we felt the same way ideologically about everything, and we were both funny,” said Dekker.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Shortly after Luv’s death, Mission Records closed. White attempted to pass the business on to Buzz Lee, but the finances weren’t there. Dekker had recently found sobriety and become a father. McClelland continued to play in bands, and remains active in activism and harm reduction to this day.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1326\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Erica-Aesop_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991191\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Erica-Aesop_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Erica-Aesop_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Erica-Aesop_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-768x509.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Erica-Aesop_BART-Show_Karoline-Hanson-Collins-1536x1018.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(L–R) Erica Dawn Lyle and Aesop Dekker of the punk band Miami play a generator show at 16th and Mission BART plaza, circa 2000. (Karoline Collins)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Today, a new generation is picking up the torch. San Francisco bands False Flag and Surprise Privilege have played generator shows on the sidewalks in front of \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/groups/228217405293069/posts/1372002734247858/\">the Warfield \u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13984468/best-concerts-2025-bay-area-live-music\">and the Castro Theatre\u003c/a>, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13923420/punk-show-on-bart\">on a moving BART train\u003c/a>. (Their store \u003ca href=\"https://ihaterecords.com/pages/about-us\">I Hate Records\u003c/a>, in the Lower Haight, carries echoes of Mission Records.) A group known as the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/outhouse_sf/?hl=en\">Outhouse Collective\u003c/a> puts on their own generator shows, and have been taken under the wing by McClelland.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Last year saw the return of the \u003ca href=\"https://clarionalleymuralproject.org/clarion-alley-block-party/\">Clarion Alley Block Party\u003c/a>, which has largely been organized by McClelland since 1998. In its most recent installment, McClelland brought on members of Outhouse Collective to help organize the day’s live music. The combining of these two forces hints at an intergenerational cross-pollination which McClelland sees as essential for the continuation of the punk community into the future.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have shared visions, we have shared values. We have shared connection through these rad creative and rad political movements,” said McClelland. “When we are able to embrace people across community lines, build solidarity across race, gender, ability, mental health — finding those connections is really, really sacred.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>On May 24, 1996, Sublime played their last show at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11954041/teens-helped-save-this-historic-bay-area-theater-by-making-it-their-own\">Phoenix Theater\u003c/a> in Petaluma.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No one knew it’d be their final concert. But no one knew, either, that singer Bradley Nowell would be found dead of a heroin overdose the next morning at a motel in San Francisco. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sublime would go on to sell over 17 million records, and their last show in Petaluma has attained mythic status. An \u003ca href=\"http://sublimewiki.com/index.php?title=05.24.1996\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">audio bootleg\u003c/a> exists; legal issues over \u003ca href=\"https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/japan.music.punk/pb0K-Bp-MKM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">still-unreleased video footage\u003c/a> have continued for years; and people still talk about it around Petaluma. But fewer than 900 people witnessed Nowell’s final performance. The rest of Sublime’s millions of fans always want to know: \u003cem>what was it like?\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I was there that night, and left after four songs. My band had played the Warped Tour with Sublime the year before, and I’d had my fill of them, to say nothing of Nowell’s impulsive behavior. (He once \u003ca href=\"http://www.bohemian.com/northbay/what-i-got/Content?oid=2170536\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sicced his dog on a skateboarder and then expected me to back him up in a fight\u003c/a>.) But I’ve always wondered how the rest of the night went down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So to mark the 30th anniversary of Sublime’s last show in Petaluma, I’ve decided to pull together those memories, stories, and loose threads—from regular showgoers, people behind the scenes, performers on stage and band members themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11611375\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Pool_.BIG_-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"Sublime with Lou Dog.\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11611375\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Pool_.BIG_-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Pool_.BIG_-400x225.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Pool_.BIG_-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Pool_.BIG_-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Pool_.BIG_.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Pool_.BIG_-960x540.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sublime with Lou Dog.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Stand by Your Van\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Wilson (Bassist, Sublime)\u003c/b>: We had just finished the album. For two or three years before that, we had gotten a really strong cult following, just from playing up and down the coast. We started packing in 2,000 people just from word of mouth, before we even had any deal with a record company.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rick Bonde (Booking agent, the Tahoe Agency)\u003c/b>: In the time I worked with them, they made it to every gig, we really tightened up the scene, Brad had gotten clean. From my memory, he’d been clean for almost a year. They were going to go to Europe, Brad had a brand-new wife, a new baby.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Lil’ Mike\u003c/b>: I was gonna meet ’em at the Glass House in Pomona. They were supposed to play there the week before, and I was gonna jump in the van with ’em and head up the coast. But they canceled the Pomona show. I went down to the club that night, and they were like, “Nah, they’re not coming.” I was worried there had been an O.D.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jason Boggs (Filibuster)\u003c/b>: They’d come to Sacramento and open up for us and play for 30-40 people at little dive bars around town, and they’d crash on our floors. But they’d really started to blow up right around then, with “Date Rape” on KROQ.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeMeDihwyrg\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tom Gaffey (Manager, Phoenix Theater)\u003c/b>: We were just starting to see more ska and less punk. My punk crowd was just starting to finally turn 21. Ska was the next thing. The youngsters loved it. Most of our crowd for the Sublime show was under 18, and definitely under 21.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rick Bonde\u003c/b>: I was with them the night before up in Chico. That was one of the most insane, crazy rock ‘n’ roll shows I’ve ever seen in my life. There were probably 2,000 people there. The fence got torn down, security was overwhelmed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Wilson\u003c/b>: It was in a park, with a traveling circus. All these people with tattoos and piercings, the freakshow thing. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rick Bonde\u003c/b>: At one point I saw an opening in the crowd and I thought someone had gotten hurt and gone down. So I jumped off the stage, right in the middle of this crowd, and there was nothing there, but everyone was looking on the ground. I’m like, “What are we looking for?” And some guy yells out, “A finger! A fuckin’ finger!” And I’m like, “What do you mean, a finger?!” So we’re all there looking around for this guy’s finger.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Wilson\u003c/b>: In Chico, there were a lot of drugs. We stayed over at some college girls’ house and smoked crack for breakfast. So it wasn’t really surprising that that’s where Brad found his last bag.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rick Bonde\u003c/b>: At the afterparty, Brad came up to Mitch, who was the bodyguard we’d hired to protect Brad from himself. Brad walked up and said, “Gimme some money.” And Mitch was like, “No, I’m not giving you any money.” And Brad got really upset and was like, “It’s my money! Gimme my fuckin’ money!” And Mitch was like, “I’m not giving you any money.” Because we all knew what that was about. But the unfortunate thing is that Brad didn’t need money to score, you know what I mean? So I’m convinced he got it that night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11611248\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Ticket-800x462.jpg\" alt=\"A ticket for Sublime's last show, May 24, 1996.\" width=\"800\" height=\"462\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11611248\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Ticket-800x462.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Ticket-400x231.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Ticket-768x443.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Ticket-960x554.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Ticket.jpg 1100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A ticket for Sublime’s last show, May 24, 1996. \u003ccite>(Photo: Gabe Meline)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Wilson\u003c/b>: I slept hungover on the way to Petaluma. And so did anybody else that was in the van. We had a big old junker motor home and we had our own bunks. That was like a tour bus to us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Boots Hughston (Manager, Maritime Hall)\u003c/b>: We had ’em at Maritime once before, and we had ’em at the Phoenix a couple times. They were kind of wild and crazy. Bradley was a little bit out of control, but he wasn’t a bad person or anything. I liked him. I thought he was cool. They were booked at the Phoenix one night, and the Maritime the next night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rhi Smith-Guerrero\u003c/b>: I was 19. A bunch of dudes were going. My best friend had just met a guy, and his roommates were all like, “Let’s go see Sublime!” So I hopped in with the roommates and left her behind with her boyfriend, which she still regrets to this day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Josh Drake\u003c/b>: Earth Crisis played at the Phoenix with the metal band I was in and there were maybe six people there. But whenever there was a big ska show at the Phoenix—Let’s Go Bowling, Skankin’ Pickle, Reel Big Fish—lots of people would go to the ska shows, so you would just go to whatever show it was.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Lil’ Mike\u003c/b>: Everybody’d be singing along and know all the words, even if the record wasn’t out! They just had that contagious enthusiasm. I’ve never seen anything like it. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tom Gaffey\u003c/b>: That was their third show here. The first time they came in was as the support band and absolutely stole the show. So we brought them back on their own two more times. Their guarantee in those days was probably $1,500 plus backend. In those days, backend was still at 70 percent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Boots Hughston\u003c/b>: They probably got three grand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rick Bonde\u003c/b>: I would guess that their guarantee was probably in the $2,500 range. And right now, they’d be playing for no less than $250,000 or $500,000 a night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tom Gaffey\u003c/b>: Here’s one of the differences that I noticed. The first couple times that they came through, they’d get here early, they’d do their soundcheck and then they’d hang out with all the skater kids. The skater kids would be going onto their RV and watching videos with them and hanging out. The last time through, the RV was not open to skaters. They weren’t hanging out as much. Bradley wasn’t skating with the kids like he had before. That was the first sign that something was a little bit wrong.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11611373\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Phoenix.Inside-800x474.jpg\" alt=\"The inside of the Phoenix Theater today.\" width=\"800\" height=\"474\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11611373\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Phoenix.Inside-800x474.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Phoenix.Inside-400x237.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Phoenix.Inside-768x455.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Phoenix.Inside-1180x699.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Phoenix.Inside.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Phoenix.Inside-960x569.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The inside of the Phoenix Theater today. \u003ccite>(Photo: Jim Agius)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Work That We Do\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jason Boggs (Filibuster)\u003c/b>: It was the Ziggens, us, and Sublime. We had a 27-foot 1967 school bus that we took around on tour, so we rolled up in that, and all the guys from the band hung out in there. That was like our little backstage party zone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Hollie Simons\u003c/b>: I remember lots of frat boys, which was weird for the Phoenix, and the crowd that usually went there. It was never the college boys, it was the punk rockers and skaters. I went with my girlfriends. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tyson Engel\u003c/b>: Brad was hanging out with people out front. He was excited with the new record coming out. I gave him a cigarette, but I didn’t really talk to him that much.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Hollie Simons\u003c/b>: I thought it was incredibly cool that before they played, Brad was in the crowd, drinking and hanging out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Wilson\u003c/b>: I remember before the show—it was in the Bay Area, with a college crowd—and there were some guys discussing politics. I said what I thought about it, which wasn’t much, and then the guy put me down for a couple minutes in a real intelligent way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Josh Drake\u003c/b>: The way the Phoenix used to get when there were tons of people in there, it was so hot that you had to try to crane your head up to get fresh air. With the crowd, and the heat, it was tough to breathe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Hollie Simons\u003c/b>: It was an awesome concert, and a huge party. The energy level was just insane.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11611247\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 450px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.LastShowFlyer-450x600.jpg\" alt=\"The flyer for Sublime's last show, May 24, 1996.\" width=\"450\" height=\"600\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11611247\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.LastShowFlyer-450x600.jpg 450w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.LastShowFlyer-400x533.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.LastShowFlyer.jpg 720w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The flyer for Sublime’s last show, May 24, 1996. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Glenn Rubenstein)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jason Boggs\u003c/b>: Sublime killed it that night. They did a great, great job. Considering how much we’d all been partying before the show, I was very, very impressed at how tight they sounded.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tom Gaffey\u003c/b>: I think I read somewhere that said he’d called home, and said he was having the best show he’d ever had. I don’t want to go against what common belief is, but I do recall that I was kind of bored with that show. I’m sorry to say that. It just didn’t have the energy the other shows had had. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sara Sugrue\u003c/b>: I recall feeling sheer disappointment. I thought it sounded awful, especially Brad. I feel a little bad saying it, being that he’s passed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Drew Hirschfield\u003c/b>: It was my second time seeing them and I just remember Brad looking just awful. He was smoking lots of cigarettes during the set. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Josh Drake\u003c/b>: When Sublime was on, I went up to the balcony where they had the fire escape doors open, and you could get some fresh air. And of course, there were some guys with big army jackets standing around clearly smoking weed, and me, sidling up to them, trying to stand in the circle hoping they’d pass it to me. It was a gross-tasting wooden pipe that everyone’s mouth had been on, it was disgusting. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tom Gaffey\u003c/b>: In those days that was acceptable behavior. Nowadays, our rules are stricter and stricter. The party finally ate us up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11611374\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1100px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Sunglasses.BIG_.jpg\" alt=\"Sublime.\" width=\"1100\" height=\"619\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11611374\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Sunglasses.BIG_.jpg 1100w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Sunglasses.BIG_-400x225.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Sunglasses.BIG_-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Sunglasses.BIG_-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Sunglasses.BIG_-960x540.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sublime.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jared Powell\u003c/b>: I left the show. I was like, “Whatever, I’ll see them play again.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Drew Hirschfield\u003c/b>: It was a show I was stoked about because I had become a real fan, and then there was something worrisome and sadly disconnected about the band. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Wilson\u003c/b>: It was a hit-and-miss thing for us. We used to drink a lot. A lot of my older acquaintances would say, “I would never know if you guys were going to sound like total shit or play great.” We didn’t have our professional skills going on back then. We just thought the world was ours, or whatever.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jason Boggs\u003c/b>: They had the halfpipes at the front. It was almost like a rec center, the way it was set up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Hollie Simons\u003c/b>: There were pro skateboarders skating on the ramps while they were playing, and people were just going nuts. I wanna say Mike Carroll was one of them? My friends I was with, they were more in awe of the skateboarders than the band itself. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rhi Smith-Guerrero\u003c/b>: I stayed in the back. I remember that the pit was pretty rowdy. I was being a little more cautious than I would have been in the past couple years prior to that. I had pit injuries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11611377\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 858px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Cassette.jpg\" alt=\"Skunk Records sampler.\" width=\"858\" height=\"1308\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11611377\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Cassette.jpg 858w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Cassette-400x610.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Cassette-394x600.jpg 394w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Cassette-768x1171.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Cassette-774x1180.jpg 774w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 858px) 100vw, 858px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Skunk Records sampler. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Josh Drake)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sara Sugrue\u003c/b>: There was this one guy that I couldn’t take my eyes off of. I recall him being dressed in all black, and wearing a skirt, and he decided to dance ballet-style in the pit. He would pirouette through some macho douchebags that were pushing people around, and he looked so free, without a care in the world of what others thought. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Faith Corrien Valdez\u003c/b>: I just remember their Dalmatian running around.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Wilson\u003c/b>: Lou Dog running around on stage, that was typical, yeah. He probably bit somebody too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Josh Drake\u003c/b>: I still have a cassette tape, a Skunk Records sampler, that I think the Ziggens threw out to the crowd.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rhi Smith-Guerrero\u003c/b>: My friend was up in the front, and I guess he buddied up to this big, burly, muscly black dude who was their merch guy, and so he left with a bunch of stickers, pins and t-shirts and stuff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Lil’ Mike\u003c/b>: Sublime would give you 10 copies of their records, and be like, “Give these to your bros, let people know about us!” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Hollie Simons\u003c/b>: We snuck backstage, which was amazing for us, in our Osh-Kosh overalls, and really curly hair, with a Mickey’s 40 oz. poured into a Big Gulp cup. I was 19. There was lots of weed, and it was crowded. We just stood there in the corner, in awe, drinking out of our 7-11 Big Gulps full of beer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Wilson\u003c/b>: It was always a scene backstage. We had our guard down, so we didn’t see what [Brad] was up to.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11611243\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/LastPhoto.jpg\" alt=\"The last known photo of Brad Nowell, with fan Barbie Shearer and friend.\" width=\"400\" height=\"321\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11611243\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The last known photo of Brad Nowell, with fan Barbie Shearer and friend. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Barbie Shearer)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Waking up to an Alarm\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tom Gaffey\u003c/b>: Rick Bonde called me the next day and said, “Tom, I want you to know this wasn’t your fault.” I said, “What are you talking about?” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Wilson\u003c/b>: I was asleep in the motor home. We woke up to have bloody marys, and I sent my friend inside the hotel to get some ice for the bloody marys. And he came back frantically crying.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rhi Smith-Guerrero\u003c/b>: I was at my parents’ house and I woke up and poured myself a bowl of cereal and was sitting in front of MTV. And the MTV News splash was “Bradley Nowell Dead at 28. Died in San Francisco.” I just about spewed my cereal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rick Bonde\u003c/b>: Bud [Gaugh, Sublime drummer] found him. What I heard is that Lou Dog was on the bed, licking Brad’s face. Bud looked at him, and there was zero question. Lou was licking the vomit off of him, his face was green-colored. There was no saving him. Obviously it was over.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11611378\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 480px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/tmptrf4MG_full.jpeg\" alt=\"The Oceanview Motel, San Francisco.\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11611378\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/tmptrf4MG_full.jpeg 480w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/tmptrf4MG_full-400x300.jpeg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Oceanview Motel, San Francisco.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Boots Hughston\u003c/b>: At first I thought it was bullshit. I thought somebody was pulling my leg. That’s the kind of band they were, always goofing off. “Tell the Maritime promoter that Bradley died and then he won’t give us any shit for missing soundcheck.” That’s what I was thinking. But then this girl I talked to, who was hanging with the band, she got real serious and real quiet, and she said, “No, no man. He’s not here anymore.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Wilson\u003c/b>: It killed part of me. I don’t really like talking about it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jason Boggs\u003c/b>: From what I heard, there were a bunch of people in San Francisco that got the same batch, and there were a bunch of O.D.’s that night. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11611244\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Maritime.Postcard-781x1180.jpg\" alt=\"A poster announcing Sublime's show at the Maritime Hall on May 25, 1996, which never happened.\" width=\"640\" height=\"967\" class=\"size-large wp-image-11611244\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Maritime.Postcard-781x1180.jpg 781w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Maritime.Postcard-400x604.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Maritime.Postcard-397x600.jpg 397w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Maritime.Postcard-768x1160.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Maritime.Postcard-960x1450.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Maritime.Postcard.jpg 1059w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A poster announcing Sublime’s show at the Maritime Hall on May 25, 1996, which never happened.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Drew Hirschfield\u003c/b>: The next day during recess at Montgomery High my pal John told me he heard about the overdose. I was shocked and a bit scared. I think we felt sacredly important that we were at their last show ever, ’cause we were a bunch of 17 year old punks. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Josh Drake\u003c/b>: It was on the news. And I got that kind of excitement that I was \u003cem>part of news\u003c/em>! Like, “I was at that show!” I know that that’s insane, taking someone’s death and turning it into a win. But when you’re that age and nothing ever happens to you, it was at least some excitement in our small town.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tom Gaffey\u003c/b>: Three or four creepy downtown denizens in town tried to claim responsibility, tried to say that they were the ones that sold him the drugs, as a source of pride. How ghoulish is that? What a bunch of idiots. And I wasn’t the only one who heard stuff like that. It’s like, is that your stupid way of at least being able to say you were a part of history? That’s how you want to be known, as the guy that sold Bradley Nowell the drugs?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rhi Smith-Guerrero\u003c/b>: I heard a lot of rumors about where the drugs came from. I heard people say, “Yeah, my friend was the guy that sold him the dope,” and all that. It sounded like a lot of exaggeration and rumor. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jared Powell\u003c/b>: Everybody says they know someone who did something. There are rumors that seem plausible, but it’s also coming from people who want to hang onto some celebrity moment, and that’s just scumbaggy anyway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rhi Smith-Guerrero\u003c/b>: The rumors were nasty, about who was trying to boast about it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rick Bonde\u003c/b>: I’m convinced he got it in Chico. And here’s my theory. I think that Brad knew that he was going to be home, seeing his wife and baby in a few days, and I think that he got high that night and probably decided he needed to just finish it off so he wasn’t tempted to do it the next day. So he could clean up for a couple days before he needed to see his family. That’s been my gut this whole time, and believe me, I’ve thought about it a million times in the last 20 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11611379\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/SublimeST.jpg\" alt=\"Sublime's self-titled major label debut.\" width=\"800\" height=\"810\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11611379\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/SublimeST.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/SublimeST-400x405.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/SublimeST-593x600.jpg 593w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/SublimeST-768x778.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/SublimeST-32x32.jpg 32w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/SublimeST-50x50.jpg 50w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/SublimeST-64x64.jpg 64w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/SublimeST-96x96.jpg 96w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sublime’s self-titled major label debut.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Look at All the Love We’ve Found\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Boots Hughston\u003c/b>: Their fans were incredible. When the show at Maritime was canceled, instead of freaking out and demanding refunds, they just came and were, like, really sad. They didn’t care about the money they paid for the tickets. I probably only refunded 10 or 20 people out of 1,500 tickets sold. Usually when something like that happens, people start to demand their money back right at the door. It wasn’t like that. They were just sad that it happened. The whole space in front of the hall turned into a makeshift wake for Bradley. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tom Gaffey\u003c/b>: In the next five to ten years we were getting a lot of people coming through taking pictures of the place. That’s dropped off, of course. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rick Bonde\u003c/b>: The president of MCA Records met with me about a month later. I was in his office, and he told me that he was not going to release their record. He said, “I’m done, Rick, I can’t do this. I’ve spent half a million dollars on Brad’s rehab, and now we don’t have a band to tour behind it, I’m just gonna shelve it, it’s not going to work, it’s never going to be successful.” I was like, “I’m not leaving until you promise to put out this record.” I wouldn’t let up on him. And like, 20 minutes later, he was finally like, “Okay, I’ll try it. I’ll put it out and see what happens.” And now… how many millions of records later?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Josh Drake\u003c/b>: I was into punk bands and more underground music, so in that scene, we all rejected Sublime once their big album came out, and the horrible scarring of the musical landscape they caused by telling bands it was okay to play this crappy reggae music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jared Powell\u003c/b>: Now, everyone says they were at that show. If everybody who says they were at that show was actually at the show, it would have been thousands of people. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11611245\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 537px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/phoenix-sublime-mural.jpg\" alt=\"The mural backstage at the Phoenix Theater, painted by Long Beach Dub All-Stars.\" width=\"537\" height=\"720\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11611245\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/phoenix-sublime-mural.jpg 537w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/phoenix-sublime-mural-400x536.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/phoenix-sublime-mural-448x600.jpg 448w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 537px) 100vw, 537px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The mural backstage at the Phoenix Theater, painted by Long Beach Dub All-Stars. \u003ccite>(Mikey DeLosa-Tham)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tom Gaffey\u003c/b>: The other guys came back here a few years later with Long Beach Dub All-Stars, and painted a mural backstage for Brad. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Wilson\u003c/b>: That would have been done by Opie, the singer. He’s the guy who drew the sun [on \u003cem>40 Oz. to Freedom\u003c/em>]. He’s a tattoo artist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tom Gaffey\u003c/b>: It lasted forever, until last year when some idiot came and painted a mural over it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jared Powell\u003c/b>: Tom went apeshit. He started screaming and yelling, and this young little 18-year old grafitti writer that didn’t know what was going on was almost in tears. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tom Gaffey\u003c/b>: That was a painful thing. It was a beautiful piece. I’d invite them to come back and redo it, because I’d love to have it back.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jim Agius (Phoenix Theater in-house promoter)\u003c/b>: There’s actually audio from the show out there on the internet. The story I heard was that a girl recorded it from the balcony with a Walkman, and she and her boyfriend put it out on CD with money she made as a stripper.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Wilson\u003c/b>: I haven’t heard that recording. Did we sound good? I hope we sounded good.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11611246\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 300px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/PlayniceinthepitTape.jpg\" alt=\"'Play Nice in the Pit,' recorded at Sublime's last show, May 24, 1996.\" width=\"300\" height=\"226\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11611246\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">‘Play Nice in the Pit,’ recorded at Sublime’s last show, May 24, 1996.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Lil Mike\u003c/b>: It wasn’t great audio quality. But yeah, she had this little Walkman, a hand-held thing. You can hear the whole thing on the internet, because I gave the tape to these internet guys after a while, they were just hounding me. It was called “\u003ca href=\"http://sublimewiki.com/index.php?title=05.24.1996\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Play Nice in the Pit\u003c/a>,” because that’s what was painted on the wall of the Phoenix, so she went home that night and wrote that on the tape. We put some of the better-sounding songs out on a CD called \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"http://sublimewiki.com/index.php?title=It_All_Seems_so_Silly_in_the_Long_Run\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">It All Seems So Silly in the Long Run\u003c/a>\u003c/em> with some other recordings we’d done at Klub Komotion, and I sent ’em $1,000 each. Bud and Eric told me that was the most money they’d gotten from their music at that point. Their album was out and selling millions, but they hadn’t seen any money because they owed so much money to MCA for Brad’s rehab, which I’d heard cost half a million dollars. So the only royalty check they received at that point was from a bootleg!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jim Agius\u003c/b>: The other thing is that there’s video footage of the whole show, but it’s never been released. After Brad died, there was some \u003ca href=\"http://articles.latimes.com/1998/feb/06/entertainment/ca-15990\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ugly legal battle between the guy who filmed it and the band\u003c/a>, and he’s just sat on the footage all these years, not doing anything with it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Wilson\u003c/b>: I’m sure it’ll come out sometime, but I don’t know anything about the politics of it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuL8Iexv8g8\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sara Sugrue\u003c/b>: It’s also where I first met my ex, on the stairs of the Phoenix. Initially I was planning to say that it was a night I could have done without. However, without that night and the next few years of hell with my ex, I may have never been at Gale’s that one night where I met my amazing husband. Seventeen years together this year! So, with that thought, I am so happy that I have that disastrous night in my history. If I didn’t go to that show, I honestly would not be who I am now. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Hollie Simons\u003c/b>: I remember telling my husband, “Ah! I was at their last show!” when a Sublime song came on the radio when we were driving to Disneyland with our kids. He’s like, “No you weren’t!” I was like, “No, they played their last show at the Phoenix!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Boots Hughston\u003c/b>: I didn’t really expect it to happen. Bradley, he was crazy and partying, but I just never got the vibe that he was going to check out like that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rick Bonde\u003c/b>: You know what was really going through my mind after he died? I swear this is true, that as sad I was for myself, and for my business, and obviously Brad’s wife and family, and the band—the thing I thought about the most was that the rest of the world didn’t know what they just lost.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jason Boggs\u003c/b>: I think Brad would have gotten a lot more seasoned. I think he might have started to realize that he was a voice. He never got a chance to see how much influence he had on people, or how his music affected people in such a good way; he brought that positivity that I think he understood about reggae and rocksteady and even punk rock. He was a very positive person.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Wilson\u003c/b>: He’d probably be playing music. Probably with me, but he might have gone solo. But who knows? We’ll never know.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Remembering the band's final concert at the Phoenix Theater in Petaluma on May 24, 1996, as told by those in the crowd, behind the scenes, and on stage.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>On May 24, 1996, Sublime played their last show at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11954041/teens-helped-save-this-historic-bay-area-theater-by-making-it-their-own\">Phoenix Theater\u003c/a> in Petaluma.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No one knew it’d be their final concert. But no one knew, either, that singer Bradley Nowell would be found dead of a heroin overdose the next morning at a motel in San Francisco. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sublime would go on to sell over 17 million records, and their last show in Petaluma has attained mythic status. An \u003ca href=\"http://sublimewiki.com/index.php?title=05.24.1996\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">audio bootleg\u003c/a> exists; legal issues over \u003ca href=\"https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/japan.music.punk/pb0K-Bp-MKM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">still-unreleased video footage\u003c/a> have continued for years; and people still talk about it around Petaluma. But fewer than 900 people witnessed Nowell’s final performance. The rest of Sublime’s millions of fans always want to know: \u003cem>what was it like?\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I was there that night, and left after four songs. My band had played the Warped Tour with Sublime the year before, and I’d had my fill of them, to say nothing of Nowell’s impulsive behavior. (He once \u003ca href=\"http://www.bohemian.com/northbay/what-i-got/Content?oid=2170536\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sicced his dog on a skateboarder and then expected me to back him up in a fight\u003c/a>.) But I’ve always wondered how the rest of the night went down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So to mark the 30th anniversary of Sublime’s last show in Petaluma, I’ve decided to pull together those memories, stories, and loose threads—from regular showgoers, people behind the scenes, performers on stage and band members themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11611375\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Pool_.BIG_-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"Sublime with Lou Dog.\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11611375\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Pool_.BIG_-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Pool_.BIG_-400x225.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Pool_.BIG_-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Pool_.BIG_-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Pool_.BIG_.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Pool_.BIG_-960x540.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sublime with Lou Dog.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Stand by Your Van\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Wilson (Bassist, Sublime)\u003c/b>: We had just finished the album. For two or three years before that, we had gotten a really strong cult following, just from playing up and down the coast. We started packing in 2,000 people just from word of mouth, before we even had any deal with a record company.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rick Bonde (Booking agent, the Tahoe Agency)\u003c/b>: In the time I worked with them, they made it to every gig, we really tightened up the scene, Brad had gotten clean. From my memory, he’d been clean for almost a year. They were going to go to Europe, Brad had a brand-new wife, a new baby.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Lil’ Mike\u003c/b>: I was gonna meet ’em at the Glass House in Pomona. They were supposed to play there the week before, and I was gonna jump in the van with ’em and head up the coast. But they canceled the Pomona show. I went down to the club that night, and they were like, “Nah, they’re not coming.” I was worried there had been an O.D.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jason Boggs (Filibuster)\u003c/b>: They’d come to Sacramento and open up for us and play for 30-40 people at little dive bars around town, and they’d crash on our floors. But they’d really started to blow up right around then, with “Date Rape” on KROQ.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/CeMeDihwyrg'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/CeMeDihwyrg'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cb>Tom Gaffey (Manager, Phoenix Theater)\u003c/b>: We were just starting to see more ska and less punk. My punk crowd was just starting to finally turn 21. Ska was the next thing. The youngsters loved it. Most of our crowd for the Sublime show was under 18, and definitely under 21.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rick Bonde\u003c/b>: I was with them the night before up in Chico. That was one of the most insane, crazy rock ‘n’ roll shows I’ve ever seen in my life. There were probably 2,000 people there. The fence got torn down, security was overwhelmed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Wilson\u003c/b>: It was in a park, with a traveling circus. All these people with tattoos and piercings, the freakshow thing. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rick Bonde\u003c/b>: At one point I saw an opening in the crowd and I thought someone had gotten hurt and gone down. So I jumped off the stage, right in the middle of this crowd, and there was nothing there, but everyone was looking on the ground. I’m like, “What are we looking for?” And some guy yells out, “A finger! A fuckin’ finger!” And I’m like, “What do you mean, a finger?!” So we’re all there looking around for this guy’s finger.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Wilson\u003c/b>: In Chico, there were a lot of drugs. We stayed over at some college girls’ house and smoked crack for breakfast. So it wasn’t really surprising that that’s where Brad found his last bag.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rick Bonde\u003c/b>: At the afterparty, Brad came up to Mitch, who was the bodyguard we’d hired to protect Brad from himself. Brad walked up and said, “Gimme some money.” And Mitch was like, “No, I’m not giving you any money.” And Brad got really upset and was like, “It’s my money! Gimme my fuckin’ money!” And Mitch was like, “I’m not giving you any money.” Because we all knew what that was about. But the unfortunate thing is that Brad didn’t need money to score, you know what I mean? So I’m convinced he got it that night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11611248\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Ticket-800x462.jpg\" alt=\"A ticket for Sublime's last show, May 24, 1996.\" width=\"800\" height=\"462\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11611248\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Ticket-800x462.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Ticket-400x231.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Ticket-768x443.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Ticket-960x554.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Ticket.jpg 1100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A ticket for Sublime’s last show, May 24, 1996. \u003ccite>(Photo: Gabe Meline)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Wilson\u003c/b>: I slept hungover on the way to Petaluma. And so did anybody else that was in the van. We had a big old junker motor home and we had our own bunks. That was like a tour bus to us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Boots Hughston (Manager, Maritime Hall)\u003c/b>: We had ’em at Maritime once before, and we had ’em at the Phoenix a couple times. They were kind of wild and crazy. Bradley was a little bit out of control, but he wasn’t a bad person or anything. I liked him. I thought he was cool. They were booked at the Phoenix one night, and the Maritime the next night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rhi Smith-Guerrero\u003c/b>: I was 19. A bunch of dudes were going. My best friend had just met a guy, and his roommates were all like, “Let’s go see Sublime!” So I hopped in with the roommates and left her behind with her boyfriend, which she still regrets to this day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Josh Drake\u003c/b>: Earth Crisis played at the Phoenix with the metal band I was in and there were maybe six people there. But whenever there was a big ska show at the Phoenix—Let’s Go Bowling, Skankin’ Pickle, Reel Big Fish—lots of people would go to the ska shows, so you would just go to whatever show it was.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Lil’ Mike\u003c/b>: Everybody’d be singing along and know all the words, even if the record wasn’t out! They just had that contagious enthusiasm. I’ve never seen anything like it. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tom Gaffey\u003c/b>: That was their third show here. The first time they came in was as the support band and absolutely stole the show. So we brought them back on their own two more times. Their guarantee in those days was probably $1,500 plus backend. In those days, backend was still at 70 percent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Boots Hughston\u003c/b>: They probably got three grand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rick Bonde\u003c/b>: I would guess that their guarantee was probably in the $2,500 range. And right now, they’d be playing for no less than $250,000 or $500,000 a night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tom Gaffey\u003c/b>: Here’s one of the differences that I noticed. The first couple times that they came through, they’d get here early, they’d do their soundcheck and then they’d hang out with all the skater kids. The skater kids would be going onto their RV and watching videos with them and hanging out. The last time through, the RV was not open to skaters. They weren’t hanging out as much. Bradley wasn’t skating with the kids like he had before. That was the first sign that something was a little bit wrong.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11611373\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Phoenix.Inside-800x474.jpg\" alt=\"The inside of the Phoenix Theater today.\" width=\"800\" height=\"474\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11611373\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Phoenix.Inside-800x474.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Phoenix.Inside-400x237.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Phoenix.Inside-768x455.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Phoenix.Inside-1180x699.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Phoenix.Inside.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Phoenix.Inside-960x569.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The inside of the Phoenix Theater today. \u003ccite>(Photo: Jim Agius)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Work That We Do\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jason Boggs (Filibuster)\u003c/b>: It was the Ziggens, us, and Sublime. We had a 27-foot 1967 school bus that we took around on tour, so we rolled up in that, and all the guys from the band hung out in there. That was like our little backstage party zone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Hollie Simons\u003c/b>: I remember lots of frat boys, which was weird for the Phoenix, and the crowd that usually went there. It was never the college boys, it was the punk rockers and skaters. I went with my girlfriends. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tyson Engel\u003c/b>: Brad was hanging out with people out front. He was excited with the new record coming out. I gave him a cigarette, but I didn’t really talk to him that much.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Hollie Simons\u003c/b>: I thought it was incredibly cool that before they played, Brad was in the crowd, drinking and hanging out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Wilson\u003c/b>: I remember before the show—it was in the Bay Area, with a college crowd—and there were some guys discussing politics. I said what I thought about it, which wasn’t much, and then the guy put me down for a couple minutes in a real intelligent way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Josh Drake\u003c/b>: The way the Phoenix used to get when there were tons of people in there, it was so hot that you had to try to crane your head up to get fresh air. With the crowd, and the heat, it was tough to breathe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Hollie Simons\u003c/b>: It was an awesome concert, and a huge party. The energy level was just insane.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11611247\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 450px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.LastShowFlyer-450x600.jpg\" alt=\"The flyer for Sublime's last show, May 24, 1996.\" width=\"450\" height=\"600\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11611247\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.LastShowFlyer-450x600.jpg 450w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.LastShowFlyer-400x533.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.LastShowFlyer.jpg 720w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The flyer for Sublime’s last show, May 24, 1996. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Glenn Rubenstein)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jason Boggs\u003c/b>: Sublime killed it that night. They did a great, great job. Considering how much we’d all been partying before the show, I was very, very impressed at how tight they sounded.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tom Gaffey\u003c/b>: I think I read somewhere that said he’d called home, and said he was having the best show he’d ever had. I don’t want to go against what common belief is, but I do recall that I was kind of bored with that show. I’m sorry to say that. It just didn’t have the energy the other shows had had. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sara Sugrue\u003c/b>: I recall feeling sheer disappointment. I thought it sounded awful, especially Brad. I feel a little bad saying it, being that he’s passed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Drew Hirschfield\u003c/b>: It was my second time seeing them and I just remember Brad looking just awful. He was smoking lots of cigarettes during the set. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Josh Drake\u003c/b>: When Sublime was on, I went up to the balcony where they had the fire escape doors open, and you could get some fresh air. And of course, there were some guys with big army jackets standing around clearly smoking weed, and me, sidling up to them, trying to stand in the circle hoping they’d pass it to me. It was a gross-tasting wooden pipe that everyone’s mouth had been on, it was disgusting. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tom Gaffey\u003c/b>: In those days that was acceptable behavior. Nowadays, our rules are stricter and stricter. The party finally ate us up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11611374\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1100px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Sunglasses.BIG_.jpg\" alt=\"Sublime.\" width=\"1100\" height=\"619\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11611374\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Sunglasses.BIG_.jpg 1100w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Sunglasses.BIG_-400x225.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Sunglasses.BIG_-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Sunglasses.BIG_-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Sunglasses.BIG_-960x540.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sublime.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jared Powell\u003c/b>: I left the show. I was like, “Whatever, I’ll see them play again.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Drew Hirschfield\u003c/b>: It was a show I was stoked about because I had become a real fan, and then there was something worrisome and sadly disconnected about the band. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Wilson\u003c/b>: It was a hit-and-miss thing for us. We used to drink a lot. A lot of my older acquaintances would say, “I would never know if you guys were going to sound like total shit or play great.” We didn’t have our professional skills going on back then. We just thought the world was ours, or whatever.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jason Boggs\u003c/b>: They had the halfpipes at the front. It was almost like a rec center, the way it was set up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Hollie Simons\u003c/b>: There were pro skateboarders skating on the ramps while they were playing, and people were just going nuts. I wanna say Mike Carroll was one of them? My friends I was with, they were more in awe of the skateboarders than the band itself. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rhi Smith-Guerrero\u003c/b>: I stayed in the back. I remember that the pit was pretty rowdy. I was being a little more cautious than I would have been in the past couple years prior to that. I had pit injuries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11611377\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 858px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Cassette.jpg\" alt=\"Skunk Records sampler.\" width=\"858\" height=\"1308\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11611377\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Cassette.jpg 858w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Cassette-400x610.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Cassette-394x600.jpg 394w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Cassette-768x1171.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Sublime.Cassette-774x1180.jpg 774w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 858px) 100vw, 858px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Skunk Records sampler. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Josh Drake)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sara Sugrue\u003c/b>: There was this one guy that I couldn’t take my eyes off of. I recall him being dressed in all black, and wearing a skirt, and he decided to dance ballet-style in the pit. He would pirouette through some macho douchebags that were pushing people around, and he looked so free, without a care in the world of what others thought. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Faith Corrien Valdez\u003c/b>: I just remember their Dalmatian running around.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Wilson\u003c/b>: Lou Dog running around on stage, that was typical, yeah. He probably bit somebody too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Josh Drake\u003c/b>: I still have a cassette tape, a Skunk Records sampler, that I think the Ziggens threw out to the crowd.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rhi Smith-Guerrero\u003c/b>: My friend was up in the front, and I guess he buddied up to this big, burly, muscly black dude who was their merch guy, and so he left with a bunch of stickers, pins and t-shirts and stuff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Lil’ Mike\u003c/b>: Sublime would give you 10 copies of their records, and be like, “Give these to your bros, let people know about us!” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Hollie Simons\u003c/b>: We snuck backstage, which was amazing for us, in our Osh-Kosh overalls, and really curly hair, with a Mickey’s 40 oz. poured into a Big Gulp cup. I was 19. There was lots of weed, and it was crowded. We just stood there in the corner, in awe, drinking out of our 7-11 Big Gulps full of beer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Wilson\u003c/b>: It was always a scene backstage. We had our guard down, so we didn’t see what [Brad] was up to.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11611243\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/LastPhoto.jpg\" alt=\"The last known photo of Brad Nowell, with fan Barbie Shearer and friend.\" width=\"400\" height=\"321\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11611243\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The last known photo of Brad Nowell, with fan Barbie Shearer and friend. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Barbie Shearer)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Waking up to an Alarm\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tom Gaffey\u003c/b>: Rick Bonde called me the next day and said, “Tom, I want you to know this wasn’t your fault.” I said, “What are you talking about?” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Wilson\u003c/b>: I was asleep in the motor home. We woke up to have bloody marys, and I sent my friend inside the hotel to get some ice for the bloody marys. And he came back frantically crying.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rhi Smith-Guerrero\u003c/b>: I was at my parents’ house and I woke up and poured myself a bowl of cereal and was sitting in front of MTV. And the MTV News splash was “Bradley Nowell Dead at 28. Died in San Francisco.” I just about spewed my cereal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rick Bonde\u003c/b>: Bud [Gaugh, Sublime drummer] found him. What I heard is that Lou Dog was on the bed, licking Brad’s face. Bud looked at him, and there was zero question. Lou was licking the vomit off of him, his face was green-colored. There was no saving him. Obviously it was over.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11611378\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 480px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/tmptrf4MG_full.jpeg\" alt=\"The Oceanview Motel, San Francisco.\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11611378\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/tmptrf4MG_full.jpeg 480w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/tmptrf4MG_full-400x300.jpeg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Oceanview Motel, San Francisco.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Boots Hughston\u003c/b>: At first I thought it was bullshit. I thought somebody was pulling my leg. That’s the kind of band they were, always goofing off. “Tell the Maritime promoter that Bradley died and then he won’t give us any shit for missing soundcheck.” That’s what I was thinking. But then this girl I talked to, who was hanging with the band, she got real serious and real quiet, and she said, “No, no man. He’s not here anymore.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Wilson\u003c/b>: It killed part of me. I don’t really like talking about it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jason Boggs\u003c/b>: From what I heard, there were a bunch of people in San Francisco that got the same batch, and there were a bunch of O.D.’s that night. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11611244\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Maritime.Postcard-781x1180.jpg\" alt=\"A poster announcing Sublime's show at the Maritime Hall on May 25, 1996, which never happened.\" width=\"640\" height=\"967\" class=\"size-large wp-image-11611244\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Maritime.Postcard-781x1180.jpg 781w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Maritime.Postcard-400x604.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Maritime.Postcard-397x600.jpg 397w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Maritime.Postcard-768x1160.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Maritime.Postcard-960x1450.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Maritime.Postcard.jpg 1059w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A poster announcing Sublime’s show at the Maritime Hall on May 25, 1996, which never happened.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Drew Hirschfield\u003c/b>: The next day during recess at Montgomery High my pal John told me he heard about the overdose. I was shocked and a bit scared. I think we felt sacredly important that we were at their last show ever, ’cause we were a bunch of 17 year old punks. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Josh Drake\u003c/b>: It was on the news. And I got that kind of excitement that I was \u003cem>part of news\u003c/em>! Like, “I was at that show!” I know that that’s insane, taking someone’s death and turning it into a win. But when you’re that age and nothing ever happens to you, it was at least some excitement in our small town.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tom Gaffey\u003c/b>: Three or four creepy downtown denizens in town tried to claim responsibility, tried to say that they were the ones that sold him the drugs, as a source of pride. How ghoulish is that? What a bunch of idiots. And I wasn’t the only one who heard stuff like that. It’s like, is that your stupid way of at least being able to say you were a part of history? That’s how you want to be known, as the guy that sold Bradley Nowell the drugs?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rhi Smith-Guerrero\u003c/b>: I heard a lot of rumors about where the drugs came from. I heard people say, “Yeah, my friend was the guy that sold him the dope,” and all that. It sounded like a lot of exaggeration and rumor. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jared Powell\u003c/b>: Everybody says they know someone who did something. There are rumors that seem plausible, but it’s also coming from people who want to hang onto some celebrity moment, and that’s just scumbaggy anyway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rhi Smith-Guerrero\u003c/b>: The rumors were nasty, about who was trying to boast about it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rick Bonde\u003c/b>: I’m convinced he got it in Chico. And here’s my theory. I think that Brad knew that he was going to be home, seeing his wife and baby in a few days, and I think that he got high that night and probably decided he needed to just finish it off so he wasn’t tempted to do it the next day. So he could clean up for a couple days before he needed to see his family. That’s been my gut this whole time, and believe me, I’ve thought about it a million times in the last 20 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11611379\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/SublimeST.jpg\" alt=\"Sublime's self-titled major label debut.\" width=\"800\" height=\"810\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11611379\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/SublimeST.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/SublimeST-400x405.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/SublimeST-593x600.jpg 593w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/SublimeST-768x778.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/SublimeST-32x32.jpg 32w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/SublimeST-50x50.jpg 50w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/SublimeST-64x64.jpg 64w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/SublimeST-96x96.jpg 96w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sublime’s self-titled major label debut.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Look at All the Love We’ve Found\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Boots Hughston\u003c/b>: Their fans were incredible. When the show at Maritime was canceled, instead of freaking out and demanding refunds, they just came and were, like, really sad. They didn’t care about the money they paid for the tickets. I probably only refunded 10 or 20 people out of 1,500 tickets sold. Usually when something like that happens, people start to demand their money back right at the door. It wasn’t like that. They were just sad that it happened. The whole space in front of the hall turned into a makeshift wake for Bradley. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tom Gaffey\u003c/b>: In the next five to ten years we were getting a lot of people coming through taking pictures of the place. That’s dropped off, of course. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rick Bonde\u003c/b>: The president of MCA Records met with me about a month later. I was in his office, and he told me that he was not going to release their record. He said, “I’m done, Rick, I can’t do this. I’ve spent half a million dollars on Brad’s rehab, and now we don’t have a band to tour behind it, I’m just gonna shelve it, it’s not going to work, it’s never going to be successful.” I was like, “I’m not leaving until you promise to put out this record.” I wouldn’t let up on him. And like, 20 minutes later, he was finally like, “Okay, I’ll try it. I’ll put it out and see what happens.” And now… how many millions of records later?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Josh Drake\u003c/b>: I was into punk bands and more underground music, so in that scene, we all rejected Sublime once their big album came out, and the horrible scarring of the musical landscape they caused by telling bands it was okay to play this crappy reggae music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jared Powell\u003c/b>: Now, everyone says they were at that show. If everybody who says they were at that show was actually at the show, it would have been thousands of people. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11611245\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 537px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/phoenix-sublime-mural.jpg\" alt=\"The mural backstage at the Phoenix Theater, painted by Long Beach Dub All-Stars.\" width=\"537\" height=\"720\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11611245\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/phoenix-sublime-mural.jpg 537w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/phoenix-sublime-mural-400x536.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/phoenix-sublime-mural-448x600.jpg 448w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 537px) 100vw, 537px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The mural backstage at the Phoenix Theater, painted by Long Beach Dub All-Stars. \u003ccite>(Mikey DeLosa-Tham)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tom Gaffey\u003c/b>: The other guys came back here a few years later with Long Beach Dub All-Stars, and painted a mural backstage for Brad. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Wilson\u003c/b>: That would have been done by Opie, the singer. He’s the guy who drew the sun [on \u003cem>40 Oz. to Freedom\u003c/em>]. He’s a tattoo artist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tom Gaffey\u003c/b>: It lasted forever, until last year when some idiot came and painted a mural over it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jared Powell\u003c/b>: Tom went apeshit. He started screaming and yelling, and this young little 18-year old grafitti writer that didn’t know what was going on was almost in tears. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tom Gaffey\u003c/b>: That was a painful thing. It was a beautiful piece. I’d invite them to come back and redo it, because I’d love to have it back.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jim Agius (Phoenix Theater in-house promoter)\u003c/b>: There’s actually audio from the show out there on the internet. The story I heard was that a girl recorded it from the balcony with a Walkman, and she and her boyfriend put it out on CD with money she made as a stripper.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Wilson\u003c/b>: I haven’t heard that recording. Did we sound good? I hope we sounded good.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11611246\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 300px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/PlayniceinthepitTape.jpg\" alt=\"'Play Nice in the Pit,' recorded at Sublime's last show, May 24, 1996.\" width=\"300\" height=\"226\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11611246\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">‘Play Nice in the Pit,’ recorded at Sublime’s last show, May 24, 1996.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Lil Mike\u003c/b>: It wasn’t great audio quality. But yeah, she had this little Walkman, a hand-held thing. You can hear the whole thing on the internet, because I gave the tape to these internet guys after a while, they were just hounding me. It was called “\u003ca href=\"http://sublimewiki.com/index.php?title=05.24.1996\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Play Nice in the Pit\u003c/a>,” because that’s what was painted on the wall of the Phoenix, so she went home that night and wrote that on the tape. We put some of the better-sounding songs out on a CD called \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"http://sublimewiki.com/index.php?title=It_All_Seems_so_Silly_in_the_Long_Run\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">It All Seems So Silly in the Long Run\u003c/a>\u003c/em> with some other recordings we’d done at Klub Komotion, and I sent ’em $1,000 each. Bud and Eric told me that was the most money they’d gotten from their music at that point. Their album was out and selling millions, but they hadn’t seen any money because they owed so much money to MCA for Brad’s rehab, which I’d heard cost half a million dollars. So the only royalty check they received at that point was from a bootleg!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jim Agius\u003c/b>: The other thing is that there’s video footage of the whole show, but it’s never been released. After Brad died, there was some \u003ca href=\"http://articles.latimes.com/1998/feb/06/entertainment/ca-15990\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ugly legal battle between the guy who filmed it and the band\u003c/a>, and he’s just sat on the footage all these years, not doing anything with it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Wilson\u003c/b>: I’m sure it’ll come out sometime, but I don’t know anything about the politics of it.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/KuL8Iexv8g8'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/KuL8Iexv8g8'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cb>Sara Sugrue\u003c/b>: It’s also where I first met my ex, on the stairs of the Phoenix. Initially I was planning to say that it was a night I could have done without. However, without that night and the next few years of hell with my ex, I may have never been at Gale’s that one night where I met my amazing husband. Seventeen years together this year! So, with that thought, I am so happy that I have that disastrous night in my history. If I didn’t go to that show, I honestly would not be who I am now. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Hollie Simons\u003c/b>: I remember telling my husband, “Ah! I was at their last show!” when a Sublime song came on the radio when we were driving to Disneyland with our kids. He’s like, “No you weren’t!” I was like, “No, they played their last show at the Phoenix!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Boots Hughston\u003c/b>: I didn’t really expect it to happen. Bradley, he was crazy and partying, but I just never got the vibe that he was going to check out like that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rick Bonde\u003c/b>: You know what was really going through my mind after he died? I swear this is true, that as sad I was for myself, and for my business, and obviously Brad’s wife and family, and the band—the thing I thought about the most was that the rest of the world didn’t know what they just lost.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jason Boggs\u003c/b>: I think Brad would have gotten a lot more seasoned. I think he might have started to realize that he was a voice. He never got a chance to see how much influence he had on people, or how his music affected people in such a good way; he brought that positivity that I think he understood about reggae and rocksteady and even punk rock. He was a very positive person.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Eric Wilson\u003c/b>: He’d probably be playing music. Probably with me, but he might have gone solo. But who knows? We’ll never know.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "the-pound-san-francisco-punk-metal-venue-history",
"title": "Long Live The Pound: The Forgotten 2000s Venue That Changed the Bay Area",
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"headTitle": "Long Live The Pound: The Forgotten 2000s Venue That Changed the Bay Area | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>At the end of the 20th century, 100 Cargo Way at Pier 96 in San Francisco was a truck stop diner. When chef and entrepreneur Tony Carracci visited \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/bayview\">Hunter’s Point\u003c/a> to look at the building, he had dreams of being the next \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/11409279/bill-graham-the-personality-no-museum-could-possibly-contain\">Bill Graham\u003c/a>. So he took over the remote spot — which came with a coveted liquor license — and invested $20,000 dollars into gutting it, building a stage and installing a professional concert sound system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Around the same time, A.J. Cardinal was a punk who appreciated metal, and shared a desire with friend Cip Cipriano to bring Cradle of Filth to San Francisco. Cipriano also had dreams of being the next Bill Graham, and saw an opportunity (he called it “legalized gambling”) in the rocky, boom-and-bust business of promoting metal, hardcore and punk shows. They struck up a business relationship, booking shows at venues in the city, only to find that established venues didn’t want to scare the neighbors by putting names like Cradle of Filth on the marquee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That would not be a problem at The Pound, Carracci’s 500-person capacity venue near the railroad tracks and a hauling yard, with barely any neighbors, especially at night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13988670\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1818px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13988670\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/EricVictorino_Strata.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1818\" height=\"1228\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/EricVictorino_Strata.jpg 1818w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/EricVictorino_Strata-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/EricVictorino_Strata-768x519.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/EricVictorino_Strata-1536x1038.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1818px) 100vw, 1818px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eric Victorino performs with Strata at The Pound circa 2004–’05. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Danny Acosta/D.A. Mission)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At The Pound, Carracci, Cardinal and Cipriano carved out a pivotal and mostly unsung revolution in San Francisco’s legendary music scene. The Pound was born on \u003ca href=\"https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/jerry-cantrell/2001/the-pound-san-francisco-ca-63ddc687.html\">Feb. 8, 2001\u003c/a> with \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C3FfMHNO-DM/\">Jerry Cantrell\u003c/a> from Alice in Chains playing the venue’s first show. Its short-but-influential run lasted just five years; the Port Authority pulled the plug on their lease in \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfweekly.com/music/r-i-p-pound-sf/article_625d8d33-cd39-525b-addd-9ead53c8785a.html\">fall 2006\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Along the way, The Pound hosted a blizzard of early 2000s bands that would go on to become household names: My Chemical Romance, Paramore, Avenged Sevenfold. It also brought in veteran acts like Thin Lizzy, Anthrax, and Danzig of the Misfits. The Pound booked bands in their formative years that have persevered and now headline shows and festivals around the world – including Lamb of God, Killswitch Engage, Glassjaw and Hatebreed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Back then, no one wanted to touch these bands. The powers that be did not believe that these bands had any kind of draw, staying power. They’re playing stadiums now,” Cipriano tells KQED. “I was right. My big prize for being right is all the bands eventually go on to Live Nation and suddenly there’s no room for the independent venues.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FP939cW5wrs&list=RDFP939cW5wrs&start_radio=1\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The venue where taxis refused to go\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Pound had the aura of a horror film’s opening exterior. It was desolate, shrouded in ocean fog and surrounded by a gravel parking lot. Stacked shipping containers housed makeshift green rooms and offices; an abandoned-looking bus functioned as the smoking area; and the lighting resembled a temporary construction site. Taxi drivers would openly refuse to take metalheads there; the nearest Muni line, the 19, stopped too many blocks away for most to safely walk there at night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet The Pound’s isolation was key to its winning formula. Unlike other venues, there were no nearby residences to worry about. The music could be as loud as possible, much to the delight of fans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We never got a sound complaint, ever,” Carracci recalled. The one time Carracci tested that notion, he erected an outdoor stage to host Danzig for a crowd of 3,000 people. The cops came and asked to see his permit, to which he replied, “Ah fuck, goddamnit man. I knew I forgot something.” To avoid inciting a riot by calling off the show, they handed Carracci a modest ticket and issued a verbal warning about the permit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13988668\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1818px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13988668\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/GuyGates_Wurkt.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1818\" height=\"1228\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/GuyGates_Wurkt.jpg 1818w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/GuyGates_Wurkt-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/GuyGates_Wurkt-768x519.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/GuyGates_Wurkt-1536x1038.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1818px) 100vw, 1818px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Guy Gates performs with Wurkt at The Pound circa 2004–’05. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Danny Acosta/D.A. Mission)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Pound opened when the internet was starting to change music through file sharing, mailing lists, chat rooms and fan sites, with social media and streaming soon to drastically alter music and fan culture overall. While rudimentary and scrappy in person, The Pound maintained an early internet mailing list to keep fans in the know for upcoming shows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because it used to be a restaurant, per city code, The Pound was allowed to have all-ages shows \u003ci>while serving alcohol\u003c/i>. Musician Tony Malson (now lead singer in \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/state_line_empire/?hl=en\">State Line Empire\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thedevilincalifornia/?hl=en\">The Devil in California\u003c/a>) worked as a bartender at The Pound, and saw firsthand how crucial it was for underage music fans to be at these shows — X’s marked on their hands so they wouldn’t be served alcohol — having a safe and controlled outlet to get rowdy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“To be at clubs that were doing shows for that all-ages setup, 2004-5-6-ish, that was important, and when it went away, you could feel it,” said Malson, “All that shit went out to the East Bay clubs and different places. The metal scene wasn’t as prominent in San Francisco after that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All-ages crowds weren’t great for his tips, but The Pound offered fringe benefits like opening for Thin Lizzy, Mountain and Robby Krieger from the Doors. As a bartender but also a fan, it also meant he got to pour drinks for members of Metallica and Alice in Chains.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alvweI_JoWE\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A proving ground for musicians\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Opening for national touring acts at The Pound gave Malson’s projects the necessary credibility to claw out a living in music: “When we were doing other things, getting other gigs, touring, doing things like that, it looked really great on paper.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Guitarist Sergio Licea also received such an opportunity at The Pound, playing for an established punk act Barbee Killed Kenn after they were booked to open for Dee Dee Ramone in 2002. However, tragedy struck: Dee Dee Ramone died the week of the show. When the show went on anyway, Licea took the stage to an audience of less than 10 people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nevertheless, he loved being on The Pound’s stage, even without a crowd to feed off. “That place and Slim’s were personal dream venues for me, because I caught so many cool shows there,” he says, noting he was on The Pound’s online mailing list. “It’s still a highlight. I remember it pretty vividly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13988663\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1818px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13988663\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/PaulMendoza_Unjust.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1818\" height=\"1228\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/PaulMendoza_Unjust.jpg 1818w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/PaulMendoza_Unjust-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/PaulMendoza_Unjust-768x519.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/PaulMendoza_Unjust-1536x1038.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1818px) 100vw, 1818px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Paul Mendoza performs with Unjust at The Pound circa 2004–’05. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Danny Acosta/D.A. Mission)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Eric Wong, a veteran metal bassist (Metallica’s James Hetfield once produced Wong’s band Piranha), played at The Pound multiple times. When his band \u003ca href=\"https://linktr.ee/unjustband?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMjU2MjgxMDQwNTU4AAGnI6UeTqY96ANNJTnh-gwB1Bzn7qP7RxRQkJlsYjbOoaV9C_HPEuZY2Z0QsHM_aem_iUqBdWuSuIMQBZ5K-l_h-A\">Unjust\u003c/a> played a record-release show for their album \u003ci>Glow\u003c/i>, “I was absolutely shocked that we packed the place,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That was the place to be. You didn’t have to worry about anything there. You could be yourself. You could play. There wasn’t a lot of egos. It was generally a good place. Everyone took care of each other.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When The Pound closed, “it was almost the end of fun times,” he said. “That was kind of the end of that whole wave of thrash metal too, in the Bay Area.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ginger Cuevas now sings in the Bay Area metal band \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/diabluraofficial/?hl=en\">Diablura\u003c/a>. In the mid-aughts, she had just moved from New York and needed live music to fight off homesickness. Her ex-husband surprised her with a \u003ca href=\"https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/remembering-never/2005/the-pound-san-francisco-ca-73826ed5.html\">Remembering Never show \u003c/a>at The Pound in 2005.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That night, Cuevas took note of The Pound’s remote location. “‘Am I gonna get killed out here? Nobody’s ever gonna find my body out here if something happens,’” Cuevas remembers thinking to herself. “It was like that, but\u003ci> I had the time of my life\u003c/i>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/apaqPjrmrM8?si=8_Dm3Q-LRrCMmBFy\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The Pound’s legacy lives on\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Carracci and Cipriano tried their luck with a new location for The Pound in West Oakland, but \u003ca href=\"https://eastbayexpress.com/pound-sf-reopens-in-west-oakland-1/\">it didn’t pan out. \u003c/a>Cipriano keeps The Pound’s spirit alive by booking shows at the DNA Lounge in San Francisco. Carracci most recently worked as a chef and co-owner of the Point Richmond restaurant and music venue Baltic Kiss, which \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2025/04/18/baltic-kiss-closed-tony-carracci/\">closed in 2025\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cardinal \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/cardinal-a-j-2636013.php\">died in 2004\u003c/a>. Her work booking The Pound in the final years of her life constitutes a major contribution to the Bay Area music scene, and set an example for other women in a male-dominated field. Malson remains a fixture in the San Francisco music scene, with his grunge tribute band \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/rustychainssf/?hl=en\">Rusty Chains\u003c/a> hosting a yearly fundraiser for \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfsuicide.org\">San Francisco Suicide Prevention\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wong still plays with Unjust, who recently recorded a new EP — in part as a tribute to their longtime roadie Erik Cordero, who died by suicide. Cuevas never got to play The Pound with Diablura, but is thankful independent venues like DNA Lounge, Kilowatt in San Francisco and Eli’s Mile High Club in Oakland continue to foster the local heavy music scene.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Licea, who now co-owns a \u003ca href=\"https://florwines.com/\">wine shop\u003c/a> in Portland, summed up what made The Pound special. Bands would start there and pound away until they graduated up through the bigger venues in the region. For its time and place, The Pound was a warm, loud scene in the cold quiet of San Francisco’s industrial piers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Picking up energy at a live show is a fucking amazing energy, but you can’t get that [same] energy sitting up in the nosebleeds. You gotta have somebody sweat on you and shit. You gotta get splashed on by the guitar player,” said Licea, “That’s the shit that I like. That’s the kind of stuff that I think we’re really missing.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>At the end of the 20th century, 100 Cargo Way at Pier 96 in San Francisco was a truck stop diner. When chef and entrepreneur Tony Carracci visited \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/bayview\">Hunter’s Point\u003c/a> to look at the building, he had dreams of being the next \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/11409279/bill-graham-the-personality-no-museum-could-possibly-contain\">Bill Graham\u003c/a>. So he took over the remote spot — which came with a coveted liquor license — and invested $20,000 dollars into gutting it, building a stage and installing a professional concert sound system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Around the same time, A.J. Cardinal was a punk who appreciated metal, and shared a desire with friend Cip Cipriano to bring Cradle of Filth to San Francisco. Cipriano also had dreams of being the next Bill Graham, and saw an opportunity (he called it “legalized gambling”) in the rocky, boom-and-bust business of promoting metal, hardcore and punk shows. They struck up a business relationship, booking shows at venues in the city, only to find that established venues didn’t want to scare the neighbors by putting names like Cradle of Filth on the marquee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That would not be a problem at The Pound, Carracci’s 500-person capacity venue near the railroad tracks and a hauling yard, with barely any neighbors, especially at night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13988670\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1818px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13988670\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/EricVictorino_Strata.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1818\" height=\"1228\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/EricVictorino_Strata.jpg 1818w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/EricVictorino_Strata-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/EricVictorino_Strata-768x519.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/EricVictorino_Strata-1536x1038.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1818px) 100vw, 1818px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eric Victorino performs with Strata at The Pound circa 2004–’05. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Danny Acosta/D.A. Mission)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At The Pound, Carracci, Cardinal and Cipriano carved out a pivotal and mostly unsung revolution in San Francisco’s legendary music scene. The Pound was born on \u003ca href=\"https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/jerry-cantrell/2001/the-pound-san-francisco-ca-63ddc687.html\">Feb. 8, 2001\u003c/a> with \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C3FfMHNO-DM/\">Jerry Cantrell\u003c/a> from Alice in Chains playing the venue’s first show. Its short-but-influential run lasted just five years; the Port Authority pulled the plug on their lease in \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfweekly.com/music/r-i-p-pound-sf/article_625d8d33-cd39-525b-addd-9ead53c8785a.html\">fall 2006\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Along the way, The Pound hosted a blizzard of early 2000s bands that would go on to become household names: My Chemical Romance, Paramore, Avenged Sevenfold. It also brought in veteran acts like Thin Lizzy, Anthrax, and Danzig of the Misfits. The Pound booked bands in their formative years that have persevered and now headline shows and festivals around the world – including Lamb of God, Killswitch Engage, Glassjaw and Hatebreed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Back then, no one wanted to touch these bands. The powers that be did not believe that these bands had any kind of draw, staying power. They’re playing stadiums now,” Cipriano tells KQED. “I was right. My big prize for being right is all the bands eventually go on to Live Nation and suddenly there’s no room for the independent venues.”\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/FP939cW5wrs'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/FP939cW5wrs'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003ch2>The venue where taxis refused to go\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Pound had the aura of a horror film’s opening exterior. It was desolate, shrouded in ocean fog and surrounded by a gravel parking lot. Stacked shipping containers housed makeshift green rooms and offices; an abandoned-looking bus functioned as the smoking area; and the lighting resembled a temporary construction site. Taxi drivers would openly refuse to take metalheads there; the nearest Muni line, the 19, stopped too many blocks away for most to safely walk there at night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet The Pound’s isolation was key to its winning formula. Unlike other venues, there were no nearby residences to worry about. The music could be as loud as possible, much to the delight of fans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We never got a sound complaint, ever,” Carracci recalled. The one time Carracci tested that notion, he erected an outdoor stage to host Danzig for a crowd of 3,000 people. The cops came and asked to see his permit, to which he replied, “Ah fuck, goddamnit man. I knew I forgot something.” To avoid inciting a riot by calling off the show, they handed Carracci a modest ticket and issued a verbal warning about the permit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13988668\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1818px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13988668\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/GuyGates_Wurkt.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1818\" height=\"1228\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/GuyGates_Wurkt.jpg 1818w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/GuyGates_Wurkt-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/GuyGates_Wurkt-768x519.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/GuyGates_Wurkt-1536x1038.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1818px) 100vw, 1818px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Guy Gates performs with Wurkt at The Pound circa 2004–’05. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Danny Acosta/D.A. Mission)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Pound opened when the internet was starting to change music through file sharing, mailing lists, chat rooms and fan sites, with social media and streaming soon to drastically alter music and fan culture overall. While rudimentary and scrappy in person, The Pound maintained an early internet mailing list to keep fans in the know for upcoming shows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because it used to be a restaurant, per city code, The Pound was allowed to have all-ages shows \u003ci>while serving alcohol\u003c/i>. Musician Tony Malson (now lead singer in \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/state_line_empire/?hl=en\">State Line Empire\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thedevilincalifornia/?hl=en\">The Devil in California\u003c/a>) worked as a bartender at The Pound, and saw firsthand how crucial it was for underage music fans to be at these shows — X’s marked on their hands so they wouldn’t be served alcohol — having a safe and controlled outlet to get rowdy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“To be at clubs that were doing shows for that all-ages setup, 2004-5-6-ish, that was important, and when it went away, you could feel it,” said Malson, “All that shit went out to the East Bay clubs and different places. The metal scene wasn’t as prominent in San Francisco after that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All-ages crowds weren’t great for his tips, but The Pound offered fringe benefits like opening for Thin Lizzy, Mountain and Robby Krieger from the Doors. As a bartender but also a fan, it also meant he got to pour drinks for members of Metallica and Alice in Chains.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/alvweI_JoWE'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/alvweI_JoWE'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003ch2>A proving ground for musicians\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Opening for national touring acts at The Pound gave Malson’s projects the necessary credibility to claw out a living in music: “When we were doing other things, getting other gigs, touring, doing things like that, it looked really great on paper.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Guitarist Sergio Licea also received such an opportunity at The Pound, playing for an established punk act Barbee Killed Kenn after they were booked to open for Dee Dee Ramone in 2002. However, tragedy struck: Dee Dee Ramone died the week of the show. When the show went on anyway, Licea took the stage to an audience of less than 10 people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nevertheless, he loved being on The Pound’s stage, even without a crowd to feed off. “That place and Slim’s were personal dream venues for me, because I caught so many cool shows there,” he says, noting he was on The Pound’s online mailing list. “It’s still a highlight. I remember it pretty vividly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13988663\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1818px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13988663\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/PaulMendoza_Unjust.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1818\" height=\"1228\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/PaulMendoza_Unjust.jpg 1818w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/PaulMendoza_Unjust-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/PaulMendoza_Unjust-768x519.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/PaulMendoza_Unjust-1536x1038.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1818px) 100vw, 1818px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Paul Mendoza performs with Unjust at The Pound circa 2004–’05. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Danny Acosta/D.A. Mission)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Eric Wong, a veteran metal bassist (Metallica’s James Hetfield once produced Wong’s band Piranha), played at The Pound multiple times. When his band \u003ca href=\"https://linktr.ee/unjustband?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMjU2MjgxMDQwNTU4AAGnI6UeTqY96ANNJTnh-gwB1Bzn7qP7RxRQkJlsYjbOoaV9C_HPEuZY2Z0QsHM_aem_iUqBdWuSuIMQBZ5K-l_h-A\">Unjust\u003c/a> played a record-release show for their album \u003ci>Glow\u003c/i>, “I was absolutely shocked that we packed the place,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That was the place to be. You didn’t have to worry about anything there. You could be yourself. You could play. There wasn’t a lot of egos. It was generally a good place. Everyone took care of each other.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When The Pound closed, “it was almost the end of fun times,” he said. “That was kind of the end of that whole wave of thrash metal too, in the Bay Area.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ginger Cuevas now sings in the Bay Area metal band \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/diabluraofficial/?hl=en\">Diablura\u003c/a>. In the mid-aughts, she had just moved from New York and needed live music to fight off homesickness. Her ex-husband surprised her with a \u003ca href=\"https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/remembering-never/2005/the-pound-san-francisco-ca-73826ed5.html\">Remembering Never show \u003c/a>at The Pound in 2005.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That night, Cuevas took note of The Pound’s remote location. “‘Am I gonna get killed out here? Nobody’s ever gonna find my body out here if something happens,’” Cuevas remembers thinking to herself. “It was like that, but\u003ci> I had the time of my life\u003c/i>.”\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/apaqPjrmrM8'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/apaqPjrmrM8'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003ch2>The Pound’s legacy lives on\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Carracci and Cipriano tried their luck with a new location for The Pound in West Oakland, but \u003ca href=\"https://eastbayexpress.com/pound-sf-reopens-in-west-oakland-1/\">it didn’t pan out. \u003c/a>Cipriano keeps The Pound’s spirit alive by booking shows at the DNA Lounge in San Francisco. Carracci most recently worked as a chef and co-owner of the Point Richmond restaurant and music venue Baltic Kiss, which \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2025/04/18/baltic-kiss-closed-tony-carracci/\">closed in 2025\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cardinal \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/cardinal-a-j-2636013.php\">died in 2004\u003c/a>. Her work booking The Pound in the final years of her life constitutes a major contribution to the Bay Area music scene, and set an example for other women in a male-dominated field. Malson remains a fixture in the San Francisco music scene, with his grunge tribute band \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/rustychainssf/?hl=en\">Rusty Chains\u003c/a> hosting a yearly fundraiser for \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfsuicide.org\">San Francisco Suicide Prevention\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wong still plays with Unjust, who recently recorded a new EP — in part as a tribute to their longtime roadie Erik Cordero, who died by suicide. Cuevas never got to play The Pound with Diablura, but is thankful independent venues like DNA Lounge, Kilowatt in San Francisco and Eli’s Mile High Club in Oakland continue to foster the local heavy music scene.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Licea, who now co-owns a \u003ca href=\"https://florwines.com/\">wine shop\u003c/a> in Portland, summed up what made The Pound special. Bands would start there and pound away until they graduated up through the bigger venues in the region. For its time and place, The Pound was a warm, loud scene in the cold quiet of San Francisco’s industrial piers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Picking up energy at a live show is a fucking amazing energy, but you can’t get that [same] energy sitting up in the nosebleeds. You gotta have somebody sweat on you and shit. You gotta get splashed on by the guitar player,” said Licea, “That’s the shit that I like. That’s the kind of stuff that I think we’re really missing.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Anita Lofton and Veronica Savage have made noise in the Bay for more than a decade with their bands Sistas In The Pit and The Hail Marys – notable not just for their energy, but for the ways their identities intersect with their music. The two women are proudly Black, fiercely punk, unapologetically raw and have recently coalesced (along with drummer Q) into \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/blackgoldsun1/\">Black Gold Sun\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After watching the 2024 election results, Anita paused all her other projects and, as “an act of public service,” decided to start a Black girl punk band.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I knew the communities I belong to would be grieving — sad, devastated, overwhelmed,” she tells KQED via email. “I wanted to build a safe space for us. A place to rage, to dance, to scream and to let it all out.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This weekend, Black Gold Sun will perform in another space designed to let it all out: \u003ca href=\"https://www.dollfest.net/home\">Doll Fest\u003c/a>, the two-day festival dedicated to femme-fronted bands from across the country. This year’s event will be held at Oakland’s California Ballroom on March 28 and 29, with a \u003ca href=\"https://tickets.venuepilot.com/e/doll-fest-vol-ii-pre-party-w-skip-the-needle-2026-03-27-ivy-room-albany-5b86b9\">pre-party\u003c/a> on March 27 at the female-owned Ivy Room in Albany. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13987971\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/vial_by_katy_kelly.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"903\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13987971\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/vial_by_katy_kelly.jpg 1000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/vial_by_katy_kelly-160x144.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/vial_by_katy_kelly-768x694.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Minneapolis punk trio VIAL plays this year’s Doll Fest. \u003ccite>(Katy Kelly)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Now in its second year, the homegrown festival is dedicated to smashing the patriarchy, amplifying feminine power through music. In addition to local groups at the vanguard such as Black Gold Sun, this year’s headliners include Minneapolis bratpunk trio \u003ca href=\"https://www.vialband.com/\">VIAL\u003c/a> and Fat Wreck Chords’ \u003ca href=\"https://badcopbadcopmusic.com/\">Bad Cop Bad Cop\u003c/a>. Also on the lineup are Denver beatmaker and MC \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/wheelchairsportscamp/\">Wheelchair Sportscamp\u003c/a>, trans alt-hip-hop artist \u003ca href=\"https://www.itsdamag3.com/\">DAMAG3\u003c/a>, and nine-piece all-female ska band \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/colectivosabinas/\">El Colectivo Sabinas\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Anything that uplifts, empowers, or highlights women’s creativity is a yes for me. The current state of the world is doing a number on women, and I want to contribute to their joy,” says Anita, who plays guitar and sings for Black Gold Sun. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Doll Fest founder Maria Chaos was similarly fed up with the status quo, and grew determined to create the change she wanted to see in punk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I became really tired of watching old white man bands hogging the stages and making these empty promises of tokenized statements,” she tells KQED via email. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13987972\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/421523652_921050173114647_7186941386879221908_n.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13987972\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/421523652_921050173114647_7186941386879221908_n.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/421523652_921050173114647_7186941386879221908_n-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/421523652_921050173114647_7186941386879221908_n-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/421523652_921050173114647_7186941386879221908_n-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/421523652_921050173114647_7186941386879221908_n-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">All-female ska band El Colectivo Sabinas. \u003ccite>(Artist photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Maria stepped up to the plate and built Doll Fest from the ground up alongside general manager and art director Freya Hausman, who until recently was the general manager of the Bay Area record label Alternative Tentacles. The two booked femme-led bands across the punk spectrum – from riot grrrl legends to ska-punk and alt-rock – \u003ca href=\"https://thebadcopy.com/interviews/maria-chaos-shares-the-birth-of-doll-fest-how-its-a-response-the-experience-of-booking-her-first-festival/\">prioritizing\u003c/a> a group’s enjoyment, draw and morals relative to the fest’s local audience and ethos. The inaugural Doll Fest took over Cornerstone in Berkeley, a city chosen for its \u003ca href=\"https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/doll-fest-amps-up-for-2-day-takeover-in-berkeley-we-want-people-to-feel-like-this-was-made-for-them/\">history of radical art and activism\u003c/a>, with headliners Tsunami Bomb and Naked Aggression. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Veronica, Black Gold Sun’s bassist, has exclusively played in all-female bands, and performed at multiple women-focused events. “Punk music has always been about challenges, rebellion, DIY culture. This festival gives space for female-fronted bands to be seen and heard, and for folks to experience a range of styles and messages that can keep the scene fresh and energized,” she says. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The energy is contagious – and expansive. Doll Fest has grown to include multiple auxiliary events including a comedy night, boxing meet-up, a vinyl compilation, multiple fundraisers, and a two-day festival in Mexico City headlined by legendary L.A. punk Alice Bag. “Before anyone asks, no this is not going to be Vans Warped Tour 2.0,” Maria adds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Having bands come from other areas to the Bay Area can be quite costly or difficult,” she continues. “This is a family, a community. If they can’t come to us then I want to go to them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mE3G38gLO4s\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Doll Fest has a nationwide community of supporters. Just a few months after the first Doll Fest, Maria was at Florida’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/thefestfl/\">Fest\u003c/a> and spoke with many people who knew about her event. “They thought it was so cool and had been yearning for an event like this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At a \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DP6kJbwEdIO/\">Doll Fest benefit show\u003c/a> in November featuring \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13935330/frightwig-40th-anniversary-album-san-francisco-punk-rock-riot-grrrl\">San Francisco OGs Frightwig\u003c/a>, a performer recalled becoming jaded with life and music. “[She said] this event had given her a spark that she hadn’t felt in years,” Maria remembered. “I was in tears at one point…because the room felt like you were walking into a giant hug.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Black Gold Sun’s Anita Lofton considers a femme-focused festival to be a powerful acknowledgment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The plain and simple truth is that seeing something makes it possible,” she says. “When you see women performing punk music, you know it’s real.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13987974\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/BCBC-portrait-4784_credit_SoFinchPhotography-2025-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13987974\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/BCBC-portrait-4784_credit_SoFinchPhotography-2025-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/BCBC-portrait-4784_credit_SoFinchPhotography-2025-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/BCBC-portrait-4784_credit_SoFinchPhotography-2025-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/BCBC-portrait-4784_credit_SoFinchPhotography-2025-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bad Cop Bad Cop, from Southern California, play this weekend’s Doll Fest. \u003ccite>(So Finch Photography)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Like any production, putting on Doll Fest comes with logistical and emotional challenges. Maria says she experiences stress, imposter syndrome, and sometimes fears that she’s letting her team down. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, “hearing about how this event brings a type of joy to peoples’ lives…fuel[s] the fire,” Maria says. “I’ll keep doing these until I die.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Doll Fest takes place Saturday and Sunday, March 28 and 29, at the California Ballroom (1726 Franklin St. Oakland). A pre-party gets underway Friday, March 27, at the Ivy Room. \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.dollfest.net/\">\u003ci>Tickets and more details here\u003c/i>\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"title": "The Femme-Fronted Bands of Doll Fest Are Set to Take Over Oakland | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Anita Lofton and Veronica Savage have made noise in the Bay for more than a decade with their bands Sistas In The Pit and The Hail Marys – notable not just for their energy, but for the ways their identities intersect with their music. The two women are proudly Black, fiercely punk, unapologetically raw and have recently coalesced (along with drummer Q) into \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/blackgoldsun1/\">Black Gold Sun\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After watching the 2024 election results, Anita paused all her other projects and, as “an act of public service,” decided to start a Black girl punk band.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I knew the communities I belong to would be grieving — sad, devastated, overwhelmed,” she tells KQED via email. “I wanted to build a safe space for us. A place to rage, to dance, to scream and to let it all out.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This weekend, Black Gold Sun will perform in another space designed to let it all out: \u003ca href=\"https://www.dollfest.net/home\">Doll Fest\u003c/a>, the two-day festival dedicated to femme-fronted bands from across the country. This year’s event will be held at Oakland’s California Ballroom on March 28 and 29, with a \u003ca href=\"https://tickets.venuepilot.com/e/doll-fest-vol-ii-pre-party-w-skip-the-needle-2026-03-27-ivy-room-albany-5b86b9\">pre-party\u003c/a> on March 27 at the female-owned Ivy Room in Albany. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13987971\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/vial_by_katy_kelly.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"903\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13987971\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/vial_by_katy_kelly.jpg 1000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/vial_by_katy_kelly-160x144.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/vial_by_katy_kelly-768x694.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Minneapolis punk trio VIAL plays this year’s Doll Fest. \u003ccite>(Katy Kelly)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Now in its second year, the homegrown festival is dedicated to smashing the patriarchy, amplifying feminine power through music. In addition to local groups at the vanguard such as Black Gold Sun, this year’s headliners include Minneapolis bratpunk trio \u003ca href=\"https://www.vialband.com/\">VIAL\u003c/a> and Fat Wreck Chords’ \u003ca href=\"https://badcopbadcopmusic.com/\">Bad Cop Bad Cop\u003c/a>. Also on the lineup are Denver beatmaker and MC \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/wheelchairsportscamp/\">Wheelchair Sportscamp\u003c/a>, trans alt-hip-hop artist \u003ca href=\"https://www.itsdamag3.com/\">DAMAG3\u003c/a>, and nine-piece all-female ska band \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/colectivosabinas/\">El Colectivo Sabinas\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Anything that uplifts, empowers, or highlights women’s creativity is a yes for me. The current state of the world is doing a number on women, and I want to contribute to their joy,” says Anita, who plays guitar and sings for Black Gold Sun. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Doll Fest founder Maria Chaos was similarly fed up with the status quo, and grew determined to create the change she wanted to see in punk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I became really tired of watching old white man bands hogging the stages and making these empty promises of tokenized statements,” she tells KQED via email. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13987972\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/421523652_921050173114647_7186941386879221908_n.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13987972\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/421523652_921050173114647_7186941386879221908_n.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/421523652_921050173114647_7186941386879221908_n-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/421523652_921050173114647_7186941386879221908_n-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/421523652_921050173114647_7186941386879221908_n-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/421523652_921050173114647_7186941386879221908_n-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">All-female ska band El Colectivo Sabinas. \u003ccite>(Artist photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Maria stepped up to the plate and built Doll Fest from the ground up alongside general manager and art director Freya Hausman, who until recently was the general manager of the Bay Area record label Alternative Tentacles. The two booked femme-led bands across the punk spectrum – from riot grrrl legends to ska-punk and alt-rock – \u003ca href=\"https://thebadcopy.com/interviews/maria-chaos-shares-the-birth-of-doll-fest-how-its-a-response-the-experience-of-booking-her-first-festival/\">prioritizing\u003c/a> a group’s enjoyment, draw and morals relative to the fest’s local audience and ethos. The inaugural Doll Fest took over Cornerstone in Berkeley, a city chosen for its \u003ca href=\"https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/doll-fest-amps-up-for-2-day-takeover-in-berkeley-we-want-people-to-feel-like-this-was-made-for-them/\">history of radical art and activism\u003c/a>, with headliners Tsunami Bomb and Naked Aggression. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Veronica, Black Gold Sun’s bassist, has exclusively played in all-female bands, and performed at multiple women-focused events. “Punk music has always been about challenges, rebellion, DIY culture. This festival gives space for female-fronted bands to be seen and heard, and for folks to experience a range of styles and messages that can keep the scene fresh and energized,” she says. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The energy is contagious – and expansive. Doll Fest has grown to include multiple auxiliary events including a comedy night, boxing meet-up, a vinyl compilation, multiple fundraisers, and a two-day festival in Mexico City headlined by legendary L.A. punk Alice Bag. “Before anyone asks, no this is not going to be Vans Warped Tour 2.0,” Maria adds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Having bands come from other areas to the Bay Area can be quite costly or difficult,” she continues. “This is a family, a community. If they can’t come to us then I want to go to them.”\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/mE3G38gLO4s'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/mE3G38gLO4s'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Doll Fest has a nationwide community of supporters. Just a few months after the first Doll Fest, Maria was at Florida’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/thefestfl/\">Fest\u003c/a> and spoke with many people who knew about her event. “They thought it was so cool and had been yearning for an event like this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At a \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DP6kJbwEdIO/\">Doll Fest benefit show\u003c/a> in November featuring \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13935330/frightwig-40th-anniversary-album-san-francisco-punk-rock-riot-grrrl\">San Francisco OGs Frightwig\u003c/a>, a performer recalled becoming jaded with life and music. “[She said] this event had given her a spark that she hadn’t felt in years,” Maria remembered. “I was in tears at one point…because the room felt like you were walking into a giant hug.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Black Gold Sun’s Anita Lofton considers a femme-focused festival to be a powerful acknowledgment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The plain and simple truth is that seeing something makes it possible,” she says. “When you see women performing punk music, you know it’s real.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13987974\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/BCBC-portrait-4784_credit_SoFinchPhotography-2025-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13987974\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/BCBC-portrait-4784_credit_SoFinchPhotography-2025-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/BCBC-portrait-4784_credit_SoFinchPhotography-2025-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/BCBC-portrait-4784_credit_SoFinchPhotography-2025-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/BCBC-portrait-4784_credit_SoFinchPhotography-2025-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bad Cop Bad Cop, from Southern California, play this weekend’s Doll Fest. \u003ccite>(So Finch Photography)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Like any production, putting on Doll Fest comes with logistical and emotional challenges. Maria says she experiences stress, imposter syndrome, and sometimes fears that she’s letting her team down. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, “hearing about how this event brings a type of joy to peoples’ lives…fuel[s] the fire,” Maria says. “I’ll keep doing these until I die.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Doll Fest takes place Saturday and Sunday, March 28 and 29, at the California Ballroom (1726 Franklin St. Oakland). A pre-party gets underway Friday, March 27, at the Ivy Room. \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.dollfest.net/\">\u003ci>Tickets and more details here\u003c/i>\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "thee-parkside-closing-san-francisco-potrero-hill",
"title": "Saying Goodbye to Thee Parkside, a ‘Safe Haven’ for San Francisco’s Punks and Rebels",
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"headTitle": "Saying Goodbye to Thee Parkside, a ‘Safe Haven’ for San Francisco’s Punks and Rebels | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>On a recent Saturday night at Thee Parkside, I stand in the dimly lit bathroom reading the graffiti-covered walls as I try, and fail, to catch a glimpse of my reflection under the film of stickers on the mirror.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From the bathroom I can hear East Bay metalcore band The Tower the Fool hyping the crowd.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s an honor to be playing here at Thee Parkside,” the frontman says. “It’s going to be one of the last ones here. We used to come here all the time when we were young. Back in our punk days, saw Reagan Youth, Adolescents over here —”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Sneaking in underage!” someone yells from the crowd.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Yeah,” he laughs. “Sneaking in underage. We were having a great time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A little red building on the corner of 17th and Wisconsin Streets, Thee Parkside will soon close its doors for the last time after 26 years as a staple of the punk and underground music scene. An official last day has yet to be set, but live music performances will last throughout the month of March.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While details regarding the $1.33 million sale of the property last April have not been made public, graffiti inside Thee Parkside’s patio reads, “This will be condos you can’t afford!” (The slogan is also on T-shirts sold behind the bar.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13987476\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13987476 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_014-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_014-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_014-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_014-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_014-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Graffiti reading “This will be condos you can’t afford!” is painted on a wall at Thee Parkside on March 6, 2026, in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>No concrete plans for developing the lot have been filed with the city, but the property’s real estate listing highlights that the site “allows for development up to 48 feet in height” and “presents a rare chance to create a dynamic residential or mixed-use project.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The community that I serve, they’re losing a lot of things, not just Thee Parkside,” owner Malia Spanyol told KQED. “It’s been a struggle for 15 years, 20 years. Everyone’s moving to Oakland, everyone’s getting pushed out of the city. Everyone can’t afford to live here. Everyone’s working 60-hour weeks. It’s hard for a lot of people right now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The loss is just one of many for Potrero Hill’s creative scene. Bottom of the Hill, a 35-year-old music venue, announced it’ll close at the end of 2026. The nearby California College of the Arts will also shut its doors in 2027.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13987474\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13987474\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_008-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_008-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_008-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_008-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_008-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Owner Malia Spanyol sits inside the office at Thee Parkside on March 6, 2025, in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Parkside regular Duff Ryan has been coming to Thee Parkside since the early 2000s. He’d initially go to the bar to see a punk show or two. When he later enrolled at CCA just a few blocks away, Thee Parkside became the after-class hotspot to get a fix of tater tots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over a decade after graduation, Ryan remains a consistent regular for the community he’s forged with employees and fellow regulars alike. He can stop by on any given day and find someone for a chat. [aside postid='arts_13987283']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So many years later it’s been a central part of my life, my friend group, my family,” Ryan said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During pandemic shutdowns, Thee Parkside opened window service, and Ryan went every day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was a place to see your friends and to feel a little bit less crazy while stuck in your house,” Ryan said. “What an incredibly important sort of community outlet.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13987473\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13987473\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_001-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_001-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_001-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_001-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_001-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A cyclist rides past the entrance to Thee Parkside, a punk dive bar that has operated in San Francisco for 26 years, on March 6, 2025. The venue has long served as a gathering space for the city’s punk and underground music community. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Over the years, the small venue has hosted local bands as well as big ones, like when Green Day played as The Coverups in 2018. There have been tricycle races and ladies’ arm wrestling on the Fourth of July — plus weddings, baby showers, memorial services and birthday parties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Thee Parkside’s most tenured employee Shane Plitt, the closure is even more personal: at one point, Thee Parkside became his literal home. [aside postid='arts_13987466']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Between tours with his band M.U.T.T., he got evicted. Spanyol offered the green room atop the bar, and he lived there well into COVID.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I have spent so much time there, I mean, it was literally like my living room,” Plitt said. “I’d wake up, go downstairs and the regulars are all there trying to get me a shot of tequila and I’m like, I just need a coffee.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13987481\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13987481\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_023-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_023-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_023-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_023-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_023-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Matt Walker of M.U.T.T. sings into a microphone while playing guitar during a performance at Thee Parkside on March 6, 2025, in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Plitt and senior colleague Max Wickham recently got tattoos of Spanyol’s name. Inspired by a former coworker who would tag “Malia” inside and outside the bar, they snapped a picture and thought it felt right to get her name permanently inked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The core [of Thee Parkside] has always been the same,” Wickham said. “Malia has owned the bar for close to 20 years, and you can’t own a place that long without it becoming an extension of yourself. … It was a place where people could be — it sounds so cheesy — but a place where people could be themselves.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Plitt and Wickham emphasize that the community at Thee Parkside — the punks, burners, hippies, techies and businesspeople alike — couldn’t exist without Spanyol’s efforts of inclusivity and acceptance. Some of the staff even call her “mom.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13987477\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13987477\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_015-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_015-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_015-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_015-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_015-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shane Plitt (left) and Max Wickham show their tattoos honoring Malia Spanyol, owner of Thee Parkside, on March 6, 2025, in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It really represents a safe haven for any creative person,” Plitt said. “Somebody’s down, bad on their luck, went to jail, got out of jail, can’t find a job — you are welcome.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since announcing Thee Parkside will be closing sometime this year, community response has been equal parts frustration and disbelief. But there’s also a silver lining: an outpouring of support. Plitt noted that the bar has been as busy as it was before the pandemic, a sign of the community coming together for some of its final nights.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s been an insane 19 years for me,” Spanyol said. “It has been so wild. I appreciate what Thee Parkside has given me for fucking 19 years. It has been so much fun. It has been such hard work, but it has paid off in so many ways.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>On a recent Saturday night at Thee Parkside, I stand in the dimly lit bathroom reading the graffiti-covered walls as I try, and fail, to catch a glimpse of my reflection under the film of stickers on the mirror.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From the bathroom I can hear East Bay metalcore band The Tower the Fool hyping the crowd.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s an honor to be playing here at Thee Parkside,” the frontman says. “It’s going to be one of the last ones here. We used to come here all the time when we were young. Back in our punk days, saw Reagan Youth, Adolescents over here —”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Sneaking in underage!” someone yells from the crowd.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Yeah,” he laughs. “Sneaking in underage. We were having a great time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A little red building on the corner of 17th and Wisconsin Streets, Thee Parkside will soon close its doors for the last time after 26 years as a staple of the punk and underground music scene. An official last day has yet to be set, but live music performances will last throughout the month of March.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While details regarding the $1.33 million sale of the property last April have not been made public, graffiti inside Thee Parkside’s patio reads, “This will be condos you can’t afford!” (The slogan is also on T-shirts sold behind the bar.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13987476\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13987476 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_014-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_014-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_014-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_014-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_014-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Graffiti reading “This will be condos you can’t afford!” is painted on a wall at Thee Parkside on March 6, 2026, in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>No concrete plans for developing the lot have been filed with the city, but the property’s real estate listing highlights that the site “allows for development up to 48 feet in height” and “presents a rare chance to create a dynamic residential or mixed-use project.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The community that I serve, they’re losing a lot of things, not just Thee Parkside,” owner Malia Spanyol told KQED. “It’s been a struggle for 15 years, 20 years. Everyone’s moving to Oakland, everyone’s getting pushed out of the city. Everyone can’t afford to live here. Everyone’s working 60-hour weeks. It’s hard for a lot of people right now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The loss is just one of many for Potrero Hill’s creative scene. Bottom of the Hill, a 35-year-old music venue, announced it’ll close at the end of 2026. The nearby California College of the Arts will also shut its doors in 2027.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13987474\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13987474\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_008-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_008-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_008-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_008-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_008-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Owner Malia Spanyol sits inside the office at Thee Parkside on March 6, 2025, in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Parkside regular Duff Ryan has been coming to Thee Parkside since the early 2000s. He’d initially go to the bar to see a punk show or two. When he later enrolled at CCA just a few blocks away, Thee Parkside became the after-class hotspot to get a fix of tater tots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over a decade after graduation, Ryan remains a consistent regular for the community he’s forged with employees and fellow regulars alike. He can stop by on any given day and find someone for a chat. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So many years later it’s been a central part of my life, my friend group, my family,” Ryan said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During pandemic shutdowns, Thee Parkside opened window service, and Ryan went every day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was a place to see your friends and to feel a little bit less crazy while stuck in your house,” Ryan said. “What an incredibly important sort of community outlet.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13987473\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13987473\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_001-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_001-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_001-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_001-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_001-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A cyclist rides past the entrance to Thee Parkside, a punk dive bar that has operated in San Francisco for 26 years, on March 6, 2025. The venue has long served as a gathering space for the city’s punk and underground music community. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Over the years, the small venue has hosted local bands as well as big ones, like when Green Day played as The Coverups in 2018. There have been tricycle races and ladies’ arm wrestling on the Fourth of July — plus weddings, baby showers, memorial services and birthday parties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Thee Parkside’s most tenured employee Shane Plitt, the closure is even more personal: at one point, Thee Parkside became his literal home. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Between tours with his band M.U.T.T., he got evicted. Spanyol offered the green room atop the bar, and he lived there well into COVID.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I have spent so much time there, I mean, it was literally like my living room,” Plitt said. “I’d wake up, go downstairs and the regulars are all there trying to get me a shot of tequila and I’m like, I just need a coffee.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13987481\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13987481\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_023-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_023-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_023-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_023-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_023-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Matt Walker of M.U.T.T. sings into a microphone while playing guitar during a performance at Thee Parkside on March 6, 2025, in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Plitt and senior colleague Max Wickham recently got tattoos of Spanyol’s name. Inspired by a former coworker who would tag “Malia” inside and outside the bar, they snapped a picture and thought it felt right to get her name permanently inked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The core [of Thee Parkside] has always been the same,” Wickham said. “Malia has owned the bar for close to 20 years, and you can’t own a place that long without it becoming an extension of yourself. … It was a place where people could be — it sounds so cheesy — but a place where people could be themselves.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Plitt and Wickham emphasize that the community at Thee Parkside — the punks, burners, hippies, techies and businesspeople alike — couldn’t exist without Spanyol’s efforts of inclusivity and acceptance. Some of the staff even call her “mom.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13987477\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13987477\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_015-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_015-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_015-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_015-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/030626_THEE-PARKSIDE-_GH_015-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shane Plitt (left) and Max Wickham show their tattoos honoring Malia Spanyol, owner of Thee Parkside, on March 6, 2025, in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It really represents a safe haven for any creative person,” Plitt said. “Somebody’s down, bad on their luck, went to jail, got out of jail, can’t find a job — you are welcome.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since announcing Thee Parkside will be closing sometime this year, community response has been equal parts frustration and disbelief. But there’s also a silver lining: an outpouring of support. Plitt noted that the bar has been as busy as it was before the pandemic, a sign of the community coming together for some of its final nights.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s been an insane 19 years for me,” Spanyol said. “It has been so wild. I appreciate what Thee Parkside has given me for fucking 19 years. It has been so much fun. It has been such hard work, but it has paid off in so many ways.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>San Francisco \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/punk-rock\">punk\u003c/a> legend Jello Biafra has been hospitalized following a hemorrhagic stroke caused by high blood pressure, according to a statement posted on his Facebook page.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The former Dead Kennedys frontman described collapsing after getting out of bed and realizing he had lost feeling in his left leg and arm. “I tried to hop back up again, and I couldn’t. I realized I had ‘fallen and I can’t get up!’” he wrote. “It was this point I thought, ‘Oh shit, I’m having a stroke!’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Biafra is in stable condition at a hospital, the statement said. “I still have a lot of great stuff in me, but right now I gotta lotta of rehabbing to do,” he concluded.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fans left thousands of supportive comments on Biafra’s post, including well-wishes from fellow stroke survivors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 67-year-old singer-songwriter first came into prominence with the Dead Kennedys in the late 1970s with “California Über Alles,” a satirical song about then-governor Jerry Brown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With other songs like “Nazi Punks Fuck Off,” the Dead Kennedys cemented their reputation as politically outspoken provocateurs. Biafra ran for mayor of San Francisco in 1979 and, later, campaigned for the Green Party’s presidential nomination in 2000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Dead Kennedys reunited without Biafra in 2001 after accusing him of withholding royalties in a lawsuit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now a solo artist, Biafra remains active with his Alternative Tentacles record label and regularly posts political commentary on his social media.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>San Francisco \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/punk-rock\">punk\u003c/a> legend Jello Biafra has been hospitalized following a hemorrhagic stroke caused by high blood pressure, according to a statement posted on his Facebook page.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The former Dead Kennedys frontman described collapsing after getting out of bed and realizing he had lost feeling in his left leg and arm. “I tried to hop back up again, and I couldn’t. I realized I had ‘fallen and I can’t get up!’” he wrote. “It was this point I thought, ‘Oh shit, I’m having a stroke!’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Biafra is in stable condition at a hospital, the statement said. “I still have a lot of great stuff in me, but right now I gotta lotta of rehabbing to do,” he concluded.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fans left thousands of supportive comments on Biafra’s post, including well-wishes from fellow stroke survivors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 67-year-old singer-songwriter first came into prominence with the Dead Kennedys in the late 1970s with “California Über Alles,” a satirical song about then-governor Jerry Brown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With other songs like “Nazi Punks Fuck Off,” the Dead Kennedys cemented their reputation as politically outspoken provocateurs. Biafra ran for mayor of San Francisco in 1979 and, later, campaigned for the Green Party’s presidential nomination in 2000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Dead Kennedys reunited without Biafra in 2001 after accusing him of withholding royalties in a lawsuit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now a solo artist, Biafra remains active with his Alternative Tentacles record label and regularly posts political commentary on his social media.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>As a small crowd gathered in an industrial complex in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/richmond\">Richmond\u003c/a> on Friday night, a puppeteer dressed as a molting bird gave birth to a human doll baby, followed by a brief magic show. A ska band ripped through a short set, a sideshow performer swallowed two swords and stuck fishhooks in her eyelids, and another local band \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/37196/a-portal-to-chaos-and-adventure-in-a-playground\">named after a kids’ portal to chaos\u003c/a> closed out the night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just your average evening at Richmond’s newest DIY, all-ages, substance-free venue, \u003ca href=\"https://ragtagshows.com/\">The Planetarium\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A former karaoke lounge situated inside a maze of \u003ca href=\"https://intergalactic.rocks/\">practice spaces\u003c/a>, The Planetarium serves a city not exactly known for providing opportunities to its younger creative residents. After being open for only a few weeks, it’s already gaining a following.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Finding your people\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>At Friday’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DTls0sTkn14/\">Cosmik Debris\u003c/a> variety show, one person came for the puppets at the recommendation of someone on their local music Signal chat; another, from Berkeley, wanted to recapture the feeling they had as a teen punk in San Diego. Someone else saw a flyer while helping a friend during their KALX DJ set, and another couple was invited for a friend’s birthday. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13985700\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/20260116_PLANETARIUMRICHMOND_GC-26-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13985700\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/20260116_PLANETARIUMRICHMOND_GC-26-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/20260116_PLANETARIUMRICHMOND_GC-26-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/20260116_PLANETARIUMRICHMOND_GC-26-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/20260116_PLANETARIUMRICHMOND_GC-26-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Adventure Playground performs at the Planetarium in Richmond on Jan. 16, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I knew we were doing good when I had some guy come to his second show, when we’d only had four,” said Alex Botkin, one of The Planetarium’s co-founders, who grew up half a mile down the road in El Cerrito. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The project of three longtime DIYers who met at the long-running Berkeley punk club \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/924-gilman\">924 Gilman\u003c/a>, The Planetarium has hosted half a dozen events since its grand opening on Jan. 2. Currently scheduled are 32 additional shows, mostly on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, through May. Booking as Ragtag Productions, the trio caters to smaller, younger bands, touring acts, and transgressive performance art — all communities in which the founders have been involved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I spent a lot of time traveling between weird performance art worlds in the East Bay in search of community,” said Plantearium co-founder Kirk Pearson, a New York native who moved to the Bay about 10 years ago. “I found all of these groups of people, several of which were incredibly good performers, but with absolutely no venue that was suited for them to perform. So that’s at least part of my excitement [with The Plantarium].” \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13985695\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/20260116_PLANETARIUMRICHMOND_GC-4-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13985695\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/20260116_PLANETARIUMRICHMOND_GC-4-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/20260116_PLANETARIUMRICHMOND_GC-4-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/20260116_PLANETARIUMRICHMOND_GC-4-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/20260116_PLANETARIUMRICHMOND_GC-4-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Risa Lenore performs a puppet show at the Planetarium in Richmond on Jan. 16, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Tickets to a Planetarium show will hover between $10 and $15 to encourage artistic discovery without a hefty price tag. “By having that openness to variety and all the bands that are having a great time, you’ll probably have a good time,” Alex said. \u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Roots in DIY\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Community begets community, and The Planetarium is proof of the East Bay’s deep DIY and punk roots. Pearson is a composer and sound designer who founded \u003ca href=\"https://dogbotic.com/\">Dogbotic\u003c/a> and previously did sound at Gilman. Botkin, a musician with the band awakebutstillinbed (who also played with Friday’s ska band, Sad Snack), books shows and ran a record label in addition to years of volunteer work at Gilman. His partner Lexi Botkin grew up going to shows and volunteering at Gilman, in addition to playing bass and selling merch for bands. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was just a show rat. I was at everything and talking to everybody, and helping out however I could,” said Lexi, a Berkeley educator who grew up in Pleasanton and San Jose. “Ever since I was a kid, my dream was to have a business where I could help foster art communities and creativity.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13985701\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/20260116_PLANETARIUMRICHMOND_GC-29-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13985701\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/20260116_PLANETARIUMRICHMOND_GC-29-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/20260116_PLANETARIUMRICHMOND_GC-29-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/20260116_PLANETARIUMRICHMOND_GC-29-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/20260116_PLANETARIUMRICHMOND_GC-29-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Attendees dance as Adventure Playground performs at the Planetarium in Richmond on Jan. 16, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>With a good deal on rent from their friends in \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/middleagedqueers/\">Middle-Aged Queers\u003c/a> — who purchased the building with the intention of opening a venue but lacked the time — and a lot of help from their community, The Planetarium was born. The room that would become the venue was in decent shape, with cool lighting in place and some supplies to spruce things up. It was already permitted for noise with the city of Richmond. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve gotten tremendous deals from friends and stuff from former venues, or [from] touring bands,” Alex said, pointing to the venue’s soundboard. “Once you’re involved in [DIY spaces] enough and know enough people, it’s not hard to find community support in that way.” \u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Everyone is a star\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Planetarium has already started to see a “karmic return” in the form of community interest. When asked how they’re connecting with bands and artists, Lexi was quick to note, “We’re not finding them. They’re finding \u003ci>us\u003c/i>.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a lot of venues closing right now, and every venue that opens doesn’t really fix it. It just sort of fills part of the deficit. The amount of inquiries we got puts us into almost summer with some of our shows,” Alex added. “Bands are desperate for places that they can play.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13985694\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/20260116_PLANETARIUMRICHMOND_GC-1-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13985694\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/20260116_PLANETARIUMRICHMOND_GC-1-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/20260116_PLANETARIUMRICHMOND_GC-1-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/20260116_PLANETARIUMRICHMOND_GC-1-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/20260116_PLANETARIUMRICHMOND_GC-1-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">From left, Planetarium founders Alex Botkin, Kirk Pearson and Lexi Botkin pose for a photo at the music venue in Richmond on Jan. 16, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Planetarium could be seen as a new generation’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/12493208/burnt-ramen-long-running-underground-venue-in-richmond-shut-down\">Burnt Ramen\u003c/a>, the Richmond DIY space that closed in 2016, and adds to popular DIY venues such as Gilman in Berkeley and Oakland’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/staygoldoakland/?hl=en\">Stay Gold Deli\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://tamarackoakland.com/calendar\">Tamarack\u003c/a>. The venue will decidedly not host any punishing “elder bar rock.” Adds Pearson: “If you are a band of 17-year-olds or 18-year-olds, you can play here.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s still plenty of work to do at The Planetarium, from building a proper stage and soundbooth to fixing some busted flooring. The co-founders aren’t worried; “perfect is the enemy of good,” as Pearson noted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And, befitting a place that puts punk bands alongside puppet shows, it’s about more than the music. Lexi said she hopes to host events like clothing swaps and drives, DIY clothing repairs, and “study shares” where attendees tutor each other. Regardless of what may get booked at The Planetarium, all events will share a common perspective.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s no attitude in this space. There’s a bunch of fun, colorful lights; there’s already aliens on the wall. This is goofy and silly, and you have to be open to that,” Alex said. “Everyone’s just here and it’s all a level playing field. Nobody is the top dog.” \u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Find \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/planetariumrichmond/\">details and information about upcoming shows\u003c/a> at the Planetarium on \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/planetariumrichmond/\">Instagram\u003c/a> or at \u003ca href=\"https://ragtagshows.com/index.html\">Ragtag Productions’ website\u003c/a>.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"title": "New All-Ages DIY Venue the Planetarium Opens in Richmond | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>As a small crowd gathered in an industrial complex in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/richmond\">Richmond\u003c/a> on Friday night, a puppeteer dressed as a molting bird gave birth to a human doll baby, followed by a brief magic show. A ska band ripped through a short set, a sideshow performer swallowed two swords and stuck fishhooks in her eyelids, and another local band \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/37196/a-portal-to-chaos-and-adventure-in-a-playground\">named after a kids’ portal to chaos\u003c/a> closed out the night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just your average evening at Richmond’s newest DIY, all-ages, substance-free venue, \u003ca href=\"https://ragtagshows.com/\">The Planetarium\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A former karaoke lounge situated inside a maze of \u003ca href=\"https://intergalactic.rocks/\">practice spaces\u003c/a>, The Planetarium serves a city not exactly known for providing opportunities to its younger creative residents. After being open for only a few weeks, it’s already gaining a following.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Finding your people\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>At Friday’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DTls0sTkn14/\">Cosmik Debris\u003c/a> variety show, one person came for the puppets at the recommendation of someone on their local music Signal chat; another, from Berkeley, wanted to recapture the feeling they had as a teen punk in San Diego. Someone else saw a flyer while helping a friend during their KALX DJ set, and another couple was invited for a friend’s birthday. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13985700\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/20260116_PLANETARIUMRICHMOND_GC-26-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13985700\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/20260116_PLANETARIUMRICHMOND_GC-26-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/20260116_PLANETARIUMRICHMOND_GC-26-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/20260116_PLANETARIUMRICHMOND_GC-26-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/20260116_PLANETARIUMRICHMOND_GC-26-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Adventure Playground performs at the Planetarium in Richmond on Jan. 16, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I knew we were doing good when I had some guy come to his second show, when we’d only had four,” said Alex Botkin, one of The Planetarium’s co-founders, who grew up half a mile down the road in El Cerrito. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The project of three longtime DIYers who met at the long-running Berkeley punk club \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/924-gilman\">924 Gilman\u003c/a>, The Planetarium has hosted half a dozen events since its grand opening on Jan. 2. Currently scheduled are 32 additional shows, mostly on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, through May. Booking as Ragtag Productions, the trio caters to smaller, younger bands, touring acts, and transgressive performance art — all communities in which the founders have been involved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I spent a lot of time traveling between weird performance art worlds in the East Bay in search of community,” said Plantearium co-founder Kirk Pearson, a New York native who moved to the Bay about 10 years ago. “I found all of these groups of people, several of which were incredibly good performers, but with absolutely no venue that was suited for them to perform. So that’s at least part of my excitement [with The Plantarium].” \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13985695\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/20260116_PLANETARIUMRICHMOND_GC-4-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13985695\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/20260116_PLANETARIUMRICHMOND_GC-4-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/20260116_PLANETARIUMRICHMOND_GC-4-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/20260116_PLANETARIUMRICHMOND_GC-4-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/20260116_PLANETARIUMRICHMOND_GC-4-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Risa Lenore performs a puppet show at the Planetarium in Richmond on Jan. 16, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Tickets to a Planetarium show will hover between $10 and $15 to encourage artistic discovery without a hefty price tag. “By having that openness to variety and all the bands that are having a great time, you’ll probably have a good time,” Alex said. \u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Roots in DIY\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Community begets community, and The Planetarium is proof of the East Bay’s deep DIY and punk roots. Pearson is a composer and sound designer who founded \u003ca href=\"https://dogbotic.com/\">Dogbotic\u003c/a> and previously did sound at Gilman. Botkin, a musician with the band awakebutstillinbed (who also played with Friday’s ska band, Sad Snack), books shows and ran a record label in addition to years of volunteer work at Gilman. His partner Lexi Botkin grew up going to shows and volunteering at Gilman, in addition to playing bass and selling merch for bands. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was just a show rat. I was at everything and talking to everybody, and helping out however I could,” said Lexi, a Berkeley educator who grew up in Pleasanton and San Jose. “Ever since I was a kid, my dream was to have a business where I could help foster art communities and creativity.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13985701\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/20260116_PLANETARIUMRICHMOND_GC-29-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13985701\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/20260116_PLANETARIUMRICHMOND_GC-29-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/20260116_PLANETARIUMRICHMOND_GC-29-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/20260116_PLANETARIUMRICHMOND_GC-29-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/20260116_PLANETARIUMRICHMOND_GC-29-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Attendees dance as Adventure Playground performs at the Planetarium in Richmond on Jan. 16, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>With a good deal on rent from their friends in \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/middleagedqueers/\">Middle-Aged Queers\u003c/a> — who purchased the building with the intention of opening a venue but lacked the time — and a lot of help from their community, The Planetarium was born. The room that would become the venue was in decent shape, with cool lighting in place and some supplies to spruce things up. It was already permitted for noise with the city of Richmond. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve gotten tremendous deals from friends and stuff from former venues, or [from] touring bands,” Alex said, pointing to the venue’s soundboard. “Once you’re involved in [DIY spaces] enough and know enough people, it’s not hard to find community support in that way.” \u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Everyone is a star\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Planetarium has already started to see a “karmic return” in the form of community interest. When asked how they’re connecting with bands and artists, Lexi was quick to note, “We’re not finding them. They’re finding \u003ci>us\u003c/i>.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a lot of venues closing right now, and every venue that opens doesn’t really fix it. It just sort of fills part of the deficit. The amount of inquiries we got puts us into almost summer with some of our shows,” Alex added. “Bands are desperate for places that they can play.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13985694\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/20260116_PLANETARIUMRICHMOND_GC-1-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13985694\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/20260116_PLANETARIUMRICHMOND_GC-1-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/20260116_PLANETARIUMRICHMOND_GC-1-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/20260116_PLANETARIUMRICHMOND_GC-1-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/20260116_PLANETARIUMRICHMOND_GC-1-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">From left, Planetarium founders Alex Botkin, Kirk Pearson and Lexi Botkin pose for a photo at the music venue in Richmond on Jan. 16, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Planetarium could be seen as a new generation’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/12493208/burnt-ramen-long-running-underground-venue-in-richmond-shut-down\">Burnt Ramen\u003c/a>, the Richmond DIY space that closed in 2016, and adds to popular DIY venues such as Gilman in Berkeley and Oakland’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/staygoldoakland/?hl=en\">Stay Gold Deli\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://tamarackoakland.com/calendar\">Tamarack\u003c/a>. The venue will decidedly not host any punishing “elder bar rock.” Adds Pearson: “If you are a band of 17-year-olds or 18-year-olds, you can play here.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s still plenty of work to do at The Planetarium, from building a proper stage and soundbooth to fixing some busted flooring. The co-founders aren’t worried; “perfect is the enemy of good,” as Pearson noted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And, befitting a place that puts punk bands alongside puppet shows, it’s about more than the music. Lexi said she hopes to host events like clothing swaps and drives, DIY clothing repairs, and “study shares” where attendees tutor each other. Regardless of what may get booked at The Planetarium, all events will share a common perspective.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s no attitude in this space. There’s a bunch of fun, colorful lights; there’s already aliens on the wall. This is goofy and silly, and you have to be open to that,” Alex said. “Everyone’s just here and it’s all a level playing field. Nobody is the top dog.” \u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Find \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/planetariumrichmond/\">details and information about upcoming shows\u003c/a> at the Planetarium on \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/planetariumrichmond/\">Instagram\u003c/a> or at \u003ca href=\"https://ragtagshows.com/index.html\">Ragtag Productions’ website\u003c/a>.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "mosswood-iggy-pop-bikini-kill-dead-milkmen-otoboke-beaver-lineup-oakland-2026",
"title": "Mosswood Lineup Announced: Iggy Pop, Bikini Kill, Dead Milkmen, Otoboke Beaver, More",
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"headTitle": "Mosswood Lineup Announced: Iggy Pop, Bikini Kill, Dead Milkmen, Otoboke Beaver, More | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>The lineup for this year’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/mosswood-meltdown\">Mosswood Meltdown\u003c/a> festival in Oakland is here. Iggy Pop and Bikini Kill are headliners, along with a stacked schedule of openers that includes Otoboke Beaver, the Dead Milkmen, Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein of Sleater-Kinney with Fred Armisen, Scowl, Frightwig, the Dirtbombs and more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Add the already announced \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13985125/pavement-mosswood-meltdown-2026\">festival “pre-party” with Pavement\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13978802/mosswood-meltdown-2025-john-waters-devo-bratmobile\">annual host John Waters\u003c/a>, and it’s safe to say: this is the biggest and most impressive Mosswood lineup yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both Iggy Pop and Bikini Kill are returning to the annual trash-rock soirée in Mosswood Park. Perpetually shirtless \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13569504/burger-boogaloo-breakdown-lots-of-sun-and-hubbub-at-mosswood-park\">Iggy Pop played the park\u003c/a> in 2017, while \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13915779/mosswood-meltdown-2022-bikini-kill-kim-gordon\">Bikini Kill last appeared\u003c/a> in 2022. (Onstage, singer Kathleen Hanna, who also led a set by Le Tigre the following year, expressed special gratitude for the festival’s deliberate inclusivity.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13915728\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/07/Bikini-Kill-headline-Mosswood-Meltdown-in-Oakland-on-Sunday-July-3-2022.-001.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13915728\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/07/Bikini-Kill-headline-Mosswood-Meltdown-in-Oakland-on-Sunday-July-3-2022.-001.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/07/Bikini-Kill-headline-Mosswood-Meltdown-in-Oakland-on-Sunday-July-3-2022.-001-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/07/Bikini-Kill-headline-Mosswood-Meltdown-in-Oakland-on-Sunday-July-3-2022.-001-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/07/Bikini-Kill-headline-Mosswood-Meltdown-in-Oakland-on-Sunday-July-3-2022.-001-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/07/Bikini-Kill-headline-Mosswood-Meltdown-in-Oakland-on-Sunday-July-3-2022.-001-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/07/Bikini-Kill-headline-Mosswood-Meltdown-in-Oakland-on-Sunday-July-3-2022.-001-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bikini Kill headline Mosswood Meltdown in Oakland on Sunday, July 3, 2022. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Otoboke Beaver, four women from Kyoto, are \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/GBBpLwGy6mY?si=khFfCdLoJ5rs4S07\">one of the most exciting live bands on the planet\u003c/a>, and the Dead Milkmen, four men from Pennsylvania, are one of the funniest \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@buhrigit/video/7591536803849489694\">Camaro-driving\u003c/a> bands to ever sing about \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/fEp0aKCsrig?si=Z2BMtG8hov8XQ2BD\">what the queers are doing to the soil\u003c/a>. Meanwhile, under the name “The Return of Jackie & Judy,” Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker team up with drummer and funnyman Fred Armisen for \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2mQEdAI7cdc\">a set of Ramones covers\u003c/a>. And Scowl? The Dirtbombs? \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13935330/frightwig-40th-anniversary-album-san-francisco-punk-rock-riot-grrrl\">Frightwig\u003c/a>? It’s nuts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If there’s anything missing this year, it’s the festival’s welcome tradition of undersung ’80s rap hitmakers; in recent years, that’s meant sets by L’Trimm, Egyptian Lover and J.J. Fad. \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2m-jzUyUQg4\">Maybe next year we can have Oaktown’s 3.5.7\u003c/a>. In the meantime, though, this is a damn fine lineup. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>General admission tickets, on sale now, are $129 for Saturday and $89 for Sunday; a weekend pass is $179. VIP tickets for the fancypants cost more, and the tickets to Pavement on Friday night are sold separately.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13978802']For tickets and more information, see the \u003ca href=\"https://mosswoodmeltdown.com/\">Mosswood Meltdown site\u003c/a>, and peep the full lineup and poster by the great \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/janelleblarg/\">Janelle Blarg\u003c/a> below. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Friday, July 17 (“Pre-party”) \u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nPavement\u003cbr>\nWednesday\u003cbr>\nVivian Girls \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Saturday, July 18 \u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nIggy Pop\u003cbr>\nOtoboke Beaver\u003cbr>\nScowl\u003cbr>\nThe Spits\u003cbr>\nThe Dirtbombs\u003cbr>\nThe Fadeaways\u003cbr>\nPrimitive Ring \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sunday, July 19\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nBikini Kill\u003cbr>\nThe Return of Jackie and Judy\u003cbr>\nThe Dead Milkmen\u003cbr>\nFrankie and the Witch Fingers\u003cbr>\nFrightwig\u003cbr>\nLas Nubes \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/1.15.26-Mosswood-Meltdown-Lineup-Announce.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1579\" height=\"2000\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13985443\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/1.15.26-Mosswood-Meltdown-Lineup-Announce.jpg 1579w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/1.15.26-Mosswood-Meltdown-Lineup-Announce-160x203.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/1.15.26-Mosswood-Meltdown-Lineup-Announce-768x973.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/1.15.26-Mosswood-Meltdown-Lineup-Announce-1213x1536.jpg 1213w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1579px) 100vw, 1579px\">\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Along with a Pavement ‘pre-party,’ this year's Mosswood Meltdown is the biggest and most impressive yet.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The lineup for this year’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/mosswood-meltdown\">Mosswood Meltdown\u003c/a> festival in Oakland is here. Iggy Pop and Bikini Kill are headliners, along with a stacked schedule of openers that includes Otoboke Beaver, the Dead Milkmen, Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein of Sleater-Kinney with Fred Armisen, Scowl, Frightwig, the Dirtbombs and more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Add the already announced \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13985125/pavement-mosswood-meltdown-2026\">festival “pre-party” with Pavement\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13978802/mosswood-meltdown-2025-john-waters-devo-bratmobile\">annual host John Waters\u003c/a>, and it’s safe to say: this is the biggest and most impressive Mosswood lineup yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both Iggy Pop and Bikini Kill are returning to the annual trash-rock soirée in Mosswood Park. Perpetually shirtless \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13569504/burger-boogaloo-breakdown-lots-of-sun-and-hubbub-at-mosswood-park\">Iggy Pop played the park\u003c/a> in 2017, while \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13915779/mosswood-meltdown-2022-bikini-kill-kim-gordon\">Bikini Kill last appeared\u003c/a> in 2022. (Onstage, singer Kathleen Hanna, who also led a set by Le Tigre the following year, expressed special gratitude for the festival’s deliberate inclusivity.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13915728\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/07/Bikini-Kill-headline-Mosswood-Meltdown-in-Oakland-on-Sunday-July-3-2022.-001.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13915728\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/07/Bikini-Kill-headline-Mosswood-Meltdown-in-Oakland-on-Sunday-July-3-2022.-001.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/07/Bikini-Kill-headline-Mosswood-Meltdown-in-Oakland-on-Sunday-July-3-2022.-001-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/07/Bikini-Kill-headline-Mosswood-Meltdown-in-Oakland-on-Sunday-July-3-2022.-001-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/07/Bikini-Kill-headline-Mosswood-Meltdown-in-Oakland-on-Sunday-July-3-2022.-001-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/07/Bikini-Kill-headline-Mosswood-Meltdown-in-Oakland-on-Sunday-July-3-2022.-001-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/07/Bikini-Kill-headline-Mosswood-Meltdown-in-Oakland-on-Sunday-July-3-2022.-001-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bikini Kill headline Mosswood Meltdown in Oakland on Sunday, July 3, 2022. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Otoboke Beaver, four women from Kyoto, are \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/GBBpLwGy6mY?si=khFfCdLoJ5rs4S07\">one of the most exciting live bands on the planet\u003c/a>, and the Dead Milkmen, four men from Pennsylvania, are one of the funniest \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@buhrigit/video/7591536803849489694\">Camaro-driving\u003c/a> bands to ever sing about \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/fEp0aKCsrig?si=Z2BMtG8hov8XQ2BD\">what the queers are doing to the soil\u003c/a>. Meanwhile, under the name “The Return of Jackie & Judy,” Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker team up with drummer and funnyman Fred Armisen for \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2mQEdAI7cdc\">a set of Ramones covers\u003c/a>. And Scowl? The Dirtbombs? \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13935330/frightwig-40th-anniversary-album-san-francisco-punk-rock-riot-grrrl\">Frightwig\u003c/a>? It’s nuts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If there’s anything missing this year, it’s the festival’s welcome tradition of undersung ’80s rap hitmakers; in recent years, that’s meant sets by L’Trimm, Egyptian Lover and J.J. Fad. \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2m-jzUyUQg4\">Maybe next year we can have Oaktown’s 3.5.7\u003c/a>. In the meantime, though, this is a damn fine lineup. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>General admission tickets, on sale now, are $129 for Saturday and $89 for Sunday; a weekend pass is $179. VIP tickets for the fancypants cost more, and the tickets to Pavement on Friday night are sold separately.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>For tickets and more information, see the \u003ca href=\"https://mosswoodmeltdown.com/\">Mosswood Meltdown site\u003c/a>, and peep the full lineup and poster by the great \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/janelleblarg/\">Janelle Blarg\u003c/a> below. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Friday, July 17 (“Pre-party”) \u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nPavement\u003cbr>\nWednesday\u003cbr>\nVivian Girls \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Saturday, July 18 \u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nIggy Pop\u003cbr>\nOtoboke Beaver\u003cbr>\nScowl\u003cbr>\nThe Spits\u003cbr>\nThe Dirtbombs\u003cbr>\nThe Fadeaways\u003cbr>\nPrimitive Ring \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sunday, July 19\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nBikini Kill\u003cbr>\nThe Return of Jackie and Judy\u003cbr>\nThe Dead Milkmen\u003cbr>\nFrankie and the Witch Fingers\u003cbr>\nFrightwig\u003cbr>\nLas Nubes \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/1.15.26-Mosswood-Meltdown-Lineup-Announce.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1579\" height=\"2000\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13985443\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/1.15.26-Mosswood-Meltdown-Lineup-Announce.jpg 1579w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/1.15.26-Mosswood-Meltdown-Lineup-Announce-160x203.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/1.15.26-Mosswood-Meltdown-Lineup-Announce-768x973.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/1.15.26-Mosswood-Meltdown-Lineup-Announce-1213x1536.jpg 1213w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1579px) 100vw, 1579px\">\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "A Preteen Punk Band From Mill Valley Takes on AI",
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"content": "\u003cp>On a rainy November Thursday, a familiar suburban scene is playing out in a Mill Valley basement: Three blonde boys are bashing away on guitar, bass and drums, working on a new song called “Mr. America.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>You can’t call this the land of the free\u003cbr>\nIf you’re only free if you look like me\u003cbr>\nJustice is a joke and you can never win\u003cbr>\nYou can’t call this the home of the brave\u003cbr>\nToo many guns, too many graves\u003cbr>\nWe shouldn’t have to fear that the end is always near\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Heady stuff from three kids who aren’t even close to being able to drive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Knights of Molino are a new punk band composed of middle schoolers Erik and Tommy Birmingham, 11 and 13, and Rowan Campbell, 12. They recently reached moderate viral fame for another track in which they didn’t shy away from speaking their minds. In October, their scathing takedown of generative AI, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@knightsofmolino/video/7556750486297218335?_r=1&_t=ZT-91axRVdrNVn\">Take Back Control,\u003c/a>” went spinning across Bay Area and punk-rock TikTok. It’s currently at 240,000 views and 2,500 comments: definitely not Mr. Beast numbers, but pretty impressive when you consider none of them even are allowed on TikTok yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@knightsofmolino/video/7556750486297218335\" data-video-id=\"7556750486297218335\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@knightsofmolino\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@knightsofmolino?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@knightsofmolino\u003c/a> TAKE BACK CONTROL – an original song we wrote about artificial intelligence in music and art. We are really proud of this song – please listen to the whole song and let us know what you think! \u003ca title=\"punk\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/punk?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#punk\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"punkrock\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/punkrock?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#punkrock\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"originalmusic\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/originalmusic?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#originalmusic\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"teenband\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/teenband?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#teenband\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"standupforwhatsright\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/standupforwhatsright?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#standupforwhatsright\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ original sound - Knights of Molino\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7556750494434102046?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ original sound – Knights of Molino\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>[tiktok]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But those interactions aren’t from their peers (at Mill Valley Middle School, rock is out and pop and rap are in, they say). They’re mostly from adults inspired to see young people picking up the Bay Area punk torch and rejecting the creep of technology. “AI is taking over the arts and it is vile,” agrees one comment. Another: “We need more of this human creativity and true punk.” More still are various versions of “the kids are alright.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Take Back Control” is just one of just a handful of songs Knights of Molino have written in their short career. The product of one of the Bay Area’s many rock-centric music programs, \u003ca href=\"https://www.wowmusicstudios.com/\">WOW Music Studios\u003c/a>, the band formed when Tommy and Erik started playing music, back when they were single-digit ages. During pandemic shutdowns, the brothers took online lessons, and within about a year Tommy was writing lyrics. They officially became Knights of Molino when they added Rowan last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13983936\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13983936\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/251113-KNIGHTSOFMOLINO-23-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Three young musicians sit on the couch and look into the camera. \" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/251113-KNIGHTSOFMOLINO-23-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/251113-KNIGHTSOFMOLINO-23-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/251113-KNIGHTSOFMOLINO-23-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/251113-KNIGHTSOFMOLINO-23-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Members of the punk rock band Knights of Molino pose for a photo at their practice in Mill Valley on Nov. 13, 2025. Members include (from left) Tommy, 11, on drums and vocals, Erik, 13, on guitar and vocals, and Rowan, 12, on bass. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It was quickly apparent to their parents that these guys were good. \u003cem>Really\u003c/em> good. “They’ll do a song, and I’ll be like, ‘That’s amazing. That’s it. I mean, there’s no way they’ll be able to write another one,’” says Erik and Tommy’s dad, Gavin. “And then they’ll just write another one. And I’m like, how do you do this?…[And] you haven’t even started, like, living life yet.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This summer, Knights of Molino started booking shows at venues and festivals even adults are trying to break into: Porchfest in San Rafael and San Francisco, Petaluma’s Phoenix Theatre and San Francisco’s Hotel Utah.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13983935\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13983935\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/251113-KNIGHTSOFMOLINO-15-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/251113-KNIGHTSOFMOLINO-15-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/251113-KNIGHTSOFMOLINO-15-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/251113-KNIGHTSOFMOLINO-15-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/251113-KNIGHTSOFMOLINO-15-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rowan, 12, practices with the punk rock band Knights of Molino in Mill Valley on Nov. 13, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Then came “Take Back Control” and a deluge of attention. It wasn’t the first time they’d posted the video — “We always made a joke [that it was] the algorithm stopping it,” cracks Erik — but this time, TikTok surfaced it to the right crowd. “We look at the demographics … and it’s white men in their 50s; the original punks in the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s,” says Gavin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Take Back Control” comes at a time when people are starting to question AI’s integration into every aspect of daily life, from word-processing software to refrigerators. There’s been much \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2025-11-20/is-there-ai-bubble-has-it-started-to-burst\">speculation in the media\u003c/a> recently about a potential \u003ca href=\"https://theconversation.com/is-the-ai-bubble-about-to-burst-what-to-watch-for-as-the-markets-wobble-270113\">AI bubble burst\u003c/a>. Locally, commuters on San Francisco streets have been \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@dj_dumpling/video/7571697217690520863\">puzzling\u003c/a> on social media about the \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@livinggoodwithjana/video/7573436537929469196\">nearly-nonsensical AI billboards\u003c/a> that dot the city’s landscape. [aside postid='arts_13982572']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Knights of Molino’s biggest concern is AI’s slow encroachment onto the very teenage endeavor of writing songs in your bedroom. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13982572/ai-is-coming-for-the-music-industry-how-will-artists-adapt\">AI-created music is on the rise\u003c/a>, hitting Billboard charts and even cutting record deals. In a genre that prizes authenticity and earnestness, Knights of Molino see it as an affront to their creative process. “People have been creating music for like 40,000 years or something like that, and it’s just made to be created by humans,” says Rowan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the record, they’re not totally anti-AI (“It has [some] good uses,” admits Erik), but they’re increasingly horrified by its infiltration of music and the inability of many to discern it from the real thing. “The problem is not many people can recognize AI as fake,” Erik continues. “And I feel like that’s one of the reasons we made the song, [to] help people realize that AI’s stealing human thoughts and emotions, and, like, human hard work and time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13983937\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13983937\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/251113-KNIGHTSOFMOLINO-24-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/251113-KNIGHTSOFMOLINO-24-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/251113-KNIGHTSOFMOLINO-24-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/251113-KNIGHTSOFMOLINO-24-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/251113-KNIGHTSOFMOLINO-24-BL-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lyrics sit on a music stand during a practice of the punk rock band Knights of Molino in Mill Valley on Nov. 13, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We put emotion and feeling, heart, experiences and all that into writing these songs. But when AI does it, it has nothing to go off of,” Tommy adds. “’Cause it’s not human. Robot on a screen. How is it supposed to connect with humans?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once again: They are 11, 12 and 13 years old.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But don’t mistake Knights of Molino’s existence for a “cute kid” story. They’re shockingly eloquent, sharply informed and, when it comes to running band practice the day of our interview, as put-together as many adults. (“It goes pre-chorus,” begins Erik as he demonstrates a new riff to Rowan. “I’ll count you in. It starts with the verse.”)\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13983932\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13983932\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/251113-KNIGHTSOFMOLINO-01-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/251113-KNIGHTSOFMOLINO-01-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/251113-KNIGHTSOFMOLINO-01-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/251113-KNIGHTSOFMOLINO-01-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/251113-KNIGHTSOFMOLINO-01-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tommy, 11, plays drums during practice with the punk rock band Knights of Molino in Mill Valley on Nov. 13, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Their hard work and beyond-their-years professionalism is paying off: In January they’ll record their first EP at the recently-reopened \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/12374448/running-the-record-plant-part-1-the-early-years\">Plant in Sausalito\u003c/a>. Yes, \u003cem>that\u003c/em> Plant, the place where Stevie Wonder, Fleetwood Mac and Huey Lewis and the News cut classic albums. They’re also in talks about booking a show at 924 Gilman, the legendary, all-ages punk venue in Berkeley. “Just, like, seeing that’s where Green Day got famous, and bands like that, I feel like that’d be a good next step,” says Erik, adding that Knights of Molino see themselves making music together for a long time. “Just playing as many shows as we can, just to get better.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that’s for later. After practice, Rowan and Tommy rush out the side door to go play on the trampoline. Erik has homework.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>On a rainy November Thursday, a familiar suburban scene is playing out in a Mill Valley basement: Three blonde boys are bashing away on guitar, bass and drums, working on a new song called “Mr. America.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>You can’t call this the land of the free\u003cbr>\nIf you’re only free if you look like me\u003cbr>\nJustice is a joke and you can never win\u003cbr>\nYou can’t call this the home of the brave\u003cbr>\nToo many guns, too many graves\u003cbr>\nWe shouldn’t have to fear that the end is always near\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Heady stuff from three kids who aren’t even close to being able to drive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Knights of Molino are a new punk band composed of middle schoolers Erik and Tommy Birmingham, 11 and 13, and Rowan Campbell, 12. They recently reached moderate viral fame for another track in which they didn’t shy away from speaking their minds. In October, their scathing takedown of generative AI, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@knightsofmolino/video/7556750486297218335?_r=1&_t=ZT-91axRVdrNVn\">Take Back Control,\u003c/a>” went spinning across Bay Area and punk-rock TikTok. It’s currently at 240,000 views and 2,500 comments: definitely not Mr. Beast numbers, but pretty impressive when you consider none of them even are allowed on TikTok yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@knightsofmolino/video/7556750486297218335\" data-video-id=\"7556750486297218335\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@knightsofmolino\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@knightsofmolino?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@knightsofmolino\u003c/a> TAKE BACK CONTROL – an original song we wrote about artificial intelligence in music and art. We are really proud of this song – please listen to the whole song and let us know what you think! \u003ca title=\"punk\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/punk?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#punk\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"punkrock\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/punkrock?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#punkrock\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"originalmusic\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/originalmusic?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#originalmusic\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"teenband\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/teenband?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#teenband\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"standupforwhatsright\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/standupforwhatsright?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#standupforwhatsright\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ original sound - Knights of Molino\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7556750494434102046?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ original sound – Knights of Molino\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But those interactions aren’t from their peers (at Mill Valley Middle School, rock is out and pop and rap are in, they say). They’re mostly from adults inspired to see young people picking up the Bay Area punk torch and rejecting the creep of technology. “AI is taking over the arts and it is vile,” agrees one comment. Another: “We need more of this human creativity and true punk.” More still are various versions of “the kids are alright.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Take Back Control” is just one of just a handful of songs Knights of Molino have written in their short career. The product of one of the Bay Area’s many rock-centric music programs, \u003ca href=\"https://www.wowmusicstudios.com/\">WOW Music Studios\u003c/a>, the band formed when Tommy and Erik started playing music, back when they were single-digit ages. During pandemic shutdowns, the brothers took online lessons, and within about a year Tommy was writing lyrics. They officially became Knights of Molino when they added Rowan last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13983936\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13983936\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/251113-KNIGHTSOFMOLINO-23-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Three young musicians sit on the couch and look into the camera. \" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/251113-KNIGHTSOFMOLINO-23-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/251113-KNIGHTSOFMOLINO-23-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/251113-KNIGHTSOFMOLINO-23-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/251113-KNIGHTSOFMOLINO-23-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Members of the punk rock band Knights of Molino pose for a photo at their practice in Mill Valley on Nov. 13, 2025. Members include (from left) Tommy, 11, on drums and vocals, Erik, 13, on guitar and vocals, and Rowan, 12, on bass. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It was quickly apparent to their parents that these guys were good. \u003cem>Really\u003c/em> good. “They’ll do a song, and I’ll be like, ‘That’s amazing. That’s it. I mean, there’s no way they’ll be able to write another one,’” says Erik and Tommy’s dad, Gavin. “And then they’ll just write another one. And I’m like, how do you do this?…[And] you haven’t even started, like, living life yet.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This summer, Knights of Molino started booking shows at venues and festivals even adults are trying to break into: Porchfest in San Rafael and San Francisco, Petaluma’s Phoenix Theatre and San Francisco’s Hotel Utah.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13983935\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13983935\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/251113-KNIGHTSOFMOLINO-15-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/251113-KNIGHTSOFMOLINO-15-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/251113-KNIGHTSOFMOLINO-15-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/251113-KNIGHTSOFMOLINO-15-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/251113-KNIGHTSOFMOLINO-15-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rowan, 12, practices with the punk rock band Knights of Molino in Mill Valley on Nov. 13, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Then came “Take Back Control” and a deluge of attention. It wasn’t the first time they’d posted the video — “We always made a joke [that it was] the algorithm stopping it,” cracks Erik — but this time, TikTok surfaced it to the right crowd. “We look at the demographics … and it’s white men in their 50s; the original punks in the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s,” says Gavin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Take Back Control” comes at a time when people are starting to question AI’s integration into every aspect of daily life, from word-processing software to refrigerators. There’s been much \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2025-11-20/is-there-ai-bubble-has-it-started-to-burst\">speculation in the media\u003c/a> recently about a potential \u003ca href=\"https://theconversation.com/is-the-ai-bubble-about-to-burst-what-to-watch-for-as-the-markets-wobble-270113\">AI bubble burst\u003c/a>. Locally, commuters on San Francisco streets have been \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@dj_dumpling/video/7571697217690520863\">puzzling\u003c/a> on social media about the \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@livinggoodwithjana/video/7573436537929469196\">nearly-nonsensical AI billboards\u003c/a> that dot the city’s landscape. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Knights of Molino’s biggest concern is AI’s slow encroachment onto the very teenage endeavor of writing songs in your bedroom. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13982572/ai-is-coming-for-the-music-industry-how-will-artists-adapt\">AI-created music is on the rise\u003c/a>, hitting Billboard charts and even cutting record deals. In a genre that prizes authenticity and earnestness, Knights of Molino see it as an affront to their creative process. “People have been creating music for like 40,000 years or something like that, and it’s just made to be created by humans,” says Rowan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the record, they’re not totally anti-AI (“It has [some] good uses,” admits Erik), but they’re increasingly horrified by its infiltration of music and the inability of many to discern it from the real thing. “The problem is not many people can recognize AI as fake,” Erik continues. “And I feel like that’s one of the reasons we made the song, [to] help people realize that AI’s stealing human thoughts and emotions, and, like, human hard work and time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13983937\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13983937\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/251113-KNIGHTSOFMOLINO-24-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/251113-KNIGHTSOFMOLINO-24-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/251113-KNIGHTSOFMOLINO-24-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/251113-KNIGHTSOFMOLINO-24-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/251113-KNIGHTSOFMOLINO-24-BL-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lyrics sit on a music stand during a practice of the punk rock band Knights of Molino in Mill Valley on Nov. 13, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We put emotion and feeling, heart, experiences and all that into writing these songs. But when AI does it, it has nothing to go off of,” Tommy adds. “’Cause it’s not human. Robot on a screen. How is it supposed to connect with humans?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once again: They are 11, 12 and 13 years old.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But don’t mistake Knights of Molino’s existence for a “cute kid” story. They’re shockingly eloquent, sharply informed and, when it comes to running band practice the day of our interview, as put-together as many adults. (“It goes pre-chorus,” begins Erik as he demonstrates a new riff to Rowan. “I’ll count you in. It starts with the verse.”)\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13983932\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13983932\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/251113-KNIGHTSOFMOLINO-01-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/251113-KNIGHTSOFMOLINO-01-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/251113-KNIGHTSOFMOLINO-01-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/251113-KNIGHTSOFMOLINO-01-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/251113-KNIGHTSOFMOLINO-01-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tommy, 11, plays drums during practice with the punk rock band Knights of Molino in Mill Valley on Nov. 13, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Their hard work and beyond-their-years professionalism is paying off: In January they’ll record their first EP at the recently-reopened \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/12374448/running-the-record-plant-part-1-the-early-years\">Plant in Sausalito\u003c/a>. Yes, \u003cem>that\u003c/em> Plant, the place where Stevie Wonder, Fleetwood Mac and Huey Lewis and the News cut classic albums. They’re also in talks about booking a show at 924 Gilman, the legendary, all-ages punk venue in Berkeley. “Just, like, seeing that’s where Green Day got famous, and bands like that, I feel like that’d be a good next step,” says Erik, adding that Knights of Molino see themselves making music together for a long time. “Just playing as many shows as we can, just to get better.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that’s for later. After practice, Rowan and Tommy rush out the side door to go play on the trampoline. Erik has homework.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Poised to Blow Up, Spiritual Cramp Is Bringing San Francisco Along for the Ride",
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"content": "\u003cp>If you watch one music video from a San Francisco band this year, make it Spiritual Cramp’s “\u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/vd3FHvPtsRU?si=4_7yIt1tVbC74dgt\">At My Funeral\u003c/a>.” It begins with gold-toothed singer Michael Bingham strutting through Clarion Alley toting a block rocker boombox. He then hauls it along to dance his ass off with punk panache to frenetic riffs and sinister drums in front of the Painted Ladies, the Ocean Beach seawall, Bernal Hill, a wedding on the City Hall steps, Kilowatt, Green Apple Books and the Brian Wilson plaque at Oracle Park. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the lyrics are self-deprecating (“At my funeral, nobody came / They all had plans, couldn’t remember my name”) the video resoundingly celebrates the city where the band was formed. San Francisco’s culture and soul are embedded in Bingham’s heart and exalted throughout the band’s new album, \u003cem>Rude\u003c/em>. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vd3FHvPtsRU\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the thing is, Bingham has been living in Los Angeles since 2021, when his wife, who is a hairstylist, followed a big career opportunity. (“She’s hitting grand slams,” he says.) And while the move has also been a boon for the band, Bingham still grapples with impostor syndrome. “What if I went back home to the Bay where I belong?” he sings on “True Love (Is Hard To Find),” the key question to the album. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That question plays in my head every day,” Bingham says on a Zoom call from his Los Angeles apartment. “Eventually I want to make my way back to Frisco, but everything’s going so good it’s infuriating. I have all these problems and they’re problems I begged to God for.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now on their second album (out Oct. 24), Spiritual Cramp have a lot of elements in place for a proper blow up. \u003cem>Rude\u003c/em> is produced by John Congleton, noted for his guiding hand on breakout records from the likes of St. Vincent, Thao & The Get Down Stay Down and Sharon Van Etten. The album is mixed by Paramore producer Carlos de La Garza, features a duet with Van Etten (“You’ve Got My Number”) and comes out on the Blue Grape Music label, founded by alums of trailblazing hard rock label Roadrunner Records. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Spiritual Cramp recently \u003ca href=\"https://www.altpress.com/spiritual-cramp-rude-interview/\">graced the cover\u003c/a> of Alternative Press magazine (who’ll be presenting the band’s U.S. tour in early 2026), and are co-managed by San Francisco’s Brilliant Corners, which also has Death Cab For Cutie and Toro y Moi on its roster. A few weeks after the album drops, the band is headed to Europe for a tour with decorated Swedish punk band The Hives. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s an impressive laundry list of accomplishments, especially for a band from San Francisco. \u003cem>Rude\u003c/em> is forged on elated new wave punk, with hardcore and dancehall brushstrokes — somewhere between The Clash and Turnstile. The album plays like a ride or die homage to SF and leaves no question what scene Bingham and company represent. “Just another warm San Francisco night, where every day is the best day of my life,” Bingham sings on “Young Offenders.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13982836\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Spiritual-Cramp-w-Daniel-lurie-_Sarah-Davis_2000.jpg\" alt=\"Mayor Daniel Lurie on cell phone looks at six-member band on steps\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13982836\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Spiritual-Cramp-w-Daniel-lurie-_Sarah-Davis_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Spiritual-Cramp-w-Daniel-lurie-_Sarah-Davis_2000-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Spiritual-Cramp-w-Daniel-lurie-_Sarah-Davis_2000-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Spiritual-Cramp-w-Daniel-lurie-_Sarah-Davis_2000-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Spiritual Cramp got a surprise visitor at their photoshoot on the steps of San Francisco’s City Hall. \u003ccite>(Sarah Davis)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Often heard more frequently in hip-hop circles, the term “loyal to the soil” comes to mind when talking to Bingham. His allegiance isn’t much different from Pinole rapper \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/p-lo\">P-Lo\u003c/a>, who also calls LA home, but reps Bay Area culture everywhere he goes, Warriors games and concert appearances alike. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’d love to say that it hasn’t improved the business of the band,” Bingham says. “But it’s not true. Living in LA is good for business.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The members of Spiritual Cramp met in and around the San Francisco punk scene in 2017, yet the six-piece is now fully spread out geographically. Drummer Julian Smith and guitarist Orville Neeley also live in Los Angeles, guitarist Nate Punty is in the Mission, bassist Nate Fenton is in Mendocino County, and percussionist Jose Luna lives in New York. Welcome to being in a band in 2025. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sessions with Congleton happened at the producer’s studio in LA. Bingham had acted as the band’s producer until this point, but he credits Congleton’s “any idea is worth exploring” approach. “He challenged me in every way and forced me to stand by my decisions,” Bingham says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bingham and Van Etten forged a friendship in LA over the years that led to her appearance on “You’ve Got My Number,” a pop-polished waxing on constantly being on the road and incessantly missing someone. Rhythmically, it’s a dynamic foil to “Violence In The Supermarket,” which calls to mind The Specials’ ska-dub classic “Ghost Town” and rings in disgust at yuppies on a shopping run complaining about minutiae — one of the album’s many not-so-subtle jabs at certain LA denizens. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVBpaXiH1RY\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s a palpable push-pull on \u003cem>Rude\u003c/em>; San Francisco tugs at Bingham’s heartstrings even as he and the band experience growth (amid his own discomfort) in LA. Sometimes, he gets the best of both worlds. He describes being in his element on sunny walks through the Mission from his friend’s apartment above Kilowatt to Different Fur Studios for \u003cem>Rude\u003c/em>’s pre-production sessions. Then back in LA, he bumped into Tim Armstrong at an LA coffee shop, where the Rancid frontman commended Spiritual Cramp’s recent success. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The balance of it all never escapes him. Still, it’s clear to Bingham which city is truly fueling the band’s ascent. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When we started the band, everyone lived here and we came together in the punk scene in the most SF way,” Bingham says. “We practiced at Polk and Bush, our first show was at the Hemlock. I want to project images of that place that’s still in my heart.” \u003c/p>\n\n",
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"headline": "Poised to Blow Up, Spiritual Cramp Is Bringing San Francisco Along for the Ride",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>If you watch one music video from a San Francisco band this year, make it Spiritual Cramp’s “\u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/vd3FHvPtsRU?si=4_7yIt1tVbC74dgt\">At My Funeral\u003c/a>.” It begins with gold-toothed singer Michael Bingham strutting through Clarion Alley toting a block rocker boombox. He then hauls it along to dance his ass off with punk panache to frenetic riffs and sinister drums in front of the Painted Ladies, the Ocean Beach seawall, Bernal Hill, a wedding on the City Hall steps, Kilowatt, Green Apple Books and the Brian Wilson plaque at Oracle Park. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the lyrics are self-deprecating (“At my funeral, nobody came / They all had plans, couldn’t remember my name”) the video resoundingly celebrates the city where the band was formed. San Francisco’s culture and soul are embedded in Bingham’s heart and exalted throughout the band’s new album, \u003cem>Rude\u003c/em>. \u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/vd3FHvPtsRU'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/vd3FHvPtsRU'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>But the thing is, Bingham has been living in Los Angeles since 2021, when his wife, who is a hairstylist, followed a big career opportunity. (“She’s hitting grand slams,” he says.) And while the move has also been a boon for the band, Bingham still grapples with impostor syndrome. “What if I went back home to the Bay where I belong?” he sings on “True Love (Is Hard To Find),” the key question to the album. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That question plays in my head every day,” Bingham says on a Zoom call from his Los Angeles apartment. “Eventually I want to make my way back to Frisco, but everything’s going so good it’s infuriating. I have all these problems and they’re problems I begged to God for.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now on their second album (out Oct. 24), Spiritual Cramp have a lot of elements in place for a proper blow up. \u003cem>Rude\u003c/em> is produced by John Congleton, noted for his guiding hand on breakout records from the likes of St. Vincent, Thao & The Get Down Stay Down and Sharon Van Etten. The album is mixed by Paramore producer Carlos de La Garza, features a duet with Van Etten (“You’ve Got My Number”) and comes out on the Blue Grape Music label, founded by alums of trailblazing hard rock label Roadrunner Records. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Spiritual Cramp recently \u003ca href=\"https://www.altpress.com/spiritual-cramp-rude-interview/\">graced the cover\u003c/a> of Alternative Press magazine (who’ll be presenting the band’s U.S. tour in early 2026), and are co-managed by San Francisco’s Brilliant Corners, which also has Death Cab For Cutie and Toro y Moi on its roster. A few weeks after the album drops, the band is headed to Europe for a tour with decorated Swedish punk band The Hives. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s an impressive laundry list of accomplishments, especially for a band from San Francisco. \u003cem>Rude\u003c/em> is forged on elated new wave punk, with hardcore and dancehall brushstrokes — somewhere between The Clash and Turnstile. The album plays like a ride or die homage to SF and leaves no question what scene Bingham and company represent. “Just another warm San Francisco night, where every day is the best day of my life,” Bingham sings on “Young Offenders.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13982836\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Spiritual-Cramp-w-Daniel-lurie-_Sarah-Davis_2000.jpg\" alt=\"Mayor Daniel Lurie on cell phone looks at six-member band on steps\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13982836\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Spiritual-Cramp-w-Daniel-lurie-_Sarah-Davis_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Spiritual-Cramp-w-Daniel-lurie-_Sarah-Davis_2000-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Spiritual-Cramp-w-Daniel-lurie-_Sarah-Davis_2000-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Spiritual-Cramp-w-Daniel-lurie-_Sarah-Davis_2000-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Spiritual Cramp got a surprise visitor at their photoshoot on the steps of San Francisco’s City Hall. \u003ccite>(Sarah Davis)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Often heard more frequently in hip-hop circles, the term “loyal to the soil” comes to mind when talking to Bingham. His allegiance isn’t much different from Pinole rapper \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/p-lo\">P-Lo\u003c/a>, who also calls LA home, but reps Bay Area culture everywhere he goes, Warriors games and concert appearances alike. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’d love to say that it hasn’t improved the business of the band,” Bingham says. “But it’s not true. Living in LA is good for business.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The members of Spiritual Cramp met in and around the San Francisco punk scene in 2017, yet the six-piece is now fully spread out geographically. Drummer Julian Smith and guitarist Orville Neeley also live in Los Angeles, guitarist Nate Punty is in the Mission, bassist Nate Fenton is in Mendocino County, and percussionist Jose Luna lives in New York. Welcome to being in a band in 2025. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sessions with Congleton happened at the producer’s studio in LA. Bingham had acted as the band’s producer until this point, but he credits Congleton’s “any idea is worth exploring” approach. “He challenged me in every way and forced me to stand by my decisions,” Bingham says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bingham and Van Etten forged a friendship in LA over the years that led to her appearance on “You’ve Got My Number,” a pop-polished waxing on constantly being on the road and incessantly missing someone. Rhythmically, it’s a dynamic foil to “Violence In The Supermarket,” which calls to mind The Specials’ ska-dub classic “Ghost Town” and rings in disgust at yuppies on a shopping run complaining about minutiae — one of the album’s many not-so-subtle jabs at certain LA denizens. \u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/mVBpaXiH1RY'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/mVBpaXiH1RY'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>There’s a palpable push-pull on \u003cem>Rude\u003c/em>; San Francisco tugs at Bingham’s heartstrings even as he and the band experience growth (amid his own discomfort) in LA. Sometimes, he gets the best of both worlds. He describes being in his element on sunny walks through the Mission from his friend’s apartment above Kilowatt to Different Fur Studios for \u003cem>Rude\u003c/em>’s pre-production sessions. Then back in LA, he bumped into Tim Armstrong at an LA coffee shop, where the Rancid frontman commended Spiritual Cramp’s recent success. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The balance of it all never escapes him. Still, it’s clear to Bingham which city is truly fueling the band’s ascent. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When we started the band, everyone lived here and we came together in the punk scene in the most SF way,” Bingham says. “We practiced at Polk and Bush, our first show was at the Hemlock. I want to project images of that place that’s still in my heart.” \u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Legendary SF Punk Club Mabuhay Gardens Is on the Verge of Reopening",
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"content": "\u003cp>Few institutions in San Francisco are as crucial to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/punk\">punk\u003c/a> as Mabuhay Gardens.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The legendary venue and Filipino restaurant at 435-443 Broadway was ground zero for the\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13938024/old-san-francisco-punk-venues-deaf-club-farm-sound-music-tool-die\"> Bay’s burgeoning punk scene\u003c/a> in the 1970s and ’80s. The lower level of the two-story, 12,000-square-foot venue featured local acts like the Avengers, Dead Kennedys, the Nuns, and touring forces such as Devo, Iggy Pop, the Cramps and many more until its closure in 1987 – a foundational punk club that’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13930570/hit-girls-bay-area-punk-avengers-frightwig-penelope-houston-jen-larson-sfpl\">been\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13962592/raymond-pettibon-auction-black-flag-fliers-punk-rock-ephemera-fab-mab-on-broadway\">widely\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/10963517/in-the-beginning-ruby-ray-discusses-the-earliest-days-of-sf-punk\">documented\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13961071/san-francisco-punk-photography-70s-80s-haight-street-art-center\">and\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13961071/san-francisco-punk-photography-70s-80s-haight-street-art-center\">revered\u003c/a> since.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although the building has hosted dinner theater, \u003ca href=\"https://brokeassstuart.com/2022/03/28/historic-punk-venue-mabuhay-gardens-becoming-underground-comedy-hotspot/\">underground comedy\u003c/a>, a monthly morning dance party and more as \u003ca href=\"https://famevenue.com/\">Fame Venue\u003c/a>, the “Fab Mab,” as it was known, never returned to its musical roots – until now. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10963533\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/09/RRaycrimedrop.jpg\" alt=\"Crime at the Mabuhay Gardens\" width=\"920\" height=\"619\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10963533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/09/RRaycrimedrop.jpg 920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/09/RRaycrimedrop-400x269.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/09/RRaycrimedrop-800x538.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 920px) 100vw, 920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">San Francisco punk band Crime at Mabuhay Gardens. \u003ccite>(Ruby Ray)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A group of local investors, nightlife veterans and North Beach neighbors are currently working to revive the property as a multi-use space with a focus on music, including but not limited to punk shows. On Aug. 25, they \u003ca href=\"https://www.gofundme.com/f/bringing-back-the-fab-mab\">launched a crowdfunding campaign\u003c/a> to support the purchase of the venue, which would once again be called Mabuhay Gardens.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group’s first show will be held on Sept. 6, featuring local singer and guitarist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/anthonyjadearya/?hl=en\">Anthony Arya\u003c/a>. Singer-songwriter \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/kelleystoltz/?hl=en\">Kelley Stoltz\u003c/a>, Portland’s \u003ca href=\"https://federalepdx.com/\">Federale\u003c/a>, and locals \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/the.boars.sf/?hl=en\">The Boars\u003c/a> are set to perform on Oct. 3. Musicians will play on the original Mabuhay stage downstairs, as well as the ballroom stage on the second floor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re going for it; we’re not holding back,” says Tom Watson, the designer and civil engineer leading The Mab revival. “[Mabuhay Gardens] was such an important venue for so many people, and so bringing that back as soon as we can is the least we can do for our community here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While these shows will softly herald the return of The Mab, they function as proofs of concept. The building hasn’t been a music venue in years. It will require equipment upgrades and proper staffing, though the site retains proper event permits, Watson says. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980626\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Mabuhay.ballroom-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13980626\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Mabuhay.ballroom-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Mabuhay.ballroom-2000x1333.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Mabuhay.ballroom-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Mabuhay.ballroom-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Mabuhay.ballroom-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Mabuhay.ballroom-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The upstairs ballroom space above the former Mabuhay Gardens site, on Broadway in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Stefanie Atkinson Schwartz)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We’re going to spin up and activate as quickly as possible. And we’ll learn from some of those events,” Watson says, adding that the space will be used for co-working during \u003ca href=\"https://www.tech-week.com/\">Tech Week \u003c/a>in early October. “We need to get people in through the doors, and get them to experience the space and figure out how they might like to use it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vesuvio Cafe manager and veteran booker Joanna Blanche Lioce will book one show a month at The Mab. She sees the potential it could bring to the neighborhood. “There really isn’t any live music venue in North Beach that is of that size still operating continuously,” says Lioce, who booked the Oct. 3 show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13938024']Indeed, with the recent \u003ca href=\"https://missionlocal.org/2025/08/edinburgh-castle-pub-closed-dive-bar/\">eviction of Edinburgh Castle\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://missionlocal.org/2025/08/sf-punk-rock-thee-parkside-may-close-new-landlord/\">impending sale of Thee Parkside to a developer\u003c/a>, clubs with a historically punk clientele have faced jeopardy citywide. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Bay has been losing live performance venues and creative talent for a long time,” says The Crucible founder \u003ca href=\"https://www.thecrucible.org/person/michael-sturtz/\">Michael Sturtz\u003c/a>, who invested in and is advising the project. “The Mab has an amazing history. Now it has a top-notch leadership team.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13962609\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1578px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/black-flag-mabuhay.png\" alt=\"A flier featuring black and white art of a woman sneaking into the room of a sleeping man. She is holding a gun.\" width=\"1578\" height=\"1212\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13962609\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/black-flag-mabuhay.png 1578w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/black-flag-mabuhay-800x614.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/black-flag-mabuhay-1020x783.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/black-flag-mabuhay-160x123.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/black-flag-mabuhay-768x590.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/black-flag-mabuhay-1536x1180.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1578px) 100vw, 1578px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A 1980 Raymond Pettibon flyer for Black Flag, The Enemy, The Cosmetics and Social Unrest at Mabuhay Gardens in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Specific Object/ Wright Auction House)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Watson and his group of investors, advisors and supporters – which includes Sturtz, Bobby Fishkin, \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7RwANj9z-c\">Jesse Elliott\u003c/a>, former director of Fort Collins, CO’s Music District, Stanford Design lecturer Patrick Fenton, event producer \u003ca href=\"https://hoodline.com/2015/05/the-emerald-tablet-creativity-salon-closing-this-month-due-to-rent-increase/\">Lapo Guzzini\u003c/a> and artist \u003ca href=\"https://url.us.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/4c8MCL9PNwTXloB6TBf5syqcBu?domain=members.cruzio.com\">David Fleming\u003c/a> – have been hosting meetings with up to 20 like-minded people to develop the space. Their chief priority is honoring the wishes and vision of late owner Francesca Valdez, who took over the building in 1989 and \u003ca href=\"https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/sfgate/name/francesca-valdez-obituary?id=59045371#:~:text=The%20Queen%20of%20Broadway%2C%20Francesca,%2C%20fearless%2C%20independent%20and%20empowered.\">died on July 21\u003c/a> at age 71.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“[It was her] vision that prevented the place from being simply sold for commercial interests,” says Guzzini. “Instead, people are talking to each other and trying to figure out how best to populate the space.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Watson, a San Francisco resident since 2011 who studied at Stanford’s design program, met Valdez several years ago and developed a close friendship. Valdez had offered Watson the opportunity to purchase 49 percent of the building, but the sale was not completed before her death. Valdez’s sister is now handling the building sale. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980625\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Mabuhay.Tom_-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13980625\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Mabuhay.Tom_-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Mabuhay.Tom_-2000x1500.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Mabuhay.Tom_-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Mabuhay.Tom_-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Mabuhay.Tom_-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Mabuhay.Tom_-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tom Watson with Francesca Valdez, who took over the former Mabuhay Gardens property in 1987. She and Watson became close in the years before her death, in July 2025, at age 71. \u003ccite>(Tom Watson)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Watson says “about 10 people” had invested an undisclosed amount of money in the project; \u003ca href=\"https://www.gofundme.com/f/bringing-back-the-fab-mab\">their GoFundMe campaign\u003c/a> aims to raise $4.5 million to “acquire 435–443 Broadway and reopen it as a nonprofit arts and culture space, reviving the legendary Mabuhay Gardens.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valdez put in place three LLCs: one owns the building, and the other two own each floor. Watson and Fishkin set up a nonprofit, M4A Foundation, with the goal of acquiring those LLCs in part or in whole; funds raised would also allow investors to be paid back. Watson suggested that crowd-raised funds could be matched by an organization like the San Francisco Foundation. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are getting it at a very good price, and there are many other people who are circling trying to buy the building,” Watson adds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ownership group’s ideal vision for the new Mab is similar to Watson’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/garageost.leipzig/\">Garage Ost\u003c/a>. The renovated historical building in Liepzeg, Germany is a “creative community space” that hosts workshops, food pop-ups, music and whatever else its patrons desire. The communal vision for the new Mab includes a venue, recording studio, listening lounge, and record label that would be “a whole circle for musicians.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not my space, it’s the community space,” Watson says. “These buildings tell you what they want to be.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Few institutions in San Francisco are as crucial to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/punk\">punk\u003c/a> as Mabuhay Gardens.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The legendary venue and Filipino restaurant at 435-443 Broadway was ground zero for the\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13938024/old-san-francisco-punk-venues-deaf-club-farm-sound-music-tool-die\"> Bay’s burgeoning punk scene\u003c/a> in the 1970s and ’80s. The lower level of the two-story, 12,000-square-foot venue featured local acts like the Avengers, Dead Kennedys, the Nuns, and touring forces such as Devo, Iggy Pop, the Cramps and many more until its closure in 1987 – a foundational punk club that’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13930570/hit-girls-bay-area-punk-avengers-frightwig-penelope-houston-jen-larson-sfpl\">been\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13962592/raymond-pettibon-auction-black-flag-fliers-punk-rock-ephemera-fab-mab-on-broadway\">widely\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/10963517/in-the-beginning-ruby-ray-discusses-the-earliest-days-of-sf-punk\">documented\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13961071/san-francisco-punk-photography-70s-80s-haight-street-art-center\">and\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13961071/san-francisco-punk-photography-70s-80s-haight-street-art-center\">revered\u003c/a> since.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although the building has hosted dinner theater, \u003ca href=\"https://brokeassstuart.com/2022/03/28/historic-punk-venue-mabuhay-gardens-becoming-underground-comedy-hotspot/\">underground comedy\u003c/a>, a monthly morning dance party and more as \u003ca href=\"https://famevenue.com/\">Fame Venue\u003c/a>, the “Fab Mab,” as it was known, never returned to its musical roots – until now. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10963533\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/09/RRaycrimedrop.jpg\" alt=\"Crime at the Mabuhay Gardens\" width=\"920\" height=\"619\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10963533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/09/RRaycrimedrop.jpg 920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/09/RRaycrimedrop-400x269.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/09/RRaycrimedrop-800x538.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 920px) 100vw, 920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">San Francisco punk band Crime at Mabuhay Gardens. \u003ccite>(Ruby Ray)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A group of local investors, nightlife veterans and North Beach neighbors are currently working to revive the property as a multi-use space with a focus on music, including but not limited to punk shows. On Aug. 25, they \u003ca href=\"https://www.gofundme.com/f/bringing-back-the-fab-mab\">launched a crowdfunding campaign\u003c/a> to support the purchase of the venue, which would once again be called Mabuhay Gardens.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group’s first show will be held on Sept. 6, featuring local singer and guitarist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/anthonyjadearya/?hl=en\">Anthony Arya\u003c/a>. Singer-songwriter \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/kelleystoltz/?hl=en\">Kelley Stoltz\u003c/a>, Portland’s \u003ca href=\"https://federalepdx.com/\">Federale\u003c/a>, and locals \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/the.boars.sf/?hl=en\">The Boars\u003c/a> are set to perform on Oct. 3. Musicians will play on the original Mabuhay stage downstairs, as well as the ballroom stage on the second floor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re going for it; we’re not holding back,” says Tom Watson, the designer and civil engineer leading The Mab revival. “[Mabuhay Gardens] was such an important venue for so many people, and so bringing that back as soon as we can is the least we can do for our community here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While these shows will softly herald the return of The Mab, they function as proofs of concept. The building hasn’t been a music venue in years. It will require equipment upgrades and proper staffing, though the site retains proper event permits, Watson says. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980626\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Mabuhay.ballroom-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13980626\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Mabuhay.ballroom-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Mabuhay.ballroom-2000x1333.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Mabuhay.ballroom-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Mabuhay.ballroom-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Mabuhay.ballroom-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Mabuhay.ballroom-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The upstairs ballroom space above the former Mabuhay Gardens site, on Broadway in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Stefanie Atkinson Schwartz)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We’re going to spin up and activate as quickly as possible. And we’ll learn from some of those events,” Watson says, adding that the space will be used for co-working during \u003ca href=\"https://www.tech-week.com/\">Tech Week \u003c/a>in early October. “We need to get people in through the doors, and get them to experience the space and figure out how they might like to use it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vesuvio Cafe manager and veteran booker Joanna Blanche Lioce will book one show a month at The Mab. She sees the potential it could bring to the neighborhood. “There really isn’t any live music venue in North Beach that is of that size still operating continuously,” says Lioce, who booked the Oct. 3 show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Indeed, with the recent \u003ca href=\"https://missionlocal.org/2025/08/edinburgh-castle-pub-closed-dive-bar/\">eviction of Edinburgh Castle\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://missionlocal.org/2025/08/sf-punk-rock-thee-parkside-may-close-new-landlord/\">impending sale of Thee Parkside to a developer\u003c/a>, clubs with a historically punk clientele have faced jeopardy citywide. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Bay has been losing live performance venues and creative talent for a long time,” says The Crucible founder \u003ca href=\"https://www.thecrucible.org/person/michael-sturtz/\">Michael Sturtz\u003c/a>, who invested in and is advising the project. “The Mab has an amazing history. Now it has a top-notch leadership team.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13962609\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1578px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/black-flag-mabuhay.png\" alt=\"A flier featuring black and white art of a woman sneaking into the room of a sleeping man. She is holding a gun.\" width=\"1578\" height=\"1212\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13962609\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/black-flag-mabuhay.png 1578w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/black-flag-mabuhay-800x614.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/black-flag-mabuhay-1020x783.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/black-flag-mabuhay-160x123.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/black-flag-mabuhay-768x590.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/black-flag-mabuhay-1536x1180.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1578px) 100vw, 1578px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A 1980 Raymond Pettibon flyer for Black Flag, The Enemy, The Cosmetics and Social Unrest at Mabuhay Gardens in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Specific Object/ Wright Auction House)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Watson and his group of investors, advisors and supporters – which includes Sturtz, Bobby Fishkin, \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7RwANj9z-c\">Jesse Elliott\u003c/a>, former director of Fort Collins, CO’s Music District, Stanford Design lecturer Patrick Fenton, event producer \u003ca href=\"https://hoodline.com/2015/05/the-emerald-tablet-creativity-salon-closing-this-month-due-to-rent-increase/\">Lapo Guzzini\u003c/a> and artist \u003ca href=\"https://url.us.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/4c8MCL9PNwTXloB6TBf5syqcBu?domain=members.cruzio.com\">David Fleming\u003c/a> – have been hosting meetings with up to 20 like-minded people to develop the space. Their chief priority is honoring the wishes and vision of late owner Francesca Valdez, who took over the building in 1989 and \u003ca href=\"https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/sfgate/name/francesca-valdez-obituary?id=59045371#:~:text=The%20Queen%20of%20Broadway%2C%20Francesca,%2C%20fearless%2C%20independent%20and%20empowered.\">died on July 21\u003c/a> at age 71.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“[It was her] vision that prevented the place from being simply sold for commercial interests,” says Guzzini. “Instead, people are talking to each other and trying to figure out how best to populate the space.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Watson, a San Francisco resident since 2011 who studied at Stanford’s design program, met Valdez several years ago and developed a close friendship. Valdez had offered Watson the opportunity to purchase 49 percent of the building, but the sale was not completed before her death. Valdez’s sister is now handling the building sale. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980625\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Mabuhay.Tom_-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13980625\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Mabuhay.Tom_-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Mabuhay.Tom_-2000x1500.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Mabuhay.Tom_-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Mabuhay.Tom_-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Mabuhay.Tom_-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Mabuhay.Tom_-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tom Watson with Francesca Valdez, who took over the former Mabuhay Gardens property in 1987. She and Watson became close in the years before her death, in July 2025, at age 71. \u003ccite>(Tom Watson)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Watson says “about 10 people” had invested an undisclosed amount of money in the project; \u003ca href=\"https://www.gofundme.com/f/bringing-back-the-fab-mab\">their GoFundMe campaign\u003c/a> aims to raise $4.5 million to “acquire 435–443 Broadway and reopen it as a nonprofit arts and culture space, reviving the legendary Mabuhay Gardens.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Valdez put in place three LLCs: one owns the building, and the other two own each floor. Watson and Fishkin set up a nonprofit, M4A Foundation, with the goal of acquiring those LLCs in part or in whole; funds raised would also allow investors to be paid back. Watson suggested that crowd-raised funds could be matched by an organization like the San Francisco Foundation. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are getting it at a very good price, and there are many other people who are circling trying to buy the building,” Watson adds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ownership group’s ideal vision for the new Mab is similar to Watson’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/garageost.leipzig/\">Garage Ost\u003c/a>. The renovated historical building in Liepzeg, Germany is a “creative community space” that hosts workshops, food pop-ups, music and whatever else its patrons desire. The communal vision for the new Mab includes a venue, recording studio, listening lounge, and record label that would be “a whole circle for musicians.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not my space, it’s the community space,” Watson says. “These buildings tell you what they want to be.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
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"meta": {
"site": "radio",
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},
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510312/podcast.xml"
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.commonwealthclub.org/podcasts",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Commonwealth-Club-of-California-p1060/"
}
},
"forum": {
"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
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},
"freakonomics-radio": {
"id": "freakonomics-radio",
"title": "Freakonomics Radio",
"info": "Freakonomics Radio is a one-hour award-winning podcast and public-radio project hosted by Stephen Dubner, with co-author Steve Levitt as a regular guest. It is produced in partnership with WNYC.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
"subscribe": {
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
"rss": "https://feeds.feedburner.com/freakonomicsradio"
}
},
"fresh-air": {
"id": "fresh-air",
"title": "Fresh Air",
"info": "Hosted by Terry Gross, \u003cem>Fresh Air from WHYY\u003c/em> is the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues. One of public radio's most popular programs, Fresh Air features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 7pm-8pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Fresh-Air-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/",
"meta": {
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"link": "/radio/program/fresh-air",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/381444908/podcast.xml"
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"here-and-now": {
"id": "here-and-now",
"title": "Here & Now",
"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
"airtime": "MON-THU 11am-12pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Here-And-Now-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510051/podcast.xml"
}
},
"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
"title": "Hidden Brain",
"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/hiddenbrain.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/series/423302056/hidden-brain",
"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/hidden-brain/id1028908750?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Science-Podcasts/Hidden-Brain-p787503/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510308/podcast.xml"
}
},
"how-i-built-this": {
"id": "how-i-built-this",
"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/howIBuiltThis.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this",
"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/3zxy",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510313/podcast.xml"
}
},
"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
"imageAlt": "KQED Hyphenación",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 15
},
"link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/2p3Fifq96nw9BPcmFdIq0o?si=39209f7b25774f38",
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"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/6c3dd23c-93fb-4aab-97ba-1725fa6315f1/hyphenaci%C3%B3n",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC2275451163"
}
},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1492194549",
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}
},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/xtTd",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
}
},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Masters-of-Scale-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "http://mastersofscale.app.link/",
"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mindshift-podcast/id1078765985",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/464615685/mind-shift-podcast",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/stories-teachers-share",
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}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
"meta": {
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},
"link": "/radio/program/morning-edition"
},
"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/On-Our-Watch-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "On Our Watch from NPR and KQED",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 11
},
"link": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1567098962",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ucHIub3JnLzUxMDM2MC9wb2RjYXN0LnhtbD9zYz1nb29nbGVwb2RjYXN0cw",
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"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/0OLWoyizopu6tY1XiuX70x",
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"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/show/on-our-watch",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510360/podcast.xml"
}
},
"on-the-media": {
"id": "on-the-media",
"title": "On The Media",
"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm-3pm, MON 12am-1am",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/onTheMedia.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/otm",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "wnyc"
},
"link": "/radio/program/on-the-media",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/on-the-media/id73330715?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-the-Media-p69/",
"rss": "http://feeds.wnyc.org/onthemedia"
}
},
"pbs-newshour": {
"id": "pbs-newshour",
"title": "PBS NewsHour",
"info": "Analysis, background reports and updates from the PBS NewsHour putting today's news in context.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/PBS-News-Hour-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "pbs"
},
"link": "/radio/program/pbs-newshour",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pbs-newshour-full-show/id394432287?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/PBS-NewsHour---Full-Show-p425698/",
"rss": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/feeds/rss/podcasts/show"
}
},
"perspectives": {
"id": "perspectives",
"title": "Perspectives",
"tagline": "KQED's series of daily listener commentaries since 1991",
"info": "KQED's series of daily listener commentaries since 1991.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Perspectives_Tile_Final.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Perspectives",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/perspectives/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 14
},
"link": "/perspectives",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id73801135",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432309616/perspectives",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/perspectives/category/perspectives/feed/",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93dzIua3FlZC5vcmcvcGVyc3BlY3RpdmVzL2NhdGVnb3J5L3BlcnNwZWN0aXZlcy9mZWVkLw"
}
},
"planet-money": {
"id": "planet-money",
"title": "Planet Money",
"info": "The economy explained. Imagine you could call up a friend and say, Meet me at the bar and tell me what's going on with the economy. Now imagine that's actually a fun evening.",
"airtime": "SUN 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/planetmoney.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/sections/money/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/planet-money",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/M4f5",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/planet-money/id290783428?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Business--Economics-Podcasts/Planet-Money-p164680/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510289/podcast.xml"
}
},
"politicalbreakdown": {
"id": "politicalbreakdown",
"title": "Political Breakdown",
"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
"airtime": "THU 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Political-Breakdown-2024-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Political Breakdown",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/politicalbreakdown",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 5
},
"link": "/podcasts/politicalbreakdown",
"subscribe": {
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"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/e0c2d153-ad36-4c8d-901d-f1da6a724824/political-breakdown",
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