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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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"excerpt": "Knights of Molino, a trio of middle schoolers, recently went viral with their song ‘Take Back Control.’",
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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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"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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"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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"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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"slug": "sacramento-music-archive-shayne-stacy-punk-metal-cassettes-vhs-demos-concerts",
"title": "He’s Saving 20,000 Tapes of Underground Music and Making it Free to All",
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"headTitle": "He’s Saving 20,000 Tapes of Underground Music and Making it Free to All | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979219\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13979219\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-10-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A man in his 50s wearing a polo shirt and beige shorts sits at a cluttered desk, his arm leaned upon a vintage analog tape machine\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-10-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-10-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-10-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-10-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shayne Stacy, founder of the Sacramento Music Archive, works among his collection of analog recordings of concert videos and cassettes in Orangevale, Calif. on July 24, 2025. Stacy has spent years digitizing underground music from Sacramento, the Bay Area and across Northern California, making rare recordings freely accessible online. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In a suburban backyard outside of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/sacramento\">Sacramento\u003c/a>, I open the door to a giant shed, step inside and get smacked in the face by floor-to-ceiling shelves of music history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>VHS tapes. Cassette tapes. Reel-to-reels. DATs. Other formats I don’t recognize, and can’t pronounce. Nearly 20,000 of them, all filled with live shows, demo recordings and concert footage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Down a narrow path through this obsolete physical media, I turn a corner to find Shayne Stacy, 57, sitting at a desk with three monitors and occasionally fiddling with a nearby U-matic machine, an out-of-date piece of video hardware used by TV stations. On the screen, viewed for the first time in 40 years, is a 1980s new wave band performing on a long-lost cable access show from the Central Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On any given day, this is where you’ll find Stacy, the founder of the nonprofit \u003ca href=\"https://sacramentomusicarchive.com/\">Sacramento Music Archive\u003c/a>. Just a half-hour’s drive from Sutter’s Mill and its famous California discovery, Stacy tends methodically to his own goldmine: a mass of underground music from Sacramento, the Bay Area and beyond that he’s gradually digitizing and sharing with the world, including rare \u003ca href=\"https://sacramentomusicarchive.com/1990/02/12/nirvana-cattle-club-sacramento-ca-02-12-1990-2-cam-mix/\">early footage of Nirvana\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://sacramentomusicarchive.com/1994/07/23/metallica-cal-expo-amphitheatre-sacramento-ca-7-23-94-xfer-from-master-tape-enhanced-live/\">Metallica\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://sacramentomusicarchive.com/1991/10/03/green-day-berkeley-square-10-3-91-xfer-from-master-vhs-tape-complete-show-enhanced/\">Green Day\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You’d think it’s like this big rock and roll party in here. It’s like this. It’s very quiet, with me working at a keyboard,” Stacy says with a laugh.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979226\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13979226\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SacramentoMusicArchive-18_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SacramentoMusicArchive-18_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SacramentoMusicArchive-18_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SacramentoMusicArchive-18_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SacramentoMusicArchive-18_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Sacramento Music Archive began with Shayne Stacy’s own concert recordings of Nirvana, Yo La Tengo, Green Day, Christ on Parade and more, as pictured in Orangevale, Calif. on July 24, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>I first became aware of Stacy’s work during the pandemic, when I noticed people posting video footage of punk shows held 30 years ago that I’d attended, or, even more irresistible, that I’d heard about but been too young to see. I soon found that for those of a certain age and musical bent, scrolling the Sacramento Music Archive was like watching one’s life flash before their eyes: a young \u003ca href=\"https://sacramentomusicarchive.com/1993/05/28/rancid-berkeley-square-berkeley-ca-5-28-93-xfer-from-vhs-c-master-punk-partial-set/\">Rancid finding their footing at Berkeley Square\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/NxQGByCjPdI?feature=shared&t=484\">Mr. Bungle covering Top 40 radio hits from 1989\u003c/a> in Guerneville, or \u003cem>Maximum Rocknroll\u003c/em> founder \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/Pb5X2LrTpjs?feature=shared&t=385\">Tim Yohannon throwing pies at Screeching Weasel\u003c/a> at 924 Gilman.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for shows that had been uploaded before, like \u003ca href=\"https://sacramentomusicarchive.com/1989/05/28/operation-ivy-924-gilman-berkeley-ca-5-28-89-multicam-w-sony-d6-audio/\">Operation Ivy’s final show\u003c/a>? Stacy consistently seemed to have the best sources, and sometimes from multiple camera angles, too. What’s more, he had over 5,000 shows from all over Northern California from the past 50 years, by punk, metal, modern rock, funk, thrash and indie bands — famous names and obscure footnotes alike. And, remarkably, it was evident he still went out to shows, and filmed new bands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Who was this one-man Library of Congress for West Coast Gen Xers? I had to find out.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Preserving punk history\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Born in Auburn in 1967, Stacy had a typical 1970s childhood of watching \u003cem>Scooby Doo\u003c/em> and collecting sports cards. When he was 15, he went by himself to see Iron Maiden and the Scorpions at the Sacramento Memorial Stadium, in 1982, and he still remembers its impact. “As soon as I felt that sound pressure hitting my chest, I’m like, ‘This is the best thing I’ve ever seen,’” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979223\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13979223\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-24-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-24-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-24-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-24-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-24-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The boxes of VHS tapes, reel-to-reels and cassettes at the Sacramento Music Archive may seem haphazardly organized, but Shayne Stacy keeps a reliable mental inventory of each tapes’ location. Particularly valuable masters are kept in a 1,000-lb. fire-resistant safe. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area was a cradle of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/10834160/five-of-the-bay-areas-raddest-metal-bands-from-the-80s\">thrash metal\u003c/a> at the time, with bands like Exodus, Possessed and Metallica just starting out. Soon, Stacy was bringing cheap tape recorders to shows, and sharing the results with other fans who traded tapes through the classifieds in the backs of fan magazines. In 1987, after witnessing the El Sobrante punk band Isocracy, who routinely threw heaps of garbage all over the crowd, Stacy had an epiphany.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s paper all over the floor, and it’s just a chaotic environment, and I said to myself, ‘I have to buy a video camera to document this stuff,’” Stacy remembers. “I stopped all of my excess expenditures, making five bucks an hour, and saved for four months to buy my own video camera.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Between 1988 and 1992, Stacy estimates, he filmed 240 shows, driving to venues in Sacramento or the Bay Area every weekend. Trading with others through the mail, he amassed even more tapes. But there was a downside: he began seeing his own footage, of shows by \u003ca href=\"https://sacramentomusicarchive.com/1989/08/26/primus-cattle-club-sacramento-ca-8-26-89-xfer-from-8mm-master-live-enhanced/\">Primus\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVvJQfgRl7o\">Nirvana\u003c/a> playing at the Cattle Club in Sacramento, bootlegged and sold by others for profit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was like, no fun anymore,” Stacy says. “This was supposed to be a hobby I enjoyed, and it turned into this point of frustration. And so I quit. I quit for 10 years.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979222\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13979222\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-22-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-22-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-22-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-22-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-22-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shayne Stacy started out recording metal bands, and once lost a valuable tape of him and a friend hanging out with Slayer backstage in 1988 at The Stone in San Francisco. Miraculously, thanks to the tape-trading circuit, he \u003ca href=\"https://sacramentomusicarchive.com/1988/08/12/slayer-backstage-the-stone-san-francisco-ca-8-12-88/\">got his hands on a copy of it again\u003c/a>. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>YouTube brought him back. Stacy says it “liberated” everything: the fans didn’t have to pay $30 for a grainy VHS tape anymore, the copyright holders got paid — not enough, but something — and he got to enjoy his hobby again. He rushed out and bought the best cassette decks and VCRs he could find, and got to work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One person who noticed the quality of Stacy’s work early on is Wayne Vanderkuil. “I work at Stanford in visual preservation, reformatting, and he had similar equipment to what we have here,” Vanderkuil says. “I was incredibly impressed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the tape-trading days, Vanderkuil amassed his own collection of metal bands playing at Ruthie’s Inn, Wolfgang’s or the On Broadway. They sat in storage for 25 years, untouched, he says. “I thought, ‘No one’s ever gonna hear these. I’ll drop dead tomorrow, and there goes history.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, he donated his tapes to Stacy. Vanderkuil is now president of the board of the Sacramento Music Archive, newly incorporated as a nonprofit, which will allow Stacy — who worked at Intel for 27 years and recently accepted an “incredibly generous” buyout offer — to \u003ca href=\"https://www.patreon.com/c/sacramentomusicarchive/membership\">take donations\u003c/a> and apply for grants. Most importantly, it’ll set up his life’s work to continue into the future. As it stands, only about 5% of the tapes in the archive have been preserved digitally so far.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is clearly becoming a bigger project than I’ve got time left,” says Stacy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979220\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13979220\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-11-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-11-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-11-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-11-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-11-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shayne Stacy, founder of the Sacramento Music Archive, futzes with a vintage U-matic player in order to get a stubborn TV station cartridge of a Sacramento band to play correctly. ‘Sometimes you get to see me fight with this thing and curse a lot,’ he jokes. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘He really is the go-to’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Publicity and word-of-mouth creates another problem: the piles are growing. Everyone, it seems, has old tapes they want to donate. Waiting to be digitized in the archive are 500 cassettes of free jazz, reel-to-reels of D.R.I. rehearsals at \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/sf-culture/article/strangest-200-dollar-apartments-sf-history-20381556.php\">The Vats\u003c/a> and hundreds of videos and soundboard recordings from 924 Gilman. Stacy now has \u003ca href=\"https://sacramentomusicarchive.com/collections/\">over 25 different collections\u003c/a> from DJs, sound engineers, record store owners, zine editors, promoters, cable access hosts and fans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of them is Arica Pelino, who recently traveled from three states away to Stacy’s archive with a suitcase full of tapes. Pelino toured with Green Day in 1991, and filmed many of their early shows, along with dozens of other bands from the East Bay like Econochrist and Lungbutter. Her tapes sat in storage for more than 20 years, unseen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If I didn’t meet Shayne, it would still be sitting in boxes,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=arts_13968840 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/9780867199277-Hail-Murray-sampler_Page_03.jpg']She and Stacy spent two days going through her collection, including 22 early Green Day shows that no one had ever seen before, she says, along with \u003ca href=\"https://sacramentomusicarchive.com/1991/09/28/green-day-phoenix-theater-petaluma-ca-9-28-91-uncirculated-preshow-clip-xfer-f-vhs-master-enhanced/\">backstage footage\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://sacramentomusicarchive.com/1990/01/01/sweet-children-green-day-billie-joes-tape-to-arica-demo-and-7-sessions-tape-complete/\">early demos\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Shayne really is the owner and the keeper for all of us,” Pelino says. “There’s no one I’d rather do it with. He does a great job, he’s extremely detail-oriented and he puts his all into cleaning up the audio and video. He really is the go-to archive for Northern California, and has captured a significant part of the music scene.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another donor, Rick Sylvain, who in his 12 years working at Berkeley radio station KALX helped start the long-running \u003cem>KALX Live!\u003c/em> show, with bands playing in the cramped studio.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was kind of stinky sometimes — they spilled a lot of beer in there — but it was fun, and I taped everything,” he says. “Some of these little bands, it was their one big moment in the sun, and I wanted them to feel like they were stars.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One little band that fulfilled that promise of stardom was AFI, who would go on to headline arenas. Thanks to the Sacramento Music Archive, Sylvain’s cassette of \u003ca href=\"https://sacramentomusicarchive.com/1994/10/07/afi-kalx-live-in-studio-berkeley-ca-10-7-94-xfer-from-pre-fm-master-cassette-a-fire-inside-a-f-i/\">AFI’s 1994 visit to KALX\u003c/a> is now the band’s earliest live recording on YouTube.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979224\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13979224\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-28-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-28-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-28-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-28-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-28-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shayne Stacy uploads videos twice a day from his growing collection in a cluttered, air-conditioned shed. ‘I promised my wife that I would digitize this stuff and then get rid of the tapes,’ he says, ‘and I’m having trouble doing that, to be quite frank.’ \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Large companies and record labels have taken notice, and Stacy’s provided them with material for a Nirvana box set, a Pavement film, and various documentaries. He talks just as enthusiastically, however, about forgotten bands like \u003ca href=\"https://sacramentomusicarchive.com/2000/04/12/donner-party-slims-sf-4-12-00-sam-coomes-from-quasis-early-band/\">The Donner Party\u003c/a> or the \u003ca href=\"https://sacramentomusicarchive.com/1987/04/11/slambodians-sproul-plaza-berkeley-ca-4-11-87-xfer-from-master-vhs-tape-east-bay-punk/\">Slambodians\u003c/a>. He’s especially excited about a recent estate sale find of reel-to-reels from a member of Red Asphalt, the early punk band, who lived in Sacramento.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And that brings him back to the original purpose of the archive, one it’s clearly outgrown: to legitimize and honor Sacramento as its own distinct music scene. He accepts that “Sacramento Music Archive” is a bit of a misnomer for a massive collection covering the the Bay Area and Northern California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But he likes the name.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve always felt like Sacramento has always been the red-headed stepchild of California,” he says. “The Lakers make fun of the Kings, Southern California makes fun of Sacramento. It’s a cow town, right? So having something that’s culturally enriching, that has the Sacramento label on it, I’m fine with it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Sacramento Music Archive can be found at its \u003ca href=\"https://sacramentomusicarchive.com/\">official website\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/@sacramentomusicarchive/videos\">YouTube channel\u003c/a>. Subscribers can \u003ca href=\"https://www.patreon.com/SacramentoMusicArchive\">join the archive’s Patreon\u003c/a> to vote which shows in the archive will get digitized or posted next, or to arrange filming a concert from scratch. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979219\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13979219\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-10-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A man in his 50s wearing a polo shirt and beige shorts sits at a cluttered desk, his arm leaned upon a vintage analog tape machine\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-10-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-10-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-10-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-10-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shayne Stacy, founder of the Sacramento Music Archive, works among his collection of analog recordings of concert videos and cassettes in Orangevale, Calif. on July 24, 2025. Stacy has spent years digitizing underground music from Sacramento, the Bay Area and across Northern California, making rare recordings freely accessible online. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In a suburban backyard outside of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/sacramento\">Sacramento\u003c/a>, I open the door to a giant shed, step inside and get smacked in the face by floor-to-ceiling shelves of music history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>VHS tapes. Cassette tapes. Reel-to-reels. DATs. Other formats I don’t recognize, and can’t pronounce. Nearly 20,000 of them, all filled with live shows, demo recordings and concert footage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Down a narrow path through this obsolete physical media, I turn a corner to find Shayne Stacy, 57, sitting at a desk with three monitors and occasionally fiddling with a nearby U-matic machine, an out-of-date piece of video hardware used by TV stations. On the screen, viewed for the first time in 40 years, is a 1980s new wave band performing on a long-lost cable access show from the Central Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On any given day, this is where you’ll find Stacy, the founder of the nonprofit \u003ca href=\"https://sacramentomusicarchive.com/\">Sacramento Music Archive\u003c/a>. Just a half-hour’s drive from Sutter’s Mill and its famous California discovery, Stacy tends methodically to his own goldmine: a mass of underground music from Sacramento, the Bay Area and beyond that he’s gradually digitizing and sharing with the world, including rare \u003ca href=\"https://sacramentomusicarchive.com/1990/02/12/nirvana-cattle-club-sacramento-ca-02-12-1990-2-cam-mix/\">early footage of Nirvana\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://sacramentomusicarchive.com/1994/07/23/metallica-cal-expo-amphitheatre-sacramento-ca-7-23-94-xfer-from-master-tape-enhanced-live/\">Metallica\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://sacramentomusicarchive.com/1991/10/03/green-day-berkeley-square-10-3-91-xfer-from-master-vhs-tape-complete-show-enhanced/\">Green Day\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You’d think it’s like this big rock and roll party in here. It’s like this. It’s very quiet, with me working at a keyboard,” Stacy says with a laugh.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979226\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13979226\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SacramentoMusicArchive-18_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SacramentoMusicArchive-18_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SacramentoMusicArchive-18_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SacramentoMusicArchive-18_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SacramentoMusicArchive-18_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Sacramento Music Archive began with Shayne Stacy’s own concert recordings of Nirvana, Yo La Tengo, Green Day, Christ on Parade and more, as pictured in Orangevale, Calif. on July 24, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>I first became aware of Stacy’s work during the pandemic, when I noticed people posting video footage of punk shows held 30 years ago that I’d attended, or, even more irresistible, that I’d heard about but been too young to see. I soon found that for those of a certain age and musical bent, scrolling the Sacramento Music Archive was like watching one’s life flash before their eyes: a young \u003ca href=\"https://sacramentomusicarchive.com/1993/05/28/rancid-berkeley-square-berkeley-ca-5-28-93-xfer-from-vhs-c-master-punk-partial-set/\">Rancid finding their footing at Berkeley Square\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/NxQGByCjPdI?feature=shared&t=484\">Mr. Bungle covering Top 40 radio hits from 1989\u003c/a> in Guerneville, or \u003cem>Maximum Rocknroll\u003c/em> founder \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/Pb5X2LrTpjs?feature=shared&t=385\">Tim Yohannon throwing pies at Screeching Weasel\u003c/a> at 924 Gilman.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for shows that had been uploaded before, like \u003ca href=\"https://sacramentomusicarchive.com/1989/05/28/operation-ivy-924-gilman-berkeley-ca-5-28-89-multicam-w-sony-d6-audio/\">Operation Ivy’s final show\u003c/a>? Stacy consistently seemed to have the best sources, and sometimes from multiple camera angles, too. What’s more, he had over 5,000 shows from all over Northern California from the past 50 years, by punk, metal, modern rock, funk, thrash and indie bands — famous names and obscure footnotes alike. And, remarkably, it was evident he still went out to shows, and filmed new bands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Who was this one-man Library of Congress for West Coast Gen Xers? I had to find out.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Preserving punk history\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Born in Auburn in 1967, Stacy had a typical 1970s childhood of watching \u003cem>Scooby Doo\u003c/em> and collecting sports cards. When he was 15, he went by himself to see Iron Maiden and the Scorpions at the Sacramento Memorial Stadium, in 1982, and he still remembers its impact. “As soon as I felt that sound pressure hitting my chest, I’m like, ‘This is the best thing I’ve ever seen,’” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979223\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13979223\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-24-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-24-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-24-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-24-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-24-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The boxes of VHS tapes, reel-to-reels and cassettes at the Sacramento Music Archive may seem haphazardly organized, but Shayne Stacy keeps a reliable mental inventory of each tapes’ location. Particularly valuable masters are kept in a 1,000-lb. fire-resistant safe. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area was a cradle of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/10834160/five-of-the-bay-areas-raddest-metal-bands-from-the-80s\">thrash metal\u003c/a> at the time, with bands like Exodus, Possessed and Metallica just starting out. Soon, Stacy was bringing cheap tape recorders to shows, and sharing the results with other fans who traded tapes through the classifieds in the backs of fan magazines. In 1987, after witnessing the El Sobrante punk band Isocracy, who routinely threw heaps of garbage all over the crowd, Stacy had an epiphany.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s paper all over the floor, and it’s just a chaotic environment, and I said to myself, ‘I have to buy a video camera to document this stuff,’” Stacy remembers. “I stopped all of my excess expenditures, making five bucks an hour, and saved for four months to buy my own video camera.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Between 1988 and 1992, Stacy estimates, he filmed 240 shows, driving to venues in Sacramento or the Bay Area every weekend. Trading with others through the mail, he amassed even more tapes. But there was a downside: he began seeing his own footage, of shows by \u003ca href=\"https://sacramentomusicarchive.com/1989/08/26/primus-cattle-club-sacramento-ca-8-26-89-xfer-from-8mm-master-live-enhanced/\">Primus\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVvJQfgRl7o\">Nirvana\u003c/a> playing at the Cattle Club in Sacramento, bootlegged and sold by others for profit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was like, no fun anymore,” Stacy says. “This was supposed to be a hobby I enjoyed, and it turned into this point of frustration. And so I quit. I quit for 10 years.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979222\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13979222\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-22-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-22-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-22-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-22-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-22-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shayne Stacy started out recording metal bands, and once lost a valuable tape of him and a friend hanging out with Slayer backstage in 1988 at The Stone in San Francisco. Miraculously, thanks to the tape-trading circuit, he \u003ca href=\"https://sacramentomusicarchive.com/1988/08/12/slayer-backstage-the-stone-san-francisco-ca-8-12-88/\">got his hands on a copy of it again\u003c/a>. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>YouTube brought him back. Stacy says it “liberated” everything: the fans didn’t have to pay $30 for a grainy VHS tape anymore, the copyright holders got paid — not enough, but something — and he got to enjoy his hobby again. He rushed out and bought the best cassette decks and VCRs he could find, and got to work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One person who noticed the quality of Stacy’s work early on is Wayne Vanderkuil. “I work at Stanford in visual preservation, reformatting, and he had similar equipment to what we have here,” Vanderkuil says. “I was incredibly impressed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the tape-trading days, Vanderkuil amassed his own collection of metal bands playing at Ruthie’s Inn, Wolfgang’s or the On Broadway. They sat in storage for 25 years, untouched, he says. “I thought, ‘No one’s ever gonna hear these. I’ll drop dead tomorrow, and there goes history.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, he donated his tapes to Stacy. Vanderkuil is now president of the board of the Sacramento Music Archive, newly incorporated as a nonprofit, which will allow Stacy — who worked at Intel for 27 years and recently accepted an “incredibly generous” buyout offer — to \u003ca href=\"https://www.patreon.com/c/sacramentomusicarchive/membership\">take donations\u003c/a> and apply for grants. Most importantly, it’ll set up his life’s work to continue into the future. As it stands, only about 5% of the tapes in the archive have been preserved digitally so far.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is clearly becoming a bigger project than I’ve got time left,” says Stacy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979220\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13979220\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-11-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-11-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-11-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-11-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-11-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shayne Stacy, founder of the Sacramento Music Archive, futzes with a vintage U-matic player in order to get a stubborn TV station cartridge of a Sacramento band to play correctly. ‘Sometimes you get to see me fight with this thing and curse a lot,’ he jokes. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘He really is the go-to’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Publicity and word-of-mouth creates another problem: the piles are growing. Everyone, it seems, has old tapes they want to donate. Waiting to be digitized in the archive are 500 cassettes of free jazz, reel-to-reels of D.R.I. rehearsals at \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/sf-culture/article/strangest-200-dollar-apartments-sf-history-20381556.php\">The Vats\u003c/a> and hundreds of videos and soundboard recordings from 924 Gilman. Stacy now has \u003ca href=\"https://sacramentomusicarchive.com/collections/\">over 25 different collections\u003c/a> from DJs, sound engineers, record store owners, zine editors, promoters, cable access hosts and fans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of them is Arica Pelino, who recently traveled from three states away to Stacy’s archive with a suitcase full of tapes. Pelino toured with Green Day in 1991, and filmed many of their early shows, along with dozens of other bands from the East Bay like Econochrist and Lungbutter. Her tapes sat in storage for more than 20 years, unseen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If I didn’t meet Shayne, it would still be sitting in boxes,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>She and Stacy spent two days going through her collection, including 22 early Green Day shows that no one had ever seen before, she says, along with \u003ca href=\"https://sacramentomusicarchive.com/1991/09/28/green-day-phoenix-theater-petaluma-ca-9-28-91-uncirculated-preshow-clip-xfer-f-vhs-master-enhanced/\">backstage footage\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://sacramentomusicarchive.com/1990/01/01/sweet-children-green-day-billie-joes-tape-to-arica-demo-and-7-sessions-tape-complete/\">early demos\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Shayne really is the owner and the keeper for all of us,” Pelino says. “There’s no one I’d rather do it with. He does a great job, he’s extremely detail-oriented and he puts his all into cleaning up the audio and video. He really is the go-to archive for Northern California, and has captured a significant part of the music scene.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another donor, Rick Sylvain, who in his 12 years working at Berkeley radio station KALX helped start the long-running \u003cem>KALX Live!\u003c/em> show, with bands playing in the cramped studio.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was kind of stinky sometimes — they spilled a lot of beer in there — but it was fun, and I taped everything,” he says. “Some of these little bands, it was their one big moment in the sun, and I wanted them to feel like they were stars.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One little band that fulfilled that promise of stardom was AFI, who would go on to headline arenas. Thanks to the Sacramento Music Archive, Sylvain’s cassette of \u003ca href=\"https://sacramentomusicarchive.com/1994/10/07/afi-kalx-live-in-studio-berkeley-ca-10-7-94-xfer-from-pre-fm-master-cassette-a-fire-inside-a-f-i/\">AFI’s 1994 visit to KALX\u003c/a> is now the band’s earliest live recording on YouTube.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979224\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13979224\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-28-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-28-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-28-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-28-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250724-SACRAMENTOMUSICARCHIVE-28-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shayne Stacy uploads videos twice a day from his growing collection in a cluttered, air-conditioned shed. ‘I promised my wife that I would digitize this stuff and then get rid of the tapes,’ he says, ‘and I’m having trouble doing that, to be quite frank.’ \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Large companies and record labels have taken notice, and Stacy’s provided them with material for a Nirvana box set, a Pavement film, and various documentaries. He talks just as enthusiastically, however, about forgotten bands like \u003ca href=\"https://sacramentomusicarchive.com/2000/04/12/donner-party-slims-sf-4-12-00-sam-coomes-from-quasis-early-band/\">The Donner Party\u003c/a> or the \u003ca href=\"https://sacramentomusicarchive.com/1987/04/11/slambodians-sproul-plaza-berkeley-ca-4-11-87-xfer-from-master-vhs-tape-east-bay-punk/\">Slambodians\u003c/a>. He’s especially excited about a recent estate sale find of reel-to-reels from a member of Red Asphalt, the early punk band, who lived in Sacramento.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And that brings him back to the original purpose of the archive, one it’s clearly outgrown: to legitimize and honor Sacramento as its own distinct music scene. He accepts that “Sacramento Music Archive” is a bit of a misnomer for a massive collection covering the the Bay Area and Northern California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But he likes the name.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve always felt like Sacramento has always been the red-headed stepchild of California,” he says. “The Lakers make fun of the Kings, Southern California makes fun of Sacramento. It’s a cow town, right? So having something that’s culturally enriching, that has the Sacramento label on it, I’m fine with it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Sacramento Music Archive can be found at its \u003ca href=\"https://sacramentomusicarchive.com/\">official website\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/@sacramentomusicarchive/videos\">YouTube channel\u003c/a>. Subscribers can \u003ca href=\"https://www.patreon.com/SacramentoMusicArchive\">join the archive’s Patreon\u003c/a> to vote which shows in the archive will get digitized or posted next, or to arrange filming a concert from scratch. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>During an angry shower early in the pandemic, Zoe Young began spitting lyrics about \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/climate-change\">the state of the planet\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San Francisco musician with short platinum hair and dark roots was thinking about the “scariest night” of her life when, back in 2017, she convinced her stubborn father to evacuate his home in Ojai as the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11636206/thomas-fire-becomes-5th-largest-in-state-history\">Thomas Fire\u003c/a> approached.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was the first time our altered Earth had a clear impact on her life. Zoe needed an outlet, so she started a punk band, \u003ca href=\"https://furioustits.com/\">The Furious Tits\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of what came out of my brain was based on climate, and they turned into these punk songs,” said Zoe, who was previously a writer for a large environmental organization.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Furious Tits, whose members are mostly queer, blend lyrics about climate chaos with irreverent humor and sexuality. In “Cougar Town,” Zoe sings about P-22, a\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/03/07/1161569051/tribes-bury-p-22-southern-californias-famed-mountain-lion\"> deceased wild mountain lion\u003c/a> in Los Angeles, and dating older women. “Desperate Pleasures” is about finding love in a time of climate change and swipe-left culture, with lyrics like “we don’t need to break the ice because it’s breaking up on its own.” Their diss track about golf was inspired by a trip to Las Vegas last year, where they noticed a lush, green, empty golf course in the middle of the desert, watered by “ancient aquifers.” Their newest song, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/microplastics\">Microplastics\u003c/a>,” details how scientists have found synthetic bits in human brains.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979090\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13979090\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250718_CLIMATEPUNK_023_BF_KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250718_CLIMATEPUNK_023_BF_KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250718_CLIMATEPUNK_023_BF_KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250718_CLIMATEPUNK_023_BF_KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250718_CLIMATEPUNK_023_BF_KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Furious Tits performed live in San Francisco at the Castro Night Market on Friday, July 18, 2025. \u003ccite>(Brian Frank/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>While the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1997477/fishnets-and-fossil-fuels-meet-3-bay-area-climate-conscious-drag-artists\">links between climate, queerness\u003c/a> and punk may not be obvious, Zoe points to how the state of our warming planet affects, well, everything. “Climate change is coming for every aspect of our lives, including our sex lives,” said Zoe, whose bandmates lovingly refer to as the Band Domme. “You can’t hook up in your house if it’s burned down.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In mid-July, The Furious Tits performed at the Castro Night Market to a relatively wholesome crowd of kids, people eating barbecue and their diehard fans, who showed up in cropped black T-shirts emblazoned with different-sized cartoon breasts. Their usual venues, however, are more of a scene: dark dive bars, queer landmarks like El Rio and kinky events like San Francisco’s famed Folsom Street Fair.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We found that it turns out the kinksters care about our planet,” said Miju, the band’s bassist, whose nickname is Punk Jesus. She took the stage in black boots and a black latex one-piece at last year’s festival. “I don’t think it was a bait-and-switch to play climate songs at Folsom. Kinky people care about other people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979083\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13979083\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250718_CLIMATEPUNK_004_BF_KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250718_CLIMATEPUNK_004_BF_KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250718_CLIMATEPUNK_004_BF_KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250718_CLIMATEPUNK_004_BF_KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250718_CLIMATEPUNK_004_BF_KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Furious Tits fan at the Castro Night Market on Friday, July 18, 2025. \u003ccite>(Brian Frank/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Furious Tits create space for concert-goers to let out their frustration and anxiety about orange sky days and flash floods, inviting them to “tenderly mosh” to their songs. “It’s been amazing to look into the mosh pit and see the audience jump and elbow each other along to a song about how golf is unsustainable,” Zoe said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For drummer William Renauld, whose alias is Will Yummy, joining The Furious Tits provided him a place to “push anger and aggression” about the climate crisis out of his body and into \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1978547/writing-music-about-climate-change-oakland-artist-reclaims-feminine-power\">music that has the potential to sway culture\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;\" src=\"https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/track=1962210910/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/\" width=\"100%\" height=\"500\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s this beautiful ball of angry, horny, hilarious joy that we just get to serve up to the people who listen to our music,” Will said. “Punk can be so gloriously scrappy, and I envision a climate future where that kind of resourcefulness and that kind of resilience is gonna be an absolute necessity.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The band’s first climate song, “Desperate Pleasures,” came to lead guitarist David Griswold, known as Daddy in the band, as he was pondering online dating culture and the apocalypse. He came up with the lyric “desperate times call for desperate pleasures” to show listeners that “in the midst of these desperate times,” they have to find joy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979242\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13979242\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250721-ClimatePunk-06-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250721-ClimatePunk-06-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250721-ClimatePunk-06-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250721-ClimatePunk-06-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250721-ClimatePunk-06-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The climate punk band The Furious Tits play at their practice space in Oakland on July 21, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Furious Tits are currently writing a climate-themed album they plan to release in early 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What’s queer about our climate songs is that we’re talking about changing culture,” Miju said. “Queer people have always had to make new culture because it hasn’t existed before. That means we don’t always have role models. We have to chart our own course.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As The Furious Tits think about the future, they ponder the higher purpose of their activism: Ensuring their families — and chosen families — are safe as wildfires rage, flooding increases and air quality worsens. [aside postid='science_1997477']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s so overwhelming thinking about how I can leave my children a functional world where they can feel safe and experience joy amid all these overlapping crises,” David said. “Art is what continues to give me hope.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the band sets their sights on completing the album, Zoe and Miju want to explore a song about endangered coral reefs. Miju recalls a scene from the \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGGBGcjdjXA\">Chasing Coral\u003c/a>\u003c/em> documentary on Netflix, featuring an aerial view of fluorescent coral in shades of purple, blue and green. In the film, the documentarian notes the vibrant colors represent “the incredibly beautiful phase of death,” as if “the corals are saying, ‘Look at me, please notice.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Miju’s son burst into tears during the clip.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was like, ‘Holy cow, that’s the right response,’” Miju said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Will, the drummer, dreams of turning lyrics about airplane emissions into the band’s “next hit song” as a way to explore his fears about the planet his future children will inherit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979244\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13979244\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250721-ClimatePunk-14-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250721-ClimatePunk-14-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250721-ClimatePunk-14-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250721-ClimatePunk-14-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250721-ClimatePunk-14-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Furious Tits play at their practice space in Oakland on July 21, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It feels so existentially grounding and artistically meaningful to throw these musical darts at these large climate targets,” said Will, “and eke out the hilarity and the joy while doing it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sitting on mismatched couches in the band’s Oakland practice space, surrounded by gear and relics from previous tenants — lamps made from laced-up heels and lyric-filled white boards — Zoe and her bandmates reflect on how music can foster the kind of solidarity needed to survive the climate crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We rely on each other, and that can be a model for the climate movement,” Zoe said. “This is a long fight, and we don’t even get the clean apocalypse where we’re all gonna die. We’re going to have to figure out how to live through it. There’s no way to do it if we don’t do it together.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>During an angry shower early in the pandemic, Zoe Young began spitting lyrics about \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/climate-change\">the state of the planet\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San Francisco musician with short platinum hair and dark roots was thinking about the “scariest night” of her life when, back in 2017, she convinced her stubborn father to evacuate his home in Ojai as the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11636206/thomas-fire-becomes-5th-largest-in-state-history\">Thomas Fire\u003c/a> approached.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was the first time our altered Earth had a clear impact on her life. Zoe needed an outlet, so she started a punk band, \u003ca href=\"https://furioustits.com/\">The Furious Tits\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of what came out of my brain was based on climate, and they turned into these punk songs,” said Zoe, who was previously a writer for a large environmental organization.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Furious Tits, whose members are mostly queer, blend lyrics about climate chaos with irreverent humor and sexuality. In “Cougar Town,” Zoe sings about P-22, a\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/03/07/1161569051/tribes-bury-p-22-southern-californias-famed-mountain-lion\"> deceased wild mountain lion\u003c/a> in Los Angeles, and dating older women. “Desperate Pleasures” is about finding love in a time of climate change and swipe-left culture, with lyrics like “we don’t need to break the ice because it’s breaking up on its own.” Their diss track about golf was inspired by a trip to Las Vegas last year, where they noticed a lush, green, empty golf course in the middle of the desert, watered by “ancient aquifers.” Their newest song, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/microplastics\">Microplastics\u003c/a>,” details how scientists have found synthetic bits in human brains.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979090\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13979090\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250718_CLIMATEPUNK_023_BF_KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250718_CLIMATEPUNK_023_BF_KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250718_CLIMATEPUNK_023_BF_KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250718_CLIMATEPUNK_023_BF_KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250718_CLIMATEPUNK_023_BF_KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Furious Tits performed live in San Francisco at the Castro Night Market on Friday, July 18, 2025. \u003ccite>(Brian Frank/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>While the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1997477/fishnets-and-fossil-fuels-meet-3-bay-area-climate-conscious-drag-artists\">links between climate, queerness\u003c/a> and punk may not be obvious, Zoe points to how the state of our warming planet affects, well, everything. “Climate change is coming for every aspect of our lives, including our sex lives,” said Zoe, whose bandmates lovingly refer to as the Band Domme. “You can’t hook up in your house if it’s burned down.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In mid-July, The Furious Tits performed at the Castro Night Market to a relatively wholesome crowd of kids, people eating barbecue and their diehard fans, who showed up in cropped black T-shirts emblazoned with different-sized cartoon breasts. Their usual venues, however, are more of a scene: dark dive bars, queer landmarks like El Rio and kinky events like San Francisco’s famed Folsom Street Fair.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We found that it turns out the kinksters care about our planet,” said Miju, the band’s bassist, whose nickname is Punk Jesus. She took the stage in black boots and a black latex one-piece at last year’s festival. “I don’t think it was a bait-and-switch to play climate songs at Folsom. Kinky people care about other people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979083\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13979083\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250718_CLIMATEPUNK_004_BF_KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250718_CLIMATEPUNK_004_BF_KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250718_CLIMATEPUNK_004_BF_KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250718_CLIMATEPUNK_004_BF_KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250718_CLIMATEPUNK_004_BF_KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Furious Tits fan at the Castro Night Market on Friday, July 18, 2025. \u003ccite>(Brian Frank/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Furious Tits create space for concert-goers to let out their frustration and anxiety about orange sky days and flash floods, inviting them to “tenderly mosh” to their songs. “It’s been amazing to look into the mosh pit and see the audience jump and elbow each other along to a song about how golf is unsustainable,” Zoe said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For drummer William Renauld, whose alias is Will Yummy, joining The Furious Tits provided him a place to “push anger and aggression” about the climate crisis out of his body and into \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1978547/writing-music-about-climate-change-oakland-artist-reclaims-feminine-power\">music that has the potential to sway culture\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;\" src=\"https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/track=1962210910/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/\" width=\"100%\" height=\"500\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s this beautiful ball of angry, horny, hilarious joy that we just get to serve up to the people who listen to our music,” Will said. “Punk can be so gloriously scrappy, and I envision a climate future where that kind of resourcefulness and that kind of resilience is gonna be an absolute necessity.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The band’s first climate song, “Desperate Pleasures,” came to lead guitarist David Griswold, known as Daddy in the band, as he was pondering online dating culture and the apocalypse. He came up with the lyric “desperate times call for desperate pleasures” to show listeners that “in the midst of these desperate times,” they have to find joy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979242\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13979242\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250721-ClimatePunk-06-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250721-ClimatePunk-06-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250721-ClimatePunk-06-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250721-ClimatePunk-06-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250721-ClimatePunk-06-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The climate punk band The Furious Tits play at their practice space in Oakland on July 21, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Furious Tits are currently writing a climate-themed album they plan to release in early 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What’s queer about our climate songs is that we’re talking about changing culture,” Miju said. “Queer people have always had to make new culture because it hasn’t existed before. That means we don’t always have role models. We have to chart our own course.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As The Furious Tits think about the future, they ponder the higher purpose of their activism: Ensuring their families — and chosen families — are safe as wildfires rage, flooding increases and air quality worsens. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s so overwhelming thinking about how I can leave my children a functional world where they can feel safe and experience joy amid all these overlapping crises,” David said. “Art is what continues to give me hope.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the band sets their sights on completing the album, Zoe and Miju want to explore a song about endangered coral reefs. Miju recalls a scene from the \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGGBGcjdjXA\">Chasing Coral\u003c/a>\u003c/em> documentary on Netflix, featuring an aerial view of fluorescent coral in shades of purple, blue and green. In the film, the documentarian notes the vibrant colors represent “the incredibly beautiful phase of death,” as if “the corals are saying, ‘Look at me, please notice.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Miju’s son burst into tears during the clip.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was like, ‘Holy cow, that’s the right response,’” Miju said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Will, the drummer, dreams of turning lyrics about airplane emissions into the band’s “next hit song” as a way to explore his fears about the planet his future children will inherit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979244\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13979244\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250721-ClimatePunk-14-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250721-ClimatePunk-14-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250721-ClimatePunk-14-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250721-ClimatePunk-14-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/250721-ClimatePunk-14-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Furious Tits play at their practice space in Oakland on July 21, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It feels so existentially grounding and artistically meaningful to throw these musical darts at these large climate targets,” said Will, “and eke out the hilarity and the joy while doing it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sitting on mismatched couches in the band’s Oakland practice space, surrounded by gear and relics from previous tenants — lamps made from laced-up heels and lyric-filled white boards — Zoe and her bandmates reflect on how music can foster the kind of solidarity needed to survive the climate crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We rely on each other, and that can be a model for the climate movement,” Zoe said. “This is a long fight, and we don’t even get the clean apocalypse where we’re all gonna die. We’re going to have to figure out how to live through it. There’s no way to do it if we don’t do it together.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "dance-hall-crashers-reunion-interview",
"title": "Dance Hall Crashers On Their Reunion, 30 Years After Breaking the Boys’ Club",
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"headTitle": "Dance Hall Crashers On Their Reunion, 30 Years After Breaking the Boys’ Club | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977010\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Polaroid-by-Debra-McClinton-Karina-Denike-Elyse-Rogers-1998-7.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977010\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Polaroid-by-Debra-McClinton-Karina-Denike-Elyse-Rogers-1998-7.jpg\" alt=\"two women with dark hair pose in front of a blue background, one wearing yellow, one wearing a black dress\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1439\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Polaroid-by-Debra-McClinton-Karina-Denike-Elyse-Rogers-1998-7.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Polaroid-by-Debra-McClinton-Karina-Denike-Elyse-Rogers-1998-7-800x576.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Polaroid-by-Debra-McClinton-Karina-Denike-Elyse-Rogers-1998-7-1020x734.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Polaroid-by-Debra-McClinton-Karina-Denike-Elyse-Rogers-1998-7-160x115.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Polaroid-by-Debra-McClinton-Karina-Denike-Elyse-Rogers-1998-7-768x553.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Polaroid-by-Debra-McClinton-Karina-Denike-Elyse-Rogers-1998-7-1536x1105.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Polaroid-by-Debra-McClinton-Karina-Denike-Elyse-Rogers-1998-7-1920x1381.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Karina Deniké and Elyse Rogers in a Polaroid circa 1998. \u003ccite>(Debra McClinton)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Karina Deniké has been in a \u003cem>lot\u003c/em> of bands. The San Francisco singer has performed in dive bars and on festival stages. She’s toured Europe and Japan, has released solo records, and, for the past decade, she was a touring member of NOFX, bringing a crucial shot of feminine energy to their notoriously rowdy stage show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But no project of Deniké’s inspires quite as big a reaction as the one she gets when fans realize she’s \u003cem>Karina from Dance Hall Crashers\u003c/em>. Their eyes widen, or they wax poetic about the set list from a show they saw at Slim’s in 1996. Mostly, they want her to know just how much the women-led Berkeley ska-punk band meant to them when they were young — and how much they still mean now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No matter that Dance Hall Crashers, a group Deniké began fronting at age 18 alongside singer Elyse Rogers, haven’t played a show in more than 20 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977004\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 960px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC-at-Rhino-Records-Montclair-1998-photographer-unknown-left-to-right_Elyse-Rogers-Gavin-Hammon-Karina-Denike-Jason-Hammon.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977004\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC-at-Rhino-Records-Montclair-1998-photographer-unknown-left-to-right_Elyse-Rogers-Gavin-Hammon-Karina-Denike-Jason-Hammon.jpg\" alt=\"a band plays at a record store\" width=\"960\" height=\"714\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC-at-Rhino-Records-Montclair-1998-photographer-unknown-left-to-right_Elyse-Rogers-Gavin-Hammon-Karina-Denike-Jason-Hammon.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC-at-Rhino-Records-Montclair-1998-photographer-unknown-left-to-right_Elyse-Rogers-Gavin-Hammon-Karina-Denike-Jason-Hammon-800x595.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC-at-Rhino-Records-Montclair-1998-photographer-unknown-left-to-right_Elyse-Rogers-Gavin-Hammon-Karina-Denike-Jason-Hammon-160x119.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC-at-Rhino-Records-Montclair-1998-photographer-unknown-left-to-right_Elyse-Rogers-Gavin-Hammon-Karina-Denike-Jason-Hammon-768x571.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Dance Hall Crashers show at Rhino Records, outside Pomona, in 1998. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Dance Hall Crashers)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“On tour with NOFX, everywhere I went, people were coming out of the woodwork to tell me they were fans,” says Deniké in a recent Zoom interview with Dance Hall Crashers guitarist Jason Hammon. Sometimes, these fans were too young to have ever seen a DHC show. “So I’ve been feeding that back to the rest of the band. Like, you guys, this is not just a couple people. There is a \u003cem>lot\u003c/em> of interest.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those superfans will see a long-held dream come true this month, as Dance Hall Crashers reunite for a short run of live shows, including Warped Tour dates in Long Beach and Washington, D.C. this summer, and a Riot Fest appearance in Chicago in September. Of course, they had to do something for the hometown fans: They kick it all off with two sold-out appearances at Great American Music Hall June 6 and 7.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13830408']Fittingly, the reunion was largely inspired by a certain group of young adults who never saw DHC play the first time around: the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DKaA6b9JPn5/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==\">band members’ children\u003c/a>. Among them are Logan Hammon, Jason’s daughter, who also fronts the Oakland indie rock band \u003ca href=\"https://www.smallcrush.fun/\">Small Crush\u003c/a>; they open for Dance Hall Crashers on June 7.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve been joking about it for like 10 years: ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if Dance Hall Crashers got back together and we got to play with you guys?’” says Hammon. “So yeah, this is the coolest thing that could have ever happened.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Crashing the boys’ club\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Birthed from the primordial, massively influential punk soup that was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/924-gilman\">924 Gilman\u003c/a> in the late ’80s, Dance Hall Crashers come with a particularly complex family tree: Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman were two of the band’s founding members, during a time after their seminal ska band Operation Ivy broke up, but before they formed Rancid. Hammon, a kid from San Leandro who was playing in multiple punk bands around the East Bay, joined soon after on guitar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977022\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1689px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Dance_Hall_Crashers_at_The_Masquerade_in_Atlanta_GA_in_1998_4847189689.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977022\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Dance_Hall_Crashers_at_The_Masquerade_in_Atlanta_GA_in_1998_4847189689.jpg\" alt=\"a black and white photo of a band on stage from the back\" width=\"1689\" height=\"692\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Dance_Hall_Crashers_at_The_Masquerade_in_Atlanta_GA_in_1998_4847189689.jpg 1689w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Dance_Hall_Crashers_at_The_Masquerade_in_Atlanta_GA_in_1998_4847189689-800x328.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Dance_Hall_Crashers_at_The_Masquerade_in_Atlanta_GA_in_1998_4847189689-1020x418.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Dance_Hall_Crashers_at_The_Masquerade_in_Atlanta_GA_in_1998_4847189689-160x66.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Dance_Hall_Crashers_at_The_Masquerade_in_Atlanta_GA_in_1998_4847189689-768x315.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Dance_Hall_Crashers_at_The_Masquerade_in_Atlanta_GA_in_1998_4847189689-1536x629.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1689px) 100vw, 1689px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Dance Hall Crashers show at the Masquerade in Atlanta, Georgia. \u003ccite>(veganstraightedge / Wikimedia Commons)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Elyse Rogers, a UC Berkeley student and Operation Ivy fan from Orange County, became one of the band’s singers. She was followed by Denike, a Berkeley High alum by way of Cambridge, England, who fit right in. “I was already a rude girl at age 12, because there’s such a big Caribbean and West Indian community [in England], so much reggae and ska influence,” says Denike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By 1994, the lineup had solidified with Rogers, Deniké, Hammon, Mikey Weiss on bass and Jason’s brother Gavin Hammon on drums. The band spent the next decade making upbeat, danceable, ineffably sassy songs that hit at the intersection of punk, pop and ska. They had catchy guitar riffs, a killer live show and a key feature that set them apart from the era’s dude-heavy pack: Two charismatic, no-bullshit frontwomen who harmonized like they were spinning gold.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGbxHkHwNJU\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This was more of an anomaly than young fans in 2025 may realize.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think I can count on one hand the number of bands that had female singers that played Gilman frequently around that time,” says Hammon. (\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13953628/michelle-cruz-gonzales-of-spitboy-is-punk-af-and-lived-to-teach-about-it\">Spitboy\u003c/a>, Blatz and Tilt come to mind.) That gender imbalance took on an even more bro-ish tone on Warped Tour, which DHC last played in 1996. The scene at the time, Hammon says, was “kind of a boys’ club.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It \u003cem>absolutely\u003c/em> was,” interjects Deniké. She and Rogers quickly grew thick skin as performers, she says, but their roles as the rare frontwomen in a male-dominated scene also gave them a sense of responsibility to young women fans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We wanted to have an environment [at shows] where we would have felt safe being in the crowd,” she says. “And I remember wanting to present this very strong, playful and fun female front with Elyse, but I was also conscious that I didn’t want to be overly sexy. It was always about the music, and it was very, very important to me that we would get respected for our musicality, or for our stage show, but not just, you know, putting on a short skirt.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977003\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 960px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Karina-Denike-Elyse-Rogers.-Photo-by-Lisa-Johnson-Rock-Photographer-1998-.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977003\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Karina-Denike-Elyse-Rogers.-Photo-by-Lisa-Johnson-Rock-Photographer-1998-.jpg\" alt=\"a black and white photo of two women singing\" width=\"960\" height=\"960\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Karina-Denike-Elyse-Rogers.-Photo-by-Lisa-Johnson-Rock-Photographer-1998-.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Karina-Denike-Elyse-Rogers.-Photo-by-Lisa-Johnson-Rock-Photographer-1998--800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Karina-Denike-Elyse-Rogers.-Photo-by-Lisa-Johnson-Rock-Photographer-1998--160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Karina-Denike-Elyse-Rogers.-Photo-by-Lisa-Johnson-Rock-Photographer-1998--768x768.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Karina Deniké and Elyse Rogers at a DHC show around 1998. \u003ccite>(Lisa Johnson)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The band stayed active off and on until 2004. During that time they released four studio albums, an EP and a live record; flirted with mainstream America via MTV rotation, song placements on the \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://people.com/movies/angus-turns-20-we-remember-its-amazing-soundtrack/\">Angus\u003c/a>\u003c/em> soundtrack and \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2vLuYG_b50\">Dawson’s Creek\u003c/a>\u003c/em>; and toured the country relentlessly, both headlining and opening for bands like Blink 182, No Doubt, Bad Religion and the Mighty Mighty Bosstones.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1997, \u003cem>Honey, I’m Homely!\u003c/em>, their second LP to be released through MCA Records, became their most commercially successful record to date. The single “Lost Again” got significant alt-rock radio play and a music video, and the album hit No. 22 on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart. At least one critic compared Deniké and Rogers’ vocal dynamic to Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson of the B-52s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=em20dRxxE-E\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, DHC never quite crossed the rubicon into mainstream pop culture. Looking back, members cite their lack of careerism; the band consistently rejected offers and opportunities that didn’t feel like them. They also made decisions democratically. “Maybe if we didn’t all have vetoes, we would have done Sprite commercials,” says Hammon. “But we kept each other pretty honest.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, they watched bands that had opened for Dance Hall Crashers book stadium tours, fueled in part by the gold rush around Bay Area punk and ska that followed Green Day’s breakout success. It was a weird couple of years: they had signed to a major label, and in the Bay, the vitriol around “selling out” hit a fever pitch. At the same time, the national market seemed to have room for only \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2024/01/17/1225142550/no-doubt-the-pop-punk-band-featuring-lead-singer-gwen-stefani-is-reuniting\">one woman-fronted ska-rock band\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The band didn’t exactly play ball with the label either: “There were all these suggestions getting thrown at us, like, ‘Why don’t you do a cover of some big pop song from the ’80s or the ’60s, and they’ll put that on the radio, and then we’ll start pumping your originals?’ That was the thing at the time,” says Deniké. “And we were just like, ‘We don’t want to do that.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977005\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC_Band_by-Debra-McClinton-L-Right_Jason-Hammon-Mikey-Wiess-ELyse-Rogers-Karina-Denike-Gavin-Hammon.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977005\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC_Band_by-Debra-McClinton-L-Right_Jason-Hammon-Mikey-Wiess-ELyse-Rogers-Karina-Denike-Gavin-Hammon.jpg\" alt=\"a band of five people pose in front of a yellow wall\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1371\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC_Band_by-Debra-McClinton-L-Right_Jason-Hammon-Mikey-Wiess-ELyse-Rogers-Karina-Denike-Gavin-Hammon.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC_Band_by-Debra-McClinton-L-Right_Jason-Hammon-Mikey-Wiess-ELyse-Rogers-Karina-Denike-Gavin-Hammon-800x548.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC_Band_by-Debra-McClinton-L-Right_Jason-Hammon-Mikey-Wiess-ELyse-Rogers-Karina-Denike-Gavin-Hammon-1020x699.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC_Band_by-Debra-McClinton-L-Right_Jason-Hammon-Mikey-Wiess-ELyse-Rogers-Karina-Denike-Gavin-Hammon-160x110.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC_Band_by-Debra-McClinton-L-Right_Jason-Hammon-Mikey-Wiess-ELyse-Rogers-Karina-Denike-Gavin-Hammon-768x526.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC_Band_by-Debra-McClinton-L-Right_Jason-Hammon-Mikey-Wiess-ELyse-Rogers-Karina-Denike-Gavin-Hammon-1536x1053.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC_Band_by-Debra-McClinton-L-Right_Jason-Hammon-Mikey-Wiess-ELyse-Rogers-Karina-Denike-Gavin-Hammon-1920x1316.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">L to R: Jason Hammon, Mikey Weiss, Elyse Rogers, Karina Deniké and Gavin Hammon. \u003ccite>(Debra McClinton)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>They also didn’t want to keep touring after it stopped being fun. And that’s the short version of what happened in 2004: Some band members wanted to go to college, some had small children; most everyone had spent their whole 20s on the road, with other projects they wanted to pursue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So Dance Hall Crashers went on indefinite hiatus. Everyone’s remained good friends and in regular touch over the years. But half the band doesn’t live in the Bay Area anymore, and everyone has busy lives. They had no reason to believe that hiatus wouldn’t be permanent.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘If we sound like shit, we’re not going to do this’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In November of last year, after Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman asked if Dance Hall Crashers would reunite for this year’s festival dates, Deniké and Rogers got together to sing. It was a couple weeks after the election, and moods were strange, to say the least. But the old friends needed to see how their voices sounded together before they agreed to perform.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977008\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1482px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977008\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Elyse-Rogers-Karina-Denike-rehearsal-photo-by-Karina-Denike-2025.jpeg.jpg\" alt=\"two women take a selfie\" width=\"1482\" height=\"2000\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Elyse-Rogers-Karina-Denike-rehearsal-photo-by-Karina-Denike-2025.jpeg.jpg 1482w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Elyse-Rogers-Karina-Denike-rehearsal-photo-by-Karina-Denike-2025.jpeg-800x1080.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Elyse-Rogers-Karina-Denike-rehearsal-photo-by-Karina-Denike-2025.jpeg-1020x1377.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Elyse-Rogers-Karina-Denike-rehearsal-photo-by-Karina-Denike-2025.jpeg-160x216.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Elyse-Rogers-Karina-Denike-rehearsal-photo-by-Karina-Denike-2025.jpeg-768x1036.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Elyse-Rogers-Karina-Denike-rehearsal-photo-by-Karina-Denike-2025.jpeg-1138x1536.jpg 1138w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1482px) 100vw, 1482px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Elyse Rogers and Karina Deniké in a selfie from band practice. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Karina Deniké)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It’s a very strange experience to go back after this many years, because it’s all muscle memory,” says Denike. “You’ll be like, ‘I have no memory of writing this, singing this, thinking this,’ but you’re singing it, and you don’t even know where the words are coming from. And ‘Oh, my voice goes up here, and you go down there.’ We snapped back to our parts pretty quickly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ’90s band-reunion economy has boomed in recent years, with nostalgia-driven festivals like When We Were Young targeting punk and emo fans now in their 40s and 50s. But for Dance Hall Crashers fans, this reunion feels especially affirming: there’s a sense of DHC as an underdog, a gem that never quite got its true shine. “It is kind of exciting to get a second chance,” says Deniké, “and to be coming from a different perspective, which is age.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Hammon, gearing up for shows helped him realize just how many people still carry a torch for the band. Sure, he knew the Descendents were big fans, and NOFX’s Fat Mike had remarked to him in recent years that DHC was “so beloved.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977002\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC.rehearsal.fromFB.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13977002 size-medium\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC.rehearsal.fromFB-e1748974395652-800x646.jpg\" alt=\"three people at band practice\" width=\"800\" height=\"646\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC.rehearsal.fromFB-e1748974395652-800x646.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC.rehearsal.fromFB-e1748974395652-1020x824.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC.rehearsal.fromFB-e1748974395652-160x129.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC.rehearsal.fromFB-e1748974395652-768x620.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC.rehearsal.fromFB-e1748974395652.jpg 1065w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Karina Deniké, Jason Hammon and Gavin Hammon at a recent band practice. \u003ccite>(Dance Hall Crashers / Instagram)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But Hammon wasn’t sure what to expect ticket sales-wise — until the San Francisco shows sold out within five minutes. On social media, fans have spent the last six months collectively losing their minds, with some flying in from as far as Japan, Australia, England and Nova Scotia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s been really, really cool to see how excited people are. It’s cool that anybody even still listens to us,” says Hammon. “But, you know, music’s forever.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Dance Hall Crashers play two very sold-out shows Friday and Saturday, June 6 and 7, at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. \u003ca href=\"https://wl.seetickets.us/event/dance-hall-crashers/636019?afflky=GreatAmericanMusicHall\">Details\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://wl.seetickets.us/event/dance-hall-crashers/634707?afflky=GreatAmericanMusicHall\">here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977010\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Polaroid-by-Debra-McClinton-Karina-Denike-Elyse-Rogers-1998-7.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977010\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Polaroid-by-Debra-McClinton-Karina-Denike-Elyse-Rogers-1998-7.jpg\" alt=\"two women with dark hair pose in front of a blue background, one wearing yellow, one wearing a black dress\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1439\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Polaroid-by-Debra-McClinton-Karina-Denike-Elyse-Rogers-1998-7.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Polaroid-by-Debra-McClinton-Karina-Denike-Elyse-Rogers-1998-7-800x576.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Polaroid-by-Debra-McClinton-Karina-Denike-Elyse-Rogers-1998-7-1020x734.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Polaroid-by-Debra-McClinton-Karina-Denike-Elyse-Rogers-1998-7-160x115.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Polaroid-by-Debra-McClinton-Karina-Denike-Elyse-Rogers-1998-7-768x553.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Polaroid-by-Debra-McClinton-Karina-Denike-Elyse-Rogers-1998-7-1536x1105.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Polaroid-by-Debra-McClinton-Karina-Denike-Elyse-Rogers-1998-7-1920x1381.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Karina Deniké and Elyse Rogers in a Polaroid circa 1998. \u003ccite>(Debra McClinton)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Karina Deniké has been in a \u003cem>lot\u003c/em> of bands. The San Francisco singer has performed in dive bars and on festival stages. She’s toured Europe and Japan, has released solo records, and, for the past decade, she was a touring member of NOFX, bringing a crucial shot of feminine energy to their notoriously rowdy stage show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But no project of Deniké’s inspires quite as big a reaction as the one she gets when fans realize she’s \u003cem>Karina from Dance Hall Crashers\u003c/em>. Their eyes widen, or they wax poetic about the set list from a show they saw at Slim’s in 1996. Mostly, they want her to know just how much the women-led Berkeley ska-punk band meant to them when they were young — and how much they still mean now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No matter that Dance Hall Crashers, a group Deniké began fronting at age 18 alongside singer Elyse Rogers, haven’t played a show in more than 20 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977004\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 960px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC-at-Rhino-Records-Montclair-1998-photographer-unknown-left-to-right_Elyse-Rogers-Gavin-Hammon-Karina-Denike-Jason-Hammon.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977004\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC-at-Rhino-Records-Montclair-1998-photographer-unknown-left-to-right_Elyse-Rogers-Gavin-Hammon-Karina-Denike-Jason-Hammon.jpg\" alt=\"a band plays at a record store\" width=\"960\" height=\"714\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC-at-Rhino-Records-Montclair-1998-photographer-unknown-left-to-right_Elyse-Rogers-Gavin-Hammon-Karina-Denike-Jason-Hammon.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC-at-Rhino-Records-Montclair-1998-photographer-unknown-left-to-right_Elyse-Rogers-Gavin-Hammon-Karina-Denike-Jason-Hammon-800x595.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC-at-Rhino-Records-Montclair-1998-photographer-unknown-left-to-right_Elyse-Rogers-Gavin-Hammon-Karina-Denike-Jason-Hammon-160x119.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC-at-Rhino-Records-Montclair-1998-photographer-unknown-left-to-right_Elyse-Rogers-Gavin-Hammon-Karina-Denike-Jason-Hammon-768x571.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Dance Hall Crashers show at Rhino Records, outside Pomona, in 1998. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Dance Hall Crashers)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“On tour with NOFX, everywhere I went, people were coming out of the woodwork to tell me they were fans,” says Deniké in a recent Zoom interview with Dance Hall Crashers guitarist Jason Hammon. Sometimes, these fans were too young to have ever seen a DHC show. “So I’ve been feeding that back to the rest of the band. Like, you guys, this is not just a couple people. There is a \u003cem>lot\u003c/em> of interest.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those superfans will see a long-held dream come true this month, as Dance Hall Crashers reunite for a short run of live shows, including Warped Tour dates in Long Beach and Washington, D.C. this summer, and a Riot Fest appearance in Chicago in September. Of course, they had to do something for the hometown fans: They kick it all off with two sold-out appearances at Great American Music Hall June 6 and 7.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Fittingly, the reunion was largely inspired by a certain group of young adults who never saw DHC play the first time around: the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DKaA6b9JPn5/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==\">band members’ children\u003c/a>. Among them are Logan Hammon, Jason’s daughter, who also fronts the Oakland indie rock band \u003ca href=\"https://www.smallcrush.fun/\">Small Crush\u003c/a>; they open for Dance Hall Crashers on June 7.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve been joking about it for like 10 years: ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if Dance Hall Crashers got back together and we got to play with you guys?’” says Hammon. “So yeah, this is the coolest thing that could have ever happened.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Crashing the boys’ club\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Birthed from the primordial, massively influential punk soup that was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/924-gilman\">924 Gilman\u003c/a> in the late ’80s, Dance Hall Crashers come with a particularly complex family tree: Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman were two of the band’s founding members, during a time after their seminal ska band Operation Ivy broke up, but before they formed Rancid. Hammon, a kid from San Leandro who was playing in multiple punk bands around the East Bay, joined soon after on guitar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977022\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1689px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Dance_Hall_Crashers_at_The_Masquerade_in_Atlanta_GA_in_1998_4847189689.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977022\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Dance_Hall_Crashers_at_The_Masquerade_in_Atlanta_GA_in_1998_4847189689.jpg\" alt=\"a black and white photo of a band on stage from the back\" width=\"1689\" height=\"692\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Dance_Hall_Crashers_at_The_Masquerade_in_Atlanta_GA_in_1998_4847189689.jpg 1689w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Dance_Hall_Crashers_at_The_Masquerade_in_Atlanta_GA_in_1998_4847189689-800x328.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Dance_Hall_Crashers_at_The_Masquerade_in_Atlanta_GA_in_1998_4847189689-1020x418.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Dance_Hall_Crashers_at_The_Masquerade_in_Atlanta_GA_in_1998_4847189689-160x66.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Dance_Hall_Crashers_at_The_Masquerade_in_Atlanta_GA_in_1998_4847189689-768x315.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Dance_Hall_Crashers_at_The_Masquerade_in_Atlanta_GA_in_1998_4847189689-1536x629.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1689px) 100vw, 1689px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Dance Hall Crashers show at the Masquerade in Atlanta, Georgia. \u003ccite>(veganstraightedge / Wikimedia Commons)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Elyse Rogers, a UC Berkeley student and Operation Ivy fan from Orange County, became one of the band’s singers. She was followed by Denike, a Berkeley High alum by way of Cambridge, England, who fit right in. “I was already a rude girl at age 12, because there’s such a big Caribbean and West Indian community [in England], so much reggae and ska influence,” says Denike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By 1994, the lineup had solidified with Rogers, Deniké, Hammon, Mikey Weiss on bass and Jason’s brother Gavin Hammon on drums. The band spent the next decade making upbeat, danceable, ineffably sassy songs that hit at the intersection of punk, pop and ska. They had catchy guitar riffs, a killer live show and a key feature that set them apart from the era’s dude-heavy pack: Two charismatic, no-bullshit frontwomen who harmonized like they were spinning gold.\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/dGbxHkHwNJU'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/dGbxHkHwNJU'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>This was more of an anomaly than young fans in 2025 may realize.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think I can count on one hand the number of bands that had female singers that played Gilman frequently around that time,” says Hammon. (\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13953628/michelle-cruz-gonzales-of-spitboy-is-punk-af-and-lived-to-teach-about-it\">Spitboy\u003c/a>, Blatz and Tilt come to mind.) That gender imbalance took on an even more bro-ish tone on Warped Tour, which DHC last played in 1996. The scene at the time, Hammon says, was “kind of a boys’ club.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It \u003cem>absolutely\u003c/em> was,” interjects Deniké. She and Rogers quickly grew thick skin as performers, she says, but their roles as the rare frontwomen in a male-dominated scene also gave them a sense of responsibility to young women fans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We wanted to have an environment [at shows] where we would have felt safe being in the crowd,” she says. “And I remember wanting to present this very strong, playful and fun female front with Elyse, but I was also conscious that I didn’t want to be overly sexy. It was always about the music, and it was very, very important to me that we would get respected for our musicality, or for our stage show, but not just, you know, putting on a short skirt.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977003\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 960px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Karina-Denike-Elyse-Rogers.-Photo-by-Lisa-Johnson-Rock-Photographer-1998-.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977003\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Karina-Denike-Elyse-Rogers.-Photo-by-Lisa-Johnson-Rock-Photographer-1998-.jpg\" alt=\"a black and white photo of two women singing\" width=\"960\" height=\"960\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Karina-Denike-Elyse-Rogers.-Photo-by-Lisa-Johnson-Rock-Photographer-1998-.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Karina-Denike-Elyse-Rogers.-Photo-by-Lisa-Johnson-Rock-Photographer-1998--800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Karina-Denike-Elyse-Rogers.-Photo-by-Lisa-Johnson-Rock-Photographer-1998--160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Karina-Denike-Elyse-Rogers.-Photo-by-Lisa-Johnson-Rock-Photographer-1998--768x768.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Karina Deniké and Elyse Rogers at a DHC show around 1998. \u003ccite>(Lisa Johnson)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The band stayed active off and on until 2004. During that time they released four studio albums, an EP and a live record; flirted with mainstream America via MTV rotation, song placements on the \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://people.com/movies/angus-turns-20-we-remember-its-amazing-soundtrack/\">Angus\u003c/a>\u003c/em> soundtrack and \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2vLuYG_b50\">Dawson’s Creek\u003c/a>\u003c/em>; and toured the country relentlessly, both headlining and opening for bands like Blink 182, No Doubt, Bad Religion and the Mighty Mighty Bosstones.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1997, \u003cem>Honey, I’m Homely!\u003c/em>, their second LP to be released through MCA Records, became their most commercially successful record to date. The single “Lost Again” got significant alt-rock radio play and a music video, and the album hit No. 22 on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart. At least one critic compared Deniké and Rogers’ vocal dynamic to Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson of the B-52s.\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/em20dRxxE-E'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/em20dRxxE-E'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Still, DHC never quite crossed the rubicon into mainstream pop culture. Looking back, members cite their lack of careerism; the band consistently rejected offers and opportunities that didn’t feel like them. They also made decisions democratically. “Maybe if we didn’t all have vetoes, we would have done Sprite commercials,” says Hammon. “But we kept each other pretty honest.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, they watched bands that had opened for Dance Hall Crashers book stadium tours, fueled in part by the gold rush around Bay Area punk and ska that followed Green Day’s breakout success. It was a weird couple of years: they had signed to a major label, and in the Bay, the vitriol around “selling out” hit a fever pitch. At the same time, the national market seemed to have room for only \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2024/01/17/1225142550/no-doubt-the-pop-punk-band-featuring-lead-singer-gwen-stefani-is-reuniting\">one woman-fronted ska-rock band\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The band didn’t exactly play ball with the label either: “There were all these suggestions getting thrown at us, like, ‘Why don’t you do a cover of some big pop song from the ’80s or the ’60s, and they’ll put that on the radio, and then we’ll start pumping your originals?’ That was the thing at the time,” says Deniké. “And we were just like, ‘We don’t want to do that.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977005\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC_Band_by-Debra-McClinton-L-Right_Jason-Hammon-Mikey-Wiess-ELyse-Rogers-Karina-Denike-Gavin-Hammon.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977005\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC_Band_by-Debra-McClinton-L-Right_Jason-Hammon-Mikey-Wiess-ELyse-Rogers-Karina-Denike-Gavin-Hammon.jpg\" alt=\"a band of five people pose in front of a yellow wall\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1371\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC_Band_by-Debra-McClinton-L-Right_Jason-Hammon-Mikey-Wiess-ELyse-Rogers-Karina-Denike-Gavin-Hammon.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC_Band_by-Debra-McClinton-L-Right_Jason-Hammon-Mikey-Wiess-ELyse-Rogers-Karina-Denike-Gavin-Hammon-800x548.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC_Band_by-Debra-McClinton-L-Right_Jason-Hammon-Mikey-Wiess-ELyse-Rogers-Karina-Denike-Gavin-Hammon-1020x699.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC_Band_by-Debra-McClinton-L-Right_Jason-Hammon-Mikey-Wiess-ELyse-Rogers-Karina-Denike-Gavin-Hammon-160x110.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC_Band_by-Debra-McClinton-L-Right_Jason-Hammon-Mikey-Wiess-ELyse-Rogers-Karina-Denike-Gavin-Hammon-768x526.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC_Band_by-Debra-McClinton-L-Right_Jason-Hammon-Mikey-Wiess-ELyse-Rogers-Karina-Denike-Gavin-Hammon-1536x1053.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC_Band_by-Debra-McClinton-L-Right_Jason-Hammon-Mikey-Wiess-ELyse-Rogers-Karina-Denike-Gavin-Hammon-1920x1316.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">L to R: Jason Hammon, Mikey Weiss, Elyse Rogers, Karina Deniké and Gavin Hammon. \u003ccite>(Debra McClinton)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>They also didn’t want to keep touring after it stopped being fun. And that’s the short version of what happened in 2004: Some band members wanted to go to college, some had small children; most everyone had spent their whole 20s on the road, with other projects they wanted to pursue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So Dance Hall Crashers went on indefinite hiatus. Everyone’s remained good friends and in regular touch over the years. But half the band doesn’t live in the Bay Area anymore, and everyone has busy lives. They had no reason to believe that hiatus wouldn’t be permanent.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘If we sound like shit, we’re not going to do this’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In November of last year, after Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman asked if Dance Hall Crashers would reunite for this year’s festival dates, Deniké and Rogers got together to sing. It was a couple weeks after the election, and moods were strange, to say the least. But the old friends needed to see how their voices sounded together before they agreed to perform.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977008\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1482px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977008\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Elyse-Rogers-Karina-Denike-rehearsal-photo-by-Karina-Denike-2025.jpeg.jpg\" alt=\"two women take a selfie\" width=\"1482\" height=\"2000\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Elyse-Rogers-Karina-Denike-rehearsal-photo-by-Karina-Denike-2025.jpeg.jpg 1482w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Elyse-Rogers-Karina-Denike-rehearsal-photo-by-Karina-Denike-2025.jpeg-800x1080.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Elyse-Rogers-Karina-Denike-rehearsal-photo-by-Karina-Denike-2025.jpeg-1020x1377.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Elyse-Rogers-Karina-Denike-rehearsal-photo-by-Karina-Denike-2025.jpeg-160x216.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Elyse-Rogers-Karina-Denike-rehearsal-photo-by-Karina-Denike-2025.jpeg-768x1036.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Elyse-Rogers-Karina-Denike-rehearsal-photo-by-Karina-Denike-2025.jpeg-1138x1536.jpg 1138w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1482px) 100vw, 1482px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Elyse Rogers and Karina Deniké in a selfie from band practice. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Karina Deniké)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It’s a very strange experience to go back after this many years, because it’s all muscle memory,” says Denike. “You’ll be like, ‘I have no memory of writing this, singing this, thinking this,’ but you’re singing it, and you don’t even know where the words are coming from. And ‘Oh, my voice goes up here, and you go down there.’ We snapped back to our parts pretty quickly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ’90s band-reunion economy has boomed in recent years, with nostalgia-driven festivals like When We Were Young targeting punk and emo fans now in their 40s and 50s. But for Dance Hall Crashers fans, this reunion feels especially affirming: there’s a sense of DHC as an underdog, a gem that never quite got its true shine. “It is kind of exciting to get a second chance,” says Deniké, “and to be coming from a different perspective, which is age.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Hammon, gearing up for shows helped him realize just how many people still carry a torch for the band. Sure, he knew the Descendents were big fans, and NOFX’s Fat Mike had remarked to him in recent years that DHC was “so beloved.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977002\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC.rehearsal.fromFB.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13977002 size-medium\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC.rehearsal.fromFB-e1748974395652-800x646.jpg\" alt=\"three people at band practice\" width=\"800\" height=\"646\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC.rehearsal.fromFB-e1748974395652-800x646.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC.rehearsal.fromFB-e1748974395652-1020x824.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC.rehearsal.fromFB-e1748974395652-160x129.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC.rehearsal.fromFB-e1748974395652-768x620.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/DHC.rehearsal.fromFB-e1748974395652.jpg 1065w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Karina Deniké, Jason Hammon and Gavin Hammon at a recent band practice. \u003ccite>(Dance Hall Crashers / Instagram)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But Hammon wasn’t sure what to expect ticket sales-wise — until the San Francisco shows sold out within five minutes. On social media, fans have spent the last six months collectively losing their minds, with some flying in from as far as Japan, Australia, England and Nova Scotia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s been really, really cool to see how excited people are. It’s cool that anybody even still listens to us,” says Hammon. “But, you know, music’s forever.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Dance Hall Crashers play two very sold-out shows Friday and Saturday, June 6 and 7, at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. \u003ca href=\"https://wl.seetickets.us/event/dance-hall-crashers/636019?afflky=GreatAmericanMusicHall\">Details\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://wl.seetickets.us/event/dance-hall-crashers/634707?afflky=GreatAmericanMusicHall\">here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "laura-jane-grace-interview-gods-dick-touring-while-trans-adventure-club-against-me-punk",
"title": "Laura Jane Grace Is Just Asking Questions",
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"content": "\u003cp>It’s tough to imagine a better rock star for this moment in America than \u003ca href=\"https://www.laurajanegrace.com/\">Laura Jane Grace\u003c/a>. The founder of the seminal Florida \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/punk\">punk\u003c/a> band \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13809159/black-me-out-against-me-laura-jane-grace\">Against Me!\u003c/a> has long been known for songwriting that blends the personal and political, as well as visceral, cathartic live shows. Now 44, she’s been releasing records and touring in bands for nearly 30 years. And while her cast of supporting players sometimes changes from album to album, Grace’s ethos is consistent, raising a melodic middle finger to inequality, injustice and authoritarianism. Last year, \u003cem>Rolling Stone \u003c/em>called her “the fiercest punk singer of our time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since coming out in 2012 (and releasing the critically acclaimed record \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13809159/black-me-out-against-me-laura-jane-grace\">\u003cem>Transgender Dysphoria Blues\u003c/em>\u003c/a>), Grace has also become a hero to a generation of LGBTQ+ punks, and used her platform to speak out for transgender rights. Her outspokenness does not usually go massively viral, however — until last month. That’s when Grace, performing at a Bernie Sanders rally in Kenosha, Washington, sang a catchy new sing-along called “Your God (God’s Dick),” with lyrics that pose detailed questions about the Judeo-Christian deity’s theoretical anatomy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSmYxKIs3PI\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Conservative commentators promptly \u003ca href=\"https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/laura-jane-grace-right-backlash-your-gods-dick-response-1235295332/\">lost their minds\u003c/a>: Fox News called it “pure evil”; the far-right social media account Libs of TikTok described it as a “degenerate, disgusting, anti-Christian song.” Comedians Dana Carvey and David Spade, who apparently have a podcast, mocked it on said podcast. (Actor-turned-Bible-thumper \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13935238/russell-brand-sexual-assault-allegations-channel-4-dispatches-sunday-times\">Russell Brand\u003c/a>, for his part, called the performance “blasphemy” in a March 12 social media post. \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2025/04/04/g-s1-58260/russell-brand-rape-assault\">He was charged on April 4 with the rape and sexual assault\u003c/a> of four different women.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite a few death threats, Grace has taken it in stride — and taken it on the road. The track is a single off \u003cem>Adventure Club\u003c/em>, a new full-length that she’ll release in July. At the time of this interview, she was a week into a U.S. tour with backing band \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYDLYlhvJho\">the Mississippi Medicals\u003c/a>. They play Friday, April 18 at Cornerstone in Berkeley and Saturday, April 19 at the Mystic Theatre in Petaluma.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This interview has been edited for length and clarity.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>I understand you made this new album in Greece last summer, as part of a dreamy-sounding fellowship from the \u003ca href=\"https://www.onassis.org/initiatives/onassis-air\">Onassis AiR Foundation\u003c/a>. But many of the songs on \u003cem>Adventure Club\u003c/em> are about the state of affairs in the U.S. How did it affect the songs to be writing about America from afar?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I actually went in with three or four songs in my back pocket, and some of them just caught up with the zeitgeist. For instance, I’ve been working on the song “Mine Me Mine” since probably 2018, and it never really clicked [until now]. Same with a song like “World War III.” I \u003cem>wish\u003c/em> it wasn’t lining up well politically, right? I wish the songs were completely irrelevant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13968840']The song “God’s Dick,” I wrote while I was in Greece, actually at the Onassis AiR offices. They have these amazing work spaces where you’re like an exhibit: anybody walking by on the street can look and see whatever you’re working on. I had weekly check-ins where I would play what I was working on for the Onassis people and we’d talk about it. So it was interesting, when there was all the stink caused by right-wing people after the rally … I know, at face value, this may seem like knuckle-dragging toilet humor. But this is actually a really thought-out piece of work. I had to sit in front of a committee and be like, “This is the song I wrote. This is why I wrote it. This is what the lyrics are about,” and explain it to them with a straight face, you know?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s felt cool having that legitimacy added to it. There was more thought put into all these songs than any other previous record that I’ve put out, because I’ve already had to justify it to people who aren’t punk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13974484\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/LJG-Credit-Fabiana-Moreira-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13974484\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/LJG-Credit-Fabiana-Moreira-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"a black and white photo of a person with tattoos on stage playing guitar\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/LJG-Credit-Fabiana-Moreira-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/LJG-Credit-Fabiana-Moreira-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/LJG-Credit-Fabiana-Moreira-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/LJG-Credit-Fabiana-Moreira-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/LJG-Credit-Fabiana-Moreira-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/LJG-Credit-Fabiana-Moreira-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/LJG-Credit-Fabiana-Moreira-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/LJG-Credit-Fabiana-Moreira-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Laura Jane Grace. \u003ccite>(Fabiana Moreira)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Were you surprised by the reaction to that performance at the rally?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s just people choosing to be offended, and then not actually looking deeply into it or recognizing that it is completely relevant to the conversation that’s happening right now. Right-wing Christians want to know what is going on in \u003cem>everybody’s\u003c/em> pants. But then, if you flip it around and ask, OK, well, you’re referring to your God with male pronouns, and my understanding is that you imagine God to be, like, a guy in the sky wearing robes, with a beard? What does \u003cem>that\u003c/em> mean? I have questions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>It’s also undeniably catchy. It’s just a very joyful, well-constructed anthem.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That song would not exist if I did not have to endure however many years of fucking being sent to church youth group as a teenager, and singing songs like [sings] “Our God is an awesome God, He reigns from heaven above with wisdom, power and love.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>So church was good for something after all.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All my first drug experiences, all my first sexual experiences, and all my first bands were at church.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13961071']\u003cstrong>I wanted to ask how you think about your safety on tour right now, given the onslaught of anti-trans bills and vitriol from this Trump administration. But I can also imagine it’s not like you felt 100% safe as a trans person touring the heartland for the last decade before this. Does it feel different now?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m trying to really gauge it, actually. Definitely traveling out west [over the past week], we stopped at a lot of places that, you go into the gas station, and they’re selling Trump bobbleheads or MAGA hats or whatever. And to me, it always seems like there’s a strange disconnect: the person behind the counter could be wearing a MAGA hat, and watching Fox News, and they could be enraged about trans issues. But if I walk up to the counter and have an interaction with them, they’re still friendly for the most part. It’s almost like the connection between what they’re seeing in the media hasn’t totally clicked into everyday life yet. But I don’t know when that’s gonna flip. Or if it’ll flip.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also, right, the Trump billboards and things like that across the country have never gone away, since his first presidency. For a while, I was driving back and forth between Chicago and St. Louis pretty often, and there’s \u003cem>tons\u003c/em> of Trump stuff in between Chicago and St. Louis — all across Illinois, which is a primarily blue state, right? But I think it’s cool to be able to travel and get a read on the country in that way. It’s something that I wish more people could do. I feel like you get a better understanding of the country if you’re traveling through it all the time, as opposed to just existing in your own little world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOVKevOPQwg\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>You hear pretty frequently from young trans punks who tell you what your journey meant to them. What are queer young folks telling you right now at shows? Do kids ask you for advice?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I mean, I have all the same fears and uncertainties everyone else does. If anyone ever comes up to me and says that my story was a part of their story, that’s incredible. And I know exactly what that feels like, because I can look at the people who did that for me. But the big things that everyone’s concerned about right now are basic things, like access to hormones, or \u003ca href=\"https://ca.billboard.com/music/music-news/bells-larsen-us-tour-visa\">passports, name changes, gender marker change issues\u003c/a>. And I don’t have any of the fucking answers for that stuff. It feels just as uncertain and scary for me too. We’re all very much in this together and figuring it out as we go.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>You’ve been making protest music since your teens and early 20s, when the resistance was about fighting back against George W. Bush and the Iraq War. How does this moment feel similar or different to you?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What feels different to me is the way the DIY punk scene, or the activist scene, organized then. The underground network — whether that was people with zines, or punk houses doing shows — offered a real alternative to mainstream media, and how information was being disseminated. The protest movement that was happening around George Bush benefited from that. And very unfortunately, at this point, that structure and that whole network just feels like it’s gone. I don’t know if that’s everything shifting over to social media … but I do think, any kind of resistance or protest network organizing completely on social media, I feel like that’s a real mistake.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All the Colorado shows we just played, we had [trans-led social justice legal center] \u003ca href=\"https://www.breadandroseslaw.org/\">Bread and Roses\u003c/a> come out and table at the shows, and it feels like that really resonated. There were a couple of [bills to protect gender-affirming healthcare] going through the Colorado political system while we were there, and there’s genuine excitement — excitement about trying to get organized, trying to put your frustrations or fears in a positive direction. So that’s a positive sign.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13974485\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/LJG-and-The-Mississippi-Medicals-Credit-Dave-Decker_3-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13974485\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/LJG-and-The-Mississippi-Medicals-Credit-Dave-Decker_3-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"a black and white band photo with four people\" width=\"2560\" height=\"2048\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/LJG-and-The-Mississippi-Medicals-Credit-Dave-Decker_3-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/LJG-and-The-Mississippi-Medicals-Credit-Dave-Decker_3-800x640.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/LJG-and-The-Mississippi-Medicals-Credit-Dave-Decker_3-1020x816.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/LJG-and-The-Mississippi-Medicals-Credit-Dave-Decker_3-160x128.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/LJG-and-The-Mississippi-Medicals-Credit-Dave-Decker_3-768x614.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/LJG-and-The-Mississippi-Medicals-Credit-Dave-Decker_3-1536x1229.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/LJG-and-The-Mississippi-Medicals-Credit-Dave-Decker_3-2048x1638.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/LJG-and-The-Mississippi-Medicals-Credit-Dave-Decker_3-1920x1536.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Laura Jane Grace (far right) and the Mississippi Medicals, featuring (L to R) Matt Patton of Drive-By Truckers (bass), Mikey Erg of The Ergs (drums) and Paris Campbell Grace (vocals, percussion). \u003ccite>(Dave Decker)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What’s your relationship like with social media these days? You’re so funny and sharp online, but I also wonder how someone like you could possibly navigate a media diet and not just spiral into despair looking at your phone when you have a seven-hour drive.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oh, I definitely spiral into despair. I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately because I feel like there’s been a tonality shift. I started being more active on Twitter and Instagram, back when those things started, at the push of record labels. But you can only post “Playing San Diego tonight!” so many times. So in between, you give your personal thoughts or shit takes, right?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But it seems like that worked better on Twitter when Twitter was still Twitter. It felt like a big group chat. And it was just an amazing resource — I remember being on tour in like 2015 in Portland, Oregon, and tweeting, “If anyone brings us donuts right now, we’ll give you guest list spots.” And 30 minutes later, somebody brought us a dozen donuts, and we hooked him up with guest list spots. Real communication in real time!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also, I didn’t get into this [industry] to be a content creator. I want to play music. I want to write songs, and record songs, and play shows. All the other shit is being done to promote that, and to get the word out and to survive too, because some of those things [like Instagram reels \u003ca href=\"https://blog.symphonic.com/2024/01/27/does-instagram-pay-music-royalties-2/\">paying musicians small royalties\u003c/a>] have become revenue streams, even. In general it feels like we’re in a transitional period, everyone’s trying to figure out the new way forward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='news_12023321']\u003cstrong>You sound like you’re having so much fun on \u003cem>Adventure Club\u003c/em>, despite the subject matter, and I’m curious how you think about the idea of joy as a form of protest. You’ll hear folks who were around during the AIDS crisis say “we buried our friends during the day, and then we went dancing at night” — this idea that fun is a necessary part of it.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I mean, you need that. You need to be restored, or else you’re just gonna burn out. With a song like “Mine Me Mine,” like I mentioned, I brought that song to Against Me! at one point, and it didn’t work out — and maybe that had a lot to do with it not being fun. I think they were the sessions we had right before the pandemic hit, and we were in a bad place, right? And you’re going in there and you’re singing songs about not-fun topics, and it’s not a fun time recording them, and it just burns you the fuck out. Whereas, with this, it was the balance of — again, I wish that the topics weren’t relevant. They are. But then, the experience behind recording them was fucking joyful. We went out swimming and snorkeling every day. You’re in the sun, you’re eating ice cream, and then you’re recording this music, and it \u003cem>restores\u003c/em> you, and you need that, otherwise you’re going to grind yourself into the ground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I think about that a lot, even in terms of parenting. Your child’s needs come first, but also you’re going to be a shitty parent if you don’t pay attention to your own needs. So there’s that balance of, you need to make sure you’re good in order to make sure they’re good.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6A-F9xos2iY\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>As a product of Albany and Berkeley, California, I have to ask you about the great Operation Ivy cover sets you did a few months ago with Catbite. What did that mean to you, as someone who’s loved them since you were a kid?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They are one of my all-time favorite bands, and it was a surreal, full-circle moment in so many ways. I’ll tell you the best moral of the story, with being able to do those sets: When I was 14 or 15 years old, I got arrested by a bunch of cops, beat up, charged with a couple felonies — I was in some really deep fucking trouble. At the time, I was playing bass in this punk band, and my guitar player’s dad was a really high-powered attorney. So he bailed me out of jail that night. And he was like, “I will represent you in these court cases for free. But my stipulation is, you all have this show coming up in two weeks, and you can’t play ‘Officer’” — because he knew we liked to cover “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwELCNMXR2w\">Officer\u003c/a>” by Operation Ivy. He was like, don’t play that song, and I’ll represent you for free.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And so first song of the set, I got up and fucking let out that “Ahhhh—” … we played “Officer.” And I lost my legal representation. My mom ended up having to pay for a lawyer out of pocket for me. Thank you, Mom. I lost the case, and it fucking sucked. I spent a whole summer on house arrest. It’s still on my record. But to be up on stage however many years later, covering all those Operation Ivy songs, and having it come full circle like that? That was really fucking affirming.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Laura Jane Grace and the Mississippi Medicals play with openers Alex Lahey and Rodeo Boys on Friday, April 18 at Cornerstone in Berkeley (\u003ca href=\"https://www.tixr.com/groups/cornerstoneberkeley/events/laura-jane-grace-the-mississippi-medicals-122958\">details here\u003c/a>) and Saturday, April 19 at the Mystic Theatre in Petaluma (\u003ca href=\"https://wl.seetickets.us/event/laura-jane-grace-and-the-mississippi-medicals/627570?afflky=MysticTheatre\">details here\u003c/a>). \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>It’s tough to imagine a better rock star for this moment in America than \u003ca href=\"https://www.laurajanegrace.com/\">Laura Jane Grace\u003c/a>. The founder of the seminal Florida \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/punk\">punk\u003c/a> band \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13809159/black-me-out-against-me-laura-jane-grace\">Against Me!\u003c/a> has long been known for songwriting that blends the personal and political, as well as visceral, cathartic live shows. Now 44, she’s been releasing records and touring in bands for nearly 30 years. And while her cast of supporting players sometimes changes from album to album, Grace’s ethos is consistent, raising a melodic middle finger to inequality, injustice and authoritarianism. Last year, \u003cem>Rolling Stone \u003c/em>called her “the fiercest punk singer of our time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since coming out in 2012 (and releasing the critically acclaimed record \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13809159/black-me-out-against-me-laura-jane-grace\">\u003cem>Transgender Dysphoria Blues\u003c/em>\u003c/a>), Grace has also become a hero to a generation of LGBTQ+ punks, and used her platform to speak out for transgender rights. Her outspokenness does not usually go massively viral, however — until last month. That’s when Grace, performing at a Bernie Sanders rally in Kenosha, Washington, sang a catchy new sing-along called “Your God (God’s Dick),” with lyrics that pose detailed questions about the Judeo-Christian deity’s theoretical anatomy.\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/QSmYxKIs3PI'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/QSmYxKIs3PI'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Conservative commentators promptly \u003ca href=\"https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/laura-jane-grace-right-backlash-your-gods-dick-response-1235295332/\">lost their minds\u003c/a>: Fox News called it “pure evil”; the far-right social media account Libs of TikTok described it as a “degenerate, disgusting, anti-Christian song.” Comedians Dana Carvey and David Spade, who apparently have a podcast, mocked it on said podcast. (Actor-turned-Bible-thumper \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13935238/russell-brand-sexual-assault-allegations-channel-4-dispatches-sunday-times\">Russell Brand\u003c/a>, for his part, called the performance “blasphemy” in a March 12 social media post. \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2025/04/04/g-s1-58260/russell-brand-rape-assault\">He was charged on April 4 with the rape and sexual assault\u003c/a> of four different women.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite a few death threats, Grace has taken it in stride — and taken it on the road. The track is a single off \u003cem>Adventure Club\u003c/em>, a new full-length that she’ll release in July. At the time of this interview, she was a week into a U.S. tour with backing band \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYDLYlhvJho\">the Mississippi Medicals\u003c/a>. They play Friday, April 18 at Cornerstone in Berkeley and Saturday, April 19 at the Mystic Theatre in Petaluma.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This interview has been edited for length and clarity.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>I understand you made this new album in Greece last summer, as part of a dreamy-sounding fellowship from the \u003ca href=\"https://www.onassis.org/initiatives/onassis-air\">Onassis AiR Foundation\u003c/a>. But many of the songs on \u003cem>Adventure Club\u003c/em> are about the state of affairs in the U.S. How did it affect the songs to be writing about America from afar?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I actually went in with three or four songs in my back pocket, and some of them just caught up with the zeitgeist. For instance, I’ve been working on the song “Mine Me Mine” since probably 2018, and it never really clicked [until now]. Same with a song like “World War III.” I \u003cem>wish\u003c/em> it wasn’t lining up well politically, right? I wish the songs were completely irrelevant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The song “God’s Dick,” I wrote while I was in Greece, actually at the Onassis AiR offices. They have these amazing work spaces where you’re like an exhibit: anybody walking by on the street can look and see whatever you’re working on. I had weekly check-ins where I would play what I was working on for the Onassis people and we’d talk about it. So it was interesting, when there was all the stink caused by right-wing people after the rally … I know, at face value, this may seem like knuckle-dragging toilet humor. But this is actually a really thought-out piece of work. I had to sit in front of a committee and be like, “This is the song I wrote. This is why I wrote it. This is what the lyrics are about,” and explain it to them with a straight face, you know?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s felt cool having that legitimacy added to it. There was more thought put into all these songs than any other previous record that I’ve put out, because I’ve already had to justify it to people who aren’t punk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13974484\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/LJG-Credit-Fabiana-Moreira-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13974484\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/LJG-Credit-Fabiana-Moreira-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"a black and white photo of a person with tattoos on stage playing guitar\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/LJG-Credit-Fabiana-Moreira-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/LJG-Credit-Fabiana-Moreira-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/LJG-Credit-Fabiana-Moreira-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/LJG-Credit-Fabiana-Moreira-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/LJG-Credit-Fabiana-Moreira-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/LJG-Credit-Fabiana-Moreira-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/LJG-Credit-Fabiana-Moreira-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/LJG-Credit-Fabiana-Moreira-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Laura Jane Grace. \u003ccite>(Fabiana Moreira)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Were you surprised by the reaction to that performance at the rally?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s just people choosing to be offended, and then not actually looking deeply into it or recognizing that it is completely relevant to the conversation that’s happening right now. Right-wing Christians want to know what is going on in \u003cem>everybody’s\u003c/em> pants. But then, if you flip it around and ask, OK, well, you’re referring to your God with male pronouns, and my understanding is that you imagine God to be, like, a guy in the sky wearing robes, with a beard? What does \u003cem>that\u003c/em> mean? I have questions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>It’s also undeniably catchy. It’s just a very joyful, well-constructed anthem.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That song would not exist if I did not have to endure however many years of fucking being sent to church youth group as a teenager, and singing songs like [sings] “Our God is an awesome God, He reigns from heaven above with wisdom, power and love.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>So church was good for something after all.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All my first drug experiences, all my first sexual experiences, and all my first bands were at church.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cstrong>I wanted to ask how you think about your safety on tour right now, given the onslaught of anti-trans bills and vitriol from this Trump administration. But I can also imagine it’s not like you felt 100% safe as a trans person touring the heartland for the last decade before this. Does it feel different now?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m trying to really gauge it, actually. Definitely traveling out west [over the past week], we stopped at a lot of places that, you go into the gas station, and they’re selling Trump bobbleheads or MAGA hats or whatever. And to me, it always seems like there’s a strange disconnect: the person behind the counter could be wearing a MAGA hat, and watching Fox News, and they could be enraged about trans issues. But if I walk up to the counter and have an interaction with them, they’re still friendly for the most part. It’s almost like the connection between what they’re seeing in the media hasn’t totally clicked into everyday life yet. But I don’t know when that’s gonna flip. Or if it’ll flip.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also, right, the Trump billboards and things like that across the country have never gone away, since his first presidency. For a while, I was driving back and forth between Chicago and St. Louis pretty often, and there’s \u003cem>tons\u003c/em> of Trump stuff in between Chicago and St. Louis — all across Illinois, which is a primarily blue state, right? But I think it’s cool to be able to travel and get a read on the country in that way. It’s something that I wish more people could do. I feel like you get a better understanding of the country if you’re traveling through it all the time, as opposed to just existing in your own little world.\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/OOVKevOPQwg'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/OOVKevOPQwg'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>You hear pretty frequently from young trans punks who tell you what your journey meant to them. What are queer young folks telling you right now at shows? Do kids ask you for advice?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I mean, I have all the same fears and uncertainties everyone else does. If anyone ever comes up to me and says that my story was a part of their story, that’s incredible. And I know exactly what that feels like, because I can look at the people who did that for me. But the big things that everyone’s concerned about right now are basic things, like access to hormones, or \u003ca href=\"https://ca.billboard.com/music/music-news/bells-larsen-us-tour-visa\">passports, name changes, gender marker change issues\u003c/a>. And I don’t have any of the fucking answers for that stuff. It feels just as uncertain and scary for me too. We’re all very much in this together and figuring it out as we go.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>You’ve been making protest music since your teens and early 20s, when the resistance was about fighting back against George W. Bush and the Iraq War. How does this moment feel similar or different to you?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What feels different to me is the way the DIY punk scene, or the activist scene, organized then. The underground network — whether that was people with zines, or punk houses doing shows — offered a real alternative to mainstream media, and how information was being disseminated. The protest movement that was happening around George Bush benefited from that. And very unfortunately, at this point, that structure and that whole network just feels like it’s gone. I don’t know if that’s everything shifting over to social media … but I do think, any kind of resistance or protest network organizing completely on social media, I feel like that’s a real mistake.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All the Colorado shows we just played, we had [trans-led social justice legal center] \u003ca href=\"https://www.breadandroseslaw.org/\">Bread and Roses\u003c/a> come out and table at the shows, and it feels like that really resonated. There were a couple of [bills to protect gender-affirming healthcare] going through the Colorado political system while we were there, and there’s genuine excitement — excitement about trying to get organized, trying to put your frustrations or fears in a positive direction. So that’s a positive sign.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13974485\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/LJG-and-The-Mississippi-Medicals-Credit-Dave-Decker_3-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13974485\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/LJG-and-The-Mississippi-Medicals-Credit-Dave-Decker_3-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"a black and white band photo with four people\" width=\"2560\" height=\"2048\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/LJG-and-The-Mississippi-Medicals-Credit-Dave-Decker_3-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/LJG-and-The-Mississippi-Medicals-Credit-Dave-Decker_3-800x640.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/LJG-and-The-Mississippi-Medicals-Credit-Dave-Decker_3-1020x816.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/LJG-and-The-Mississippi-Medicals-Credit-Dave-Decker_3-160x128.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/LJG-and-The-Mississippi-Medicals-Credit-Dave-Decker_3-768x614.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/LJG-and-The-Mississippi-Medicals-Credit-Dave-Decker_3-1536x1229.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/LJG-and-The-Mississippi-Medicals-Credit-Dave-Decker_3-2048x1638.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/LJG-and-The-Mississippi-Medicals-Credit-Dave-Decker_3-1920x1536.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Laura Jane Grace (far right) and the Mississippi Medicals, featuring (L to R) Matt Patton of Drive-By Truckers (bass), Mikey Erg of The Ergs (drums) and Paris Campbell Grace (vocals, percussion). \u003ccite>(Dave Decker)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What’s your relationship like with social media these days? You’re so funny and sharp online, but I also wonder how someone like you could possibly navigate a media diet and not just spiral into despair looking at your phone when you have a seven-hour drive.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oh, I definitely spiral into despair. I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately because I feel like there’s been a tonality shift. I started being more active on Twitter and Instagram, back when those things started, at the push of record labels. But you can only post “Playing San Diego tonight!” so many times. So in between, you give your personal thoughts or shit takes, right?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But it seems like that worked better on Twitter when Twitter was still Twitter. It felt like a big group chat. And it was just an amazing resource — I remember being on tour in like 2015 in Portland, Oregon, and tweeting, “If anyone brings us donuts right now, we’ll give you guest list spots.” And 30 minutes later, somebody brought us a dozen donuts, and we hooked him up with guest list spots. Real communication in real time!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also, I didn’t get into this [industry] to be a content creator. I want to play music. I want to write songs, and record songs, and play shows. All the other shit is being done to promote that, and to get the word out and to survive too, because some of those things [like Instagram reels \u003ca href=\"https://blog.symphonic.com/2024/01/27/does-instagram-pay-music-royalties-2/\">paying musicians small royalties\u003c/a>] have become revenue streams, even. In general it feels like we’re in a transitional period, everyone’s trying to figure out the new way forward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cstrong>You sound like you’re having so much fun on \u003cem>Adventure Club\u003c/em>, despite the subject matter, and I’m curious how you think about the idea of joy as a form of protest. You’ll hear folks who were around during the AIDS crisis say “we buried our friends during the day, and then we went dancing at night” — this idea that fun is a necessary part of it.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I mean, you need that. You need to be restored, or else you’re just gonna burn out. With a song like “Mine Me Mine,” like I mentioned, I brought that song to Against Me! at one point, and it didn’t work out — and maybe that had a lot to do with it not being fun. I think they were the sessions we had right before the pandemic hit, and we were in a bad place, right? And you’re going in there and you’re singing songs about not-fun topics, and it’s not a fun time recording them, and it just burns you the fuck out. Whereas, with this, it was the balance of — again, I wish that the topics weren’t relevant. They are. But then, the experience behind recording them was fucking joyful. We went out swimming and snorkeling every day. You’re in the sun, you’re eating ice cream, and then you’re recording this music, and it \u003cem>restores\u003c/em> you, and you need that, otherwise you’re going to grind yourself into the ground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I think about that a lot, even in terms of parenting. Your child’s needs come first, but also you’re going to be a shitty parent if you don’t pay attention to your own needs. So there’s that balance of, you need to make sure you’re good in order to make sure they’re good.\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/6A-F9xos2iY'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/6A-F9xos2iY'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>As a product of Albany and Berkeley, California, I have to ask you about the great Operation Ivy cover sets you did a few months ago with Catbite. What did that mean to you, as someone who’s loved them since you were a kid?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They are one of my all-time favorite bands, and it was a surreal, full-circle moment in so many ways. I’ll tell you the best moral of the story, with being able to do those sets: When I was 14 or 15 years old, I got arrested by a bunch of cops, beat up, charged with a couple felonies — I was in some really deep fucking trouble. At the time, I was playing bass in this punk band, and my guitar player’s dad was a really high-powered attorney. So he bailed me out of jail that night. And he was like, “I will represent you in these court cases for free. But my stipulation is, you all have this show coming up in two weeks, and you can’t play ‘Officer’” — because he knew we liked to cover “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwELCNMXR2w\">Officer\u003c/a>” by Operation Ivy. He was like, don’t play that song, and I’ll represent you for free.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And so first song of the set, I got up and fucking let out that “Ahhhh—” … we played “Officer.” And I lost my legal representation. My mom ended up having to pay for a lawyer out of pocket for me. Thank you, Mom. I lost the case, and it fucking sucked. I spent a whole summer on house arrest. It’s still on my record. But to be up on stage however many years later, covering all those Operation Ivy songs, and having it come full circle like that? That was really fucking affirming.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Laura Jane Grace and the Mississippi Medicals play with openers Alex Lahey and Rodeo Boys on Friday, April 18 at Cornerstone in Berkeley (\u003ca href=\"https://www.tixr.com/groups/cornerstoneberkeley/events/laura-jane-grace-the-mississippi-medicals-122958\">details here\u003c/a>) and Saturday, April 19 at the Mystic Theatre in Petaluma (\u003ca href=\"https://wl.seetickets.us/event/laura-jane-grace-and-the-mississippi-medicals/627570?afflky=MysticTheatre\">details here\u003c/a>). \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "freaky-tales-true-stories-pedro-pascal-too-short-924-gilman-oakland",
"title": "The Real-Life Tales Behind ‘Freaky Tales’",
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"headTitle": "The Real-Life Tales Behind ‘Freaky Tales’ | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>It was not your usual Wednesday night at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/grand-lake-theatre\">Grand Lake Theatre\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Outside Oakland’s movie palace in March, Hollywood actors made their way down the red carpet. Rap legends and punk OGs mingled beneath the marquee. Fans got on their tiptoes behind the line of TV cameras, jockeying for a glimpse of the film’s star, Pedro Pascal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Premieres at the Grand Lake are always exciting, but they’re extra special when the movie is \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13974034/freaky-tales-movie-easter-eggs-locations-cameos-oakland\">filmed and set in Oakland\u003c/a>. \u003cem>Freaky Tales\u003c/em>, from screenwriting and directing team Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden (\u003cem>Half Nelson, Captain Marvel\u003c/em>), is a revenge-fantasy flick that takes place in the year 1987. It’s filmed at Oakland landmarks, including the Oakland Coliseum, Giant Burger and the old Loard’s ice cream parlor on Coolidge and MacArthur. Marshawn Lynch and Rancid’s Tim Armstrong make cameos, as does Oakland rap icon \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/too-short\">Too Short\u003c/a>, who narrates and helped produce the film.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973843\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13973843\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-114-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-114-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-114-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-114-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-114-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-114-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-114-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-114-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fans crowd the sidewalk for the ‘Freaky Tales’ special screening at the Grand Lake Theater in Oakland on March 19, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973838\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13973838\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-73-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-73-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-73-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-73-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-73-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-73-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-73-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-73-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pedro Pascal poses on the red carpet before the ‘Freaky Tales’ premiere at the Grand Lake Theater in Oakland on March 19, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It’s full, in other words, of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13974034/freaky-tales-movie-easter-eggs-locations-cameos-oakland\">people and locations that carry name recognition for locals\u003c/a>. But nationally, Oakland has never quite received proper credit for its contributions to American culture at large. As rapper \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13921058/watch-rising-oakland-rap-star-symbas-tiny-desk-concert\">Symba\u003c/a>, who plays Too Short in the film, remarked on the red carpet, “People get their curations, their whole make-up, from things that we created here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Freaky Tales\u003c/em>, then, is a movie about a town with a permanent underdog complex — and, fittingly, it’s told through different chapters, interconnected by Pascal’s performance as a hitman, that have underdogs as their heroes. A ragtag bunch of pacifist punk rockers beats up a crew of Nazi skinheads. Two teenage girls in a rap battle rip to shreds a rapper known for objectifying women. A basketball point guard comes alive for a mind-blowing fourth quarter in a historic comeback win.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The freakiest thing of all? These are events that really happened.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973913\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13973913\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/FT_01151RC2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/FT_01151RC2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/FT_01151RC2-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/FT_01151RC2-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/FT_01151RC2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/FT_01151RC2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/FT_01151RC2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/FT_01151RC2-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jay Ellis as Sleepy Floyd in ‘Freaky Tales,’ surrounded by other actors in a scene outside the Oakland Coliseum. \u003ccite>(Lionsgate Films)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Thankfully, the events depicted in \u003cem>Freaky Tales\u003c/em> involved people who are still around to witness what likely seemed impossible 38 years ago: a Hollywood movie with Oakland as its true star. Here are some of their real-life tales.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Punching Nazis: A punk love story\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The first chapter of \u003cem>Freaky Tales\u003c/em> follows young couple Tina (Ji-young Yoo) and Lucid (Jack Champion) as they navigate an increasing menace to their home-base punk collective of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/924-gilman\">924 Gilman\u003c/a>: neo-Nazi skinheads, who barge into shows, knock people to the ground, assault girls and women and destroy band equipment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After taking a vote led by security guard Greg (LeQuan Antonio Bennett), the punks decide to fight back. During an Operation Ivy show at the Berkeley club, the Nazi skinheads return, but this time they’re met by a wall of punks armed with bats, chains and trash can lids. Battered in the ensuing brawl, the defeated Nazis pile into their smashed and dented pickup truck and drive away to the El Cerrito hills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973920\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13973920\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/SkinheadLineup.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1499\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/SkinheadLineup.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/SkinheadLineup-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/SkinheadLineup-1020x764.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/SkinheadLineup-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/SkinheadLineup-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/SkinheadLineup-1536x1151.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/SkinheadLineup-1920x1439.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A group of Nazi skinheads approaches punk club 924 Gilman in a scene from ‘Freaky Tales.’ \u003ccite>(Lionsgate Films)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973928\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13973928\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/GILMAN-143.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/GILMAN-143.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/GILMAN-143-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/GILMAN-143-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/GILMAN-143-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/GILMAN-143-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/GILMAN-143-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/GILMAN-143-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In 1987, skinheads caused trouble at punk shows around the country, including at 924 Gilman in Berkeley, pictured. \u003ccite>(Murray Bowles)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Minus a few details, the chapter is remarkably true to real-life events. Fleck and Boden had a good roadmap: the fight is recalled at length in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13239750/the-definitive-documentary-on-east-bay-punk-is-coming-pit-warning\">the East Bay punk documentary \u003cem>Turn It Around\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, directed by Gilman alum Corbett Redford, who came on as a technical advisor for the film.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Greg” in the film is based on George Stephens, a.k.a. George Hated, who in 1987 lived in West Oakland, sang in the band The Hated and served as head of security at Gilman. In an interview, Stephens, now 57, recalled walking out to the sidewalk that night and seeing Nondo, his friend who was also working security, lying in the gutter outside the front door.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13974034']“And there were three Nazis standing over him, one holding a bat. So I grabbed the bat out of the guy’s hands and hit the three of them, got Nondo up, and got him inside,” Stephens said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On any other night, that might have been the end of it. But just like in the film, the punks at Gilman had vowed to fight, and emptied into the street. Even Dave Dictor, the singer of “peace-punk” band MDC, who were headlining that night, joined in wielding an aluminum crutch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“More people came out, and it turned into an absolute mess,” said Stephens.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973959\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13973959\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-07-KQED-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-07-KQED-2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-07-KQED-2-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-07-KQED-2-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-07-KQED-2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-07-KQED-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-07-KQED-2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-07-KQED-2-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">George Stephens today, pictured in Alameda on April 1, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Kamala Parks, who co-founded Gilman and drummed in several bands, remembered the nuanced deliberations about retaliating against Nazis among volunteers at the club, whose door rules stated “No Fighting.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of folks who had previously taken a more pacifist standpoint had been convinced to fight back, mainly because skinhead violence had gotten more pronounced,” she said. (Parks herself had been punched in the face by a skinhead during a previous melee across town.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By the end of the brawl outside Gilman, the punks had won. They even chased the Nazis across the street and smashed up their pickup truck before the skinheads sped away, fleeing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973986\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1025px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13973986\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Kamla.Flyer_.George.Rules_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1025\" height=\"1319\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Kamla.Flyer_.George.Rules_.jpg 1025w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Kamla.Flyer_.George.Rules_-800x1029.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Kamla.Flyer_.George.Rules_-1020x1313.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Kamla.Flyer_.George.Rules_-160x206.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Kamla.Flyer_.George.Rules_-768x988.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1025px) 100vw, 1025px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(Clockwise from upper left) Kamala Parks drums with Cringer at 924 Gilman in 1990; the flyer for the show at Gilman on the night of the Nazi brawl, May 17, 1987; George Hated sings with the Hated at Gilman in 1992; rules posted at Gilman’s front door. \u003ccite>(Murray Bowles)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“My heart was pounding right out of my chest,” Dave Dictor, MDC’s singer, recalled in \u003ca href=\"https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29363293-mdc\">his 2016 autobiography\u003c/a>. “Right after the battle it was time to get on stage and sing, but I was too numb to be able to change gears to talk about it from the stage. As I remember, we just plowed through the set.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those mixed emotions were real, Parks said. “There was euphoria, but there’s dread, because you don’t know what’s going to happen next. You don’t know if they’re going to come back with a bigger group of people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973991\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13973991 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-05-KQED-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-05-KQED-4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-05-KQED-4-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-05-KQED-4-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-05-KQED-4-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-05-KQED-4-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-05-KQED-4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-05-KQED-4-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kamala Parks today, pictured in downtown Oakland on April 1, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Parks stayed on edge for a few weeks afterward. Amazingly, the Nazis never came back to Gilman.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As Stephens points out, though, they never went away for good.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I mean, we live in America,” Stephens said. “It’s not surprising that the Proud Boys are back. That fringe has never really gone away in America.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973946\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13973946\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-08-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-08-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-08-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-08-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-08-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-08-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-08-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-08-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">924 Gilman St. in Berkeley on April 1, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>You want a bit of danger, step into my zone\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>“Ryan will tell you, he’s been pitching me a version of \u003cem>Freaky Tales\u003c/em> for literally 15 years,” said Anna Boden, the film’s co-writer and co-director, in an interview. Her filmmaking partner, Ryan Fleck, grew up in Oakland; Boden in Massachusetts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And he grew up listening to Too Short’s music and I did not. And so I was listening to Too Short’s music for the first time as a grown woman. And it was, like, a \u003cem>very\u003c/em> different experience for me than it was for Ryan,” she said of Short’s explicit and often misogynist subject material.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973969\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1208px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13973969\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Short.FreddyB.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1208\" height=\"598\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Short.FreddyB.jpg 1208w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Short.FreddyB-800x396.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Short.FreddyB-1020x505.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Short.FreddyB-160x79.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Short.FreddyB-768x380.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1208px) 100vw, 1208px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Too Short on the cover of his single ‘Freaky Tales,’ circa 1988; at right, Short’s early rap partner Freddy B in 1992. \u003ccite>(Dangerous Music/Serious Sounds)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But one song stuck out for Boden. In “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfSYngzHOsY\">Don’t Fight the Feelin’\u003c/a>” from the 1989 album \u003cem>Life Is… Too Short\u003c/em>, Short trades verses with a female rap duo called Danger Zone, who insult his bankroll, poke fun at his bad breath and make repeated references to his size below the belt: “Do they call you Short because of your height or your width? / Diss me boy, I’ll hang your balls from a cliff.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Boden knew she had found her entry to the story. “Hearing him allow himself to be taken down by these young women was kind of mind-blowing to me,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the film, Barbie and Entice from Danger Zone are approached by Lenny G (the rapper Stunnaman02, in a role based on Short’s early rap partner \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/timeline#too-short-and-freddy-b-start-making-handmade-tapes\">Freddy B\u003c/a>) to battle Short onstage at the Town’s hottest nightclub, Sweet Jimmie’s. Dubious of the proposition, but tired of being mistreated at their day job scooping ice cream, they accept.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973921\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13973921\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/FT_00825RC2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/FT_00825RC2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/FT_00825RC2-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/FT_00825RC2-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/FT_00825RC2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/FT_00825RC2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/FT_00825RC2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/FT_00825RC2-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(L–R) Dominique Thorne and Normani as Danger Zone’s Barbie and Entice in a scene from ‘Freaky Tales.’ \u003ccite>(Lionsgate Films)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The song unfolds in a thrilling scene, verse for verse, with actor and rapper Symba portraying Short’s hunched gait and coy taunting. (Symba asked Short for pointers, “and he sent me four videos, and was like, ‘Just embody this, and you’ll be alright,’” he said.) Danger Zone, meanwhile, keep coming back with heat, and win over the crowd. By the end, Short daps up the girls, conceding a draw, if not defeat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In reality, “Don’t Fight the Feelin’” came together in the studio, not on stage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today, Tamra Goins is a talent agent in L.A. But in 1987, she was Entice — the 15-year-old East Oakland girl who linked up with her cousin, Bailey Brown, to form Danger Zone. They’d met Short through \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13934715/kimmie-fresh-real-freaky-tales-oakland\">the female rap pioneer Kimmie Fresh\u003c/a> years before recording “Don’t Fight the Feelin’,” she said in an interview. Danger Zone had even been signed to Short’s Dangerous Music label, which released their song “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvMjOBASvbc\">Jailbait\u003c/a>,” a blunt warning to underage girls about predatory men.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973922\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 944px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13973922\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/DangerZone.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"944\" height=\"808\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/DangerZone.jpg 944w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/DangerZone-800x685.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/DangerZone-160x137.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/DangerZone-768x657.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 944px) 100vw, 944px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fifteen-year-old cousins Bailey Brown and Tamra Goins, a.k.a. Barbie and Entice of Danger Zone, pictured in 1988. \u003ccite>(Dangerous Music)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When Short’s manager, Randy Austin, pitched the concept for “Don’t Fight the Feelin’” to be included on Short’s next full-length album, Goins was hesitant, just like her character in the movie.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re terrified, right? Because one, we’re kids. Two, Short was known to call people head doctors. I think I was still a virgin! So we just were terrified of what he could possibly say,” Goins said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Laying down the track at engineer Al Eaton’s One Little Indian studio in Richmond — essentially Eaton’s living room — Goins and Brown came for Short so viciously that the men present, like rappers Spice 1 and Rappin’ 4-Tay, kept laughing and ruining the take. “They’re running out of the house, cracking up, laughing,” said Goins. “We can’t even get through it!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973836\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13973836\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-33-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-33-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-33-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-33-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-33-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-33-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-33-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-33-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(L–R) Co-director Ryan Fleck high-fives Tamra Goins, a.k.a. Entice from Danger Zone, ahead of the ‘Freaky Tales’ premiere at the Grand Lake Theater in Oakland on March 19, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Short was similarly unprepared for Danger Zone’s verses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We made the song, I did my two verses. And it was supposed to be about an old dude pullin’ up in his car flirting with these young girls,” Short explained on Nick Cannon’s \u003cem>We Playin’ Spades\u003c/em> podcast. “My verse was kinda nice. And they came back rippin’ me to shreds!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13934715']Short was rattled, but “I went home and listened to it, and I was like, ‘Damn, this is kind of cool … let me go back and talk a lotta shit about \u003cem>them\u003c/em>, and it’ll be a crazy song!’’\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After redoing his verses to match Danger Zone’s venom and adding Rappin’ 4-Tay to the track, the song grew to a ridiculous length of over 8 minutes. \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/timeline#kimmie-fresh-answers-too-shorts-freaky-tales-with-the-girls-story\">Kimmie Fresh had released her own eight-minute diss track to Short\u003c/a>, but this was men and women on the same song, a battle of the sexes on wax. Short knew it was gold.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973963\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13973963\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/GettyImages-1943659116.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1213\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/GettyImages-1943659116.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/GettyImages-1943659116-800x485.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/GettyImages-1943659116-1020x619.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/GettyImages-1943659116-160x97.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/GettyImages-1943659116-768x466.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/GettyImages-1943659116-1536x932.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/GettyImages-1943659116-1920x1164.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Danger Zone’s Tamra Goins (Entice) at far left, and Bailey Brown (Barbie) third from left, in a group photo of the cast and crew of ‘Freaky Tales’ at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2024. \u003ccite>(Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Despite the song’s legendary status, Danger Zone never performed “Don’t Fight the Feelin’” live onstage with Short, as depicted in \u003cem>Freaky Tales\u003c/em>. (Goins and Short have done the song without Brown a handful of times at cruises and sorority events.) Brown, who later traveled the world as a dancer for MC Hammer, \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@getaroundwithbaileybrown\">currently lives in Ghana\u003c/a> most of the year, scriptwriting and producing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now 53, Goins is proud of the song’s longevity among fans like Shaquille O’Neal, who lovingly \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/APrhXcftYPs?feature=shared&t=204\">goaded her into performing it on \u003cem>Sway’s Universe\u003c/em> in 2011\u003c/a>. But it comes with a dash of concern for her former 15-year-old self, rapping so brazenly amid the older pimps and players that inspired “Jailbait.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Sometimes I’ll look back at the lyrics and I go, ‘Oh!’” she said. “I’m a mom now. I’ll be like, ‘And why was your name \u003cem>Entice\u003c/em>?’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973926\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1427px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13973926\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/SleepyFloyd.May101987.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1427\" height=\"1884\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/SleepyFloyd.May101987.jpg 1427w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/SleepyFloyd.May101987-800x1056.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/SleepyFloyd.May101987-1020x1347.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/SleepyFloyd.May101987-160x211.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/SleepyFloyd.May101987-768x1014.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/SleepyFloyd.May101987-1163x1536.jpg 1163w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1427px) 100vw, 1427px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Golden State Warriors’ Eric ‘Sleepy’ Floyd drives to the basket past Los Angeles Lakers’ James Worthy during their playoff game at the Oakland Arena on May 10, 1987. Floyd scored an NBA playoff record-setting 29 points in the fourth quarter, 12 field goals in the same quarter and 39 points in a half, to lead the Warriors to a 129-121 victory over the Lakers. \u003ccite>(Gary Reyes/Oakland Tribune via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>A warrior in more ways than one\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Freaky Tales\u003c/em>’ final chapter revolves around a story so well-known that it’s in the record books. In Game 4 of the 1987 NBA playoffs, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/warriors\">Warriors\u003c/a> were down 3-0 against the Lakers and trailed 102-88 going into the fourth quarter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Out of nowhere, Eric “Sleepy” Floyd roared into action, scoring 29 points in the fourth quarter to propel the Warriors to victory. Game announcer Greg Papa, baffled and slightly hoarse, was moved to exclaim, “\u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/u1sVoWIhUKg?feature=shared&t=135\">Sleepy Floyd is Superman!\u003c/a>”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It still stands today as the NBA postseason record for the most points scored by a player in a single quarter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973835\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13973835\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-7-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-7-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-7-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-7-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-7-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-7-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-7-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-7-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eric ‘Sleepy’ Floyd enters the ‘Freaky Tales’ premiere at the Grand Lake Theater in Oakland on March 19, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Outside the Grand Lake last month, Sleepy Floyd seemed surprised and humbled that his achievement is now part of a Hollywood film. Calling \u003cem>Freaky Tales\u003c/em> “a love song to Oakland,” the point guard, now 65 and living in his home state of North Carolina, remarked that “just to have it centered around that game, truly I’m just blessed and honored to be a part of it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Floyd, who in the same matchup against the Lakers also set the record for the most points scored in a half of a playoff game with 39, is portrayed in \u003cem>Freaky Tales\u003c/em> by Jay Ellis (\u003cem>Insecure, Top Gun: Maverick\u003c/em>). Without giving away too much, Sleepy Floyd becomes the star of the film’s climax, diverging drastically from real-life events, complete with supernatural samurai skills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They made me look a lot cooler than I actually am,” Floyd said with a chuckle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973842\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13973842\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-110-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-110-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-110-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-110-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-110-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-110-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-110-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-110-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The ‘Freaky Tales’ cast, with Pedro Pascal and Jay Ellis at center, pose on the red carpet ahead of the Oakland premiere at the Grand Lake Theater on March 19, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Gilman punks’ beatdown, Danger Zone’s dominance, Sleepy Floyd’s fireworks — \u003cem>Freaky Tales\u003c/em> makes clear to a nationwide moviegoing audience what Oakland has always known about itself: this is a place of amazing people, events and stories.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Asked about Oakland on the red carpet at the Grand Lake premiere, Pedro Pascal put it simply: “It’s the raddest city in the world.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Freaky Tales’ opens in wide release on Friday, April 4. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>It was not your usual Wednesday night at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/grand-lake-theatre\">Grand Lake Theatre\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Outside Oakland’s movie palace in March, Hollywood actors made their way down the red carpet. Rap legends and punk OGs mingled beneath the marquee. Fans got on their tiptoes behind the line of TV cameras, jockeying for a glimpse of the film’s star, Pedro Pascal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Premieres at the Grand Lake are always exciting, but they’re extra special when the movie is \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13974034/freaky-tales-movie-easter-eggs-locations-cameos-oakland\">filmed and set in Oakland\u003c/a>. \u003cem>Freaky Tales\u003c/em>, from screenwriting and directing team Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden (\u003cem>Half Nelson, Captain Marvel\u003c/em>), is a revenge-fantasy flick that takes place in the year 1987. It’s filmed at Oakland landmarks, including the Oakland Coliseum, Giant Burger and the old Loard’s ice cream parlor on Coolidge and MacArthur. Marshawn Lynch and Rancid’s Tim Armstrong make cameos, as does Oakland rap icon \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/too-short\">Too Short\u003c/a>, who narrates and helped produce the film.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973843\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13973843\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-114-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-114-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-114-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-114-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-114-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-114-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-114-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-114-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fans crowd the sidewalk for the ‘Freaky Tales’ special screening at the Grand Lake Theater in Oakland on March 19, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973838\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13973838\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-73-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-73-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-73-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-73-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-73-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-73-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-73-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-73-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pedro Pascal poses on the red carpet before the ‘Freaky Tales’ premiere at the Grand Lake Theater in Oakland on March 19, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It’s full, in other words, of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13974034/freaky-tales-movie-easter-eggs-locations-cameos-oakland\">people and locations that carry name recognition for locals\u003c/a>. But nationally, Oakland has never quite received proper credit for its contributions to American culture at large. As rapper \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13921058/watch-rising-oakland-rap-star-symbas-tiny-desk-concert\">Symba\u003c/a>, who plays Too Short in the film, remarked on the red carpet, “People get their curations, their whole make-up, from things that we created here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Freaky Tales\u003c/em>, then, is a movie about a town with a permanent underdog complex — and, fittingly, it’s told through different chapters, interconnected by Pascal’s performance as a hitman, that have underdogs as their heroes. A ragtag bunch of pacifist punk rockers beats up a crew of Nazi skinheads. Two teenage girls in a rap battle rip to shreds a rapper known for objectifying women. A basketball point guard comes alive for a mind-blowing fourth quarter in a historic comeback win.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The freakiest thing of all? These are events that really happened.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973913\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13973913\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/FT_01151RC2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/FT_01151RC2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/FT_01151RC2-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/FT_01151RC2-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/FT_01151RC2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/FT_01151RC2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/FT_01151RC2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/FT_01151RC2-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jay Ellis as Sleepy Floyd in ‘Freaky Tales,’ surrounded by other actors in a scene outside the Oakland Coliseum. \u003ccite>(Lionsgate Films)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Thankfully, the events depicted in \u003cem>Freaky Tales\u003c/em> involved people who are still around to witness what likely seemed impossible 38 years ago: a Hollywood movie with Oakland as its true star. Here are some of their real-life tales.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Punching Nazis: A punk love story\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The first chapter of \u003cem>Freaky Tales\u003c/em> follows young couple Tina (Ji-young Yoo) and Lucid (Jack Champion) as they navigate an increasing menace to their home-base punk collective of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/924-gilman\">924 Gilman\u003c/a>: neo-Nazi skinheads, who barge into shows, knock people to the ground, assault girls and women and destroy band equipment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After taking a vote led by security guard Greg (LeQuan Antonio Bennett), the punks decide to fight back. During an Operation Ivy show at the Berkeley club, the Nazi skinheads return, but this time they’re met by a wall of punks armed with bats, chains and trash can lids. Battered in the ensuing brawl, the defeated Nazis pile into their smashed and dented pickup truck and drive away to the El Cerrito hills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973920\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13973920\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/SkinheadLineup.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1499\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/SkinheadLineup.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/SkinheadLineup-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/SkinheadLineup-1020x764.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/SkinheadLineup-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/SkinheadLineup-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/SkinheadLineup-1536x1151.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/SkinheadLineup-1920x1439.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A group of Nazi skinheads approaches punk club 924 Gilman in a scene from ‘Freaky Tales.’ \u003ccite>(Lionsgate Films)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973928\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13973928\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/GILMAN-143.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/GILMAN-143.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/GILMAN-143-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/GILMAN-143-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/GILMAN-143-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/GILMAN-143-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/GILMAN-143-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/GILMAN-143-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In 1987, skinheads caused trouble at punk shows around the country, including at 924 Gilman in Berkeley, pictured. \u003ccite>(Murray Bowles)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Minus a few details, the chapter is remarkably true to real-life events. Fleck and Boden had a good roadmap: the fight is recalled at length in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13239750/the-definitive-documentary-on-east-bay-punk-is-coming-pit-warning\">the East Bay punk documentary \u003cem>Turn It Around\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, directed by Gilman alum Corbett Redford, who came on as a technical advisor for the film.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Greg” in the film is based on George Stephens, a.k.a. George Hated, who in 1987 lived in West Oakland, sang in the band The Hated and served as head of security at Gilman. In an interview, Stephens, now 57, recalled walking out to the sidewalk that night and seeing Nondo, his friend who was also working security, lying in the gutter outside the front door.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“And there were three Nazis standing over him, one holding a bat. So I grabbed the bat out of the guy’s hands and hit the three of them, got Nondo up, and got him inside,” Stephens said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On any other night, that might have been the end of it. But just like in the film, the punks at Gilman had vowed to fight, and emptied into the street. Even Dave Dictor, the singer of “peace-punk” band MDC, who were headlining that night, joined in wielding an aluminum crutch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“More people came out, and it turned into an absolute mess,” said Stephens.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973959\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13973959\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-07-KQED-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-07-KQED-2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-07-KQED-2-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-07-KQED-2-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-07-KQED-2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-07-KQED-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-07-KQED-2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-07-KQED-2-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">George Stephens today, pictured in Alameda on April 1, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Kamala Parks, who co-founded Gilman and drummed in several bands, remembered the nuanced deliberations about retaliating against Nazis among volunteers at the club, whose door rules stated “No Fighting.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of folks who had previously taken a more pacifist standpoint had been convinced to fight back, mainly because skinhead violence had gotten more pronounced,” she said. (Parks herself had been punched in the face by a skinhead during a previous melee across town.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By the end of the brawl outside Gilman, the punks had won. They even chased the Nazis across the street and smashed up their pickup truck before the skinheads sped away, fleeing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973986\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1025px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13973986\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Kamla.Flyer_.George.Rules_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1025\" height=\"1319\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Kamla.Flyer_.George.Rules_.jpg 1025w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Kamla.Flyer_.George.Rules_-800x1029.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Kamla.Flyer_.George.Rules_-1020x1313.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Kamla.Flyer_.George.Rules_-160x206.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Kamla.Flyer_.George.Rules_-768x988.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1025px) 100vw, 1025px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(Clockwise from upper left) Kamala Parks drums with Cringer at 924 Gilman in 1990; the flyer for the show at Gilman on the night of the Nazi brawl, May 17, 1987; George Hated sings with the Hated at Gilman in 1992; rules posted at Gilman’s front door. \u003ccite>(Murray Bowles)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“My heart was pounding right out of my chest,” Dave Dictor, MDC’s singer, recalled in \u003ca href=\"https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29363293-mdc\">his 2016 autobiography\u003c/a>. “Right after the battle it was time to get on stage and sing, but I was too numb to be able to change gears to talk about it from the stage. As I remember, we just plowed through the set.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those mixed emotions were real, Parks said. “There was euphoria, but there’s dread, because you don’t know what’s going to happen next. You don’t know if they’re going to come back with a bigger group of people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973991\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13973991 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-05-KQED-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-05-KQED-4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-05-KQED-4-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-05-KQED-4-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-05-KQED-4-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-05-KQED-4-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-05-KQED-4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-05-KQED-4-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kamala Parks today, pictured in downtown Oakland on April 1, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Parks stayed on edge for a few weeks afterward. Amazingly, the Nazis never came back to Gilman.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As Stephens points out, though, they never went away for good.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I mean, we live in America,” Stephens said. “It’s not surprising that the Proud Boys are back. That fringe has never really gone away in America.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973946\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13973946\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-08-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-08-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-08-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-08-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-08-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-08-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-08-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/250401-VARIOUS-FREAKY-TALES-MD-08-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">924 Gilman St. in Berkeley on April 1, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>You want a bit of danger, step into my zone\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>“Ryan will tell you, he’s been pitching me a version of \u003cem>Freaky Tales\u003c/em> for literally 15 years,” said Anna Boden, the film’s co-writer and co-director, in an interview. Her filmmaking partner, Ryan Fleck, grew up in Oakland; Boden in Massachusetts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And he grew up listening to Too Short’s music and I did not. And so I was listening to Too Short’s music for the first time as a grown woman. And it was, like, a \u003cem>very\u003c/em> different experience for me than it was for Ryan,” she said of Short’s explicit and often misogynist subject material.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973969\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1208px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13973969\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Short.FreddyB.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1208\" height=\"598\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Short.FreddyB.jpg 1208w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Short.FreddyB-800x396.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Short.FreddyB-1020x505.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Short.FreddyB-160x79.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Short.FreddyB-768x380.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1208px) 100vw, 1208px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Too Short on the cover of his single ‘Freaky Tales,’ circa 1988; at right, Short’s early rap partner Freddy B in 1992. \u003ccite>(Dangerous Music/Serious Sounds)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But one song stuck out for Boden. In “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfSYngzHOsY\">Don’t Fight the Feelin’\u003c/a>” from the 1989 album \u003cem>Life Is… Too Short\u003c/em>, Short trades verses with a female rap duo called Danger Zone, who insult his bankroll, poke fun at his bad breath and make repeated references to his size below the belt: “Do they call you Short because of your height or your width? / Diss me boy, I’ll hang your balls from a cliff.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Boden knew she had found her entry to the story. “Hearing him allow himself to be taken down by these young women was kind of mind-blowing to me,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the film, Barbie and Entice from Danger Zone are approached by Lenny G (the rapper Stunnaman02, in a role based on Short’s early rap partner \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/timeline#too-short-and-freddy-b-start-making-handmade-tapes\">Freddy B\u003c/a>) to battle Short onstage at the Town’s hottest nightclub, Sweet Jimmie’s. Dubious of the proposition, but tired of being mistreated at their day job scooping ice cream, they accept.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973921\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13973921\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/FT_00825RC2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/FT_00825RC2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/FT_00825RC2-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/FT_00825RC2-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/FT_00825RC2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/FT_00825RC2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/FT_00825RC2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/FT_00825RC2-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(L–R) Dominique Thorne and Normani as Danger Zone’s Barbie and Entice in a scene from ‘Freaky Tales.’ \u003ccite>(Lionsgate Films)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The song unfolds in a thrilling scene, verse for verse, with actor and rapper Symba portraying Short’s hunched gait and coy taunting. (Symba asked Short for pointers, “and he sent me four videos, and was like, ‘Just embody this, and you’ll be alright,’” he said.) Danger Zone, meanwhile, keep coming back with heat, and win over the crowd. By the end, Short daps up the girls, conceding a draw, if not defeat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In reality, “Don’t Fight the Feelin’” came together in the studio, not on stage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today, Tamra Goins is a talent agent in L.A. But in 1987, she was Entice — the 15-year-old East Oakland girl who linked up with her cousin, Bailey Brown, to form Danger Zone. They’d met Short through \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13934715/kimmie-fresh-real-freaky-tales-oakland\">the female rap pioneer Kimmie Fresh\u003c/a> years before recording “Don’t Fight the Feelin’,” she said in an interview. Danger Zone had even been signed to Short’s Dangerous Music label, which released their song “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvMjOBASvbc\">Jailbait\u003c/a>,” a blunt warning to underage girls about predatory men.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973922\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 944px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13973922\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/DangerZone.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"944\" height=\"808\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/DangerZone.jpg 944w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/DangerZone-800x685.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/DangerZone-160x137.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/DangerZone-768x657.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 944px) 100vw, 944px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fifteen-year-old cousins Bailey Brown and Tamra Goins, a.k.a. Barbie and Entice of Danger Zone, pictured in 1988. \u003ccite>(Dangerous Music)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When Short’s manager, Randy Austin, pitched the concept for “Don’t Fight the Feelin’” to be included on Short’s next full-length album, Goins was hesitant, just like her character in the movie.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re terrified, right? Because one, we’re kids. Two, Short was known to call people head doctors. I think I was still a virgin! So we just were terrified of what he could possibly say,” Goins said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Laying down the track at engineer Al Eaton’s One Little Indian studio in Richmond — essentially Eaton’s living room — Goins and Brown came for Short so viciously that the men present, like rappers Spice 1 and Rappin’ 4-Tay, kept laughing and ruining the take. “They’re running out of the house, cracking up, laughing,” said Goins. “We can’t even get through it!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973836\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13973836\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-33-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-33-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-33-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-33-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-33-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-33-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-33-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-33-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(L–R) Co-director Ryan Fleck high-fives Tamra Goins, a.k.a. Entice from Danger Zone, ahead of the ‘Freaky Tales’ premiere at the Grand Lake Theater in Oakland on March 19, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Short was similarly unprepared for Danger Zone’s verses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We made the song, I did my two verses. And it was supposed to be about an old dude pullin’ up in his car flirting with these young girls,” Short explained on Nick Cannon’s \u003cem>We Playin’ Spades\u003c/em> podcast. “My verse was kinda nice. And they came back rippin’ me to shreds!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Short was rattled, but “I went home and listened to it, and I was like, ‘Damn, this is kind of cool … let me go back and talk a lotta shit about \u003cem>them\u003c/em>, and it’ll be a crazy song!’’\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After redoing his verses to match Danger Zone’s venom and adding Rappin’ 4-Tay to the track, the song grew to a ridiculous length of over 8 minutes. \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/timeline#kimmie-fresh-answers-too-shorts-freaky-tales-with-the-girls-story\">Kimmie Fresh had released her own eight-minute diss track to Short\u003c/a>, but this was men and women on the same song, a battle of the sexes on wax. Short knew it was gold.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973963\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13973963\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/GettyImages-1943659116.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1213\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/GettyImages-1943659116.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/GettyImages-1943659116-800x485.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/GettyImages-1943659116-1020x619.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/GettyImages-1943659116-160x97.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/GettyImages-1943659116-768x466.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/GettyImages-1943659116-1536x932.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/GettyImages-1943659116-1920x1164.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Danger Zone’s Tamra Goins (Entice) at far left, and Bailey Brown (Barbie) third from left, in a group photo of the cast and crew of ‘Freaky Tales’ at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2024. \u003ccite>(Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Despite the song’s legendary status, Danger Zone never performed “Don’t Fight the Feelin’” live onstage with Short, as depicted in \u003cem>Freaky Tales\u003c/em>. (Goins and Short have done the song without Brown a handful of times at cruises and sorority events.) Brown, who later traveled the world as a dancer for MC Hammer, \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@getaroundwithbaileybrown\">currently lives in Ghana\u003c/a> most of the year, scriptwriting and producing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now 53, Goins is proud of the song’s longevity among fans like Shaquille O’Neal, who lovingly \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/APrhXcftYPs?feature=shared&t=204\">goaded her into performing it on \u003cem>Sway’s Universe\u003c/em> in 2011\u003c/a>. But it comes with a dash of concern for her former 15-year-old self, rapping so brazenly amid the older pimps and players that inspired “Jailbait.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Sometimes I’ll look back at the lyrics and I go, ‘Oh!’” she said. “I’m a mom now. I’ll be like, ‘And why was your name \u003cem>Entice\u003c/em>?’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973926\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1427px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13973926\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/SleepyFloyd.May101987.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1427\" height=\"1884\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/SleepyFloyd.May101987.jpg 1427w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/SleepyFloyd.May101987-800x1056.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/SleepyFloyd.May101987-1020x1347.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/SleepyFloyd.May101987-160x211.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/SleepyFloyd.May101987-768x1014.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/SleepyFloyd.May101987-1163x1536.jpg 1163w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1427px) 100vw, 1427px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Golden State Warriors’ Eric ‘Sleepy’ Floyd drives to the basket past Los Angeles Lakers’ James Worthy during their playoff game at the Oakland Arena on May 10, 1987. Floyd scored an NBA playoff record-setting 29 points in the fourth quarter, 12 field goals in the same quarter and 39 points in a half, to lead the Warriors to a 129-121 victory over the Lakers. \u003ccite>(Gary Reyes/Oakland Tribune via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>A warrior in more ways than one\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Freaky Tales\u003c/em>’ final chapter revolves around a story so well-known that it’s in the record books. In Game 4 of the 1987 NBA playoffs, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/warriors\">Warriors\u003c/a> were down 3-0 against the Lakers and trailed 102-88 going into the fourth quarter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Out of nowhere, Eric “Sleepy” Floyd roared into action, scoring 29 points in the fourth quarter to propel the Warriors to victory. Game announcer Greg Papa, baffled and slightly hoarse, was moved to exclaim, “\u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/u1sVoWIhUKg?feature=shared&t=135\">Sleepy Floyd is Superman!\u003c/a>”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It still stands today as the NBA postseason record for the most points scored by a player in a single quarter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973835\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13973835\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-7-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-7-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-7-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-7-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-7-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-7-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-7-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-7-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eric ‘Sleepy’ Floyd enters the ‘Freaky Tales’ premiere at the Grand Lake Theater in Oakland on March 19, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Outside the Grand Lake last month, Sleepy Floyd seemed surprised and humbled that his achievement is now part of a Hollywood film. Calling \u003cem>Freaky Tales\u003c/em> “a love song to Oakland,” the point guard, now 65 and living in his home state of North Carolina, remarked that “just to have it centered around that game, truly I’m just blessed and honored to be a part of it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Floyd, who in the same matchup against the Lakers also set the record for the most points scored in a half of a playoff game with 39, is portrayed in \u003cem>Freaky Tales\u003c/em> by Jay Ellis (\u003cem>Insecure, Top Gun: Maverick\u003c/em>). Without giving away too much, Sleepy Floyd becomes the star of the film’s climax, diverging drastically from real-life events, complete with supernatural samurai skills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They made me look a lot cooler than I actually am,” Floyd said with a chuckle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973842\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13973842\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-110-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-110-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-110-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-110-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-110-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-110-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-110-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/20250319_FREAKYTALES_GC-110-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The ‘Freaky Tales’ cast, with Pedro Pascal and Jay Ellis at center, pose on the red carpet ahead of the Oakland premiere at the Grand Lake Theater on March 19, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Gilman punks’ beatdown, Danger Zone’s dominance, Sleepy Floyd’s fireworks — \u003cem>Freaky Tales\u003c/em> makes clear to a nationwide moviegoing audience what Oakland has always known about itself: this is a place of amazing people, events and stories.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Asked about Oakland on the red carpet at the Grand Lake premiere, Pedro Pascal put it simply: “It’s the raddest city in the world.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Freaky Tales’ opens in wide release on Friday, April 4. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "ticket-alert-sex-pistols-at-the-warfield-san-francisco",
"title": "Ticket Alert: Sex Pistols at the Warfield, San Francisco",
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"content": "\u003cp>It wasn’t the night punk broke, but it was close. Nearly 50 years ago, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13914295/platinum-jubilee-london-queen-elizabeth-sex-pistols-god-save-the-queen\">Sex Pistols\u003c/a> — then made up of vocalist Johnny Rotten, guitarist Steve Jones, drummer Paul Cook and bassist Glen Matlock — performed at the 100 Club Punk Special in London, a 140-capacity club, alongside Subway Sect, Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Clash.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The event marked a shift for the subcultural movement; the bands here would soon bring their underground culture to reach mainstream heights.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13961071']Now, the 2025 iteration of the Pistols — Jones, Cook and Matlock joined by frontman Frank Carter (of Gallows, Pure Love and Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes) — sit in the same venue to discuss their forthcoming North American tour. “This is where it all kicked off, really, all the punk,” says Cook.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This fall, the legendary punk band will embark on their first tour of North America since 2003, when they were joined by John Lydon (formerly Rotten). The 2025 run with Carter begins Sept. 16 at the Longhorn Ballroom in Dallas, Texas — the site of a particularly hostile show for the band when it first toured the U.S. in 1978.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jones recalls having “pigs’ hooves and bottles and what not slung at us by cowboys.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It is one of a few dates featured in three \u003cem>Live in the U.S.A.\u003c/em> albums, documenting the band’s ’78 run: Atlanta, Dallas and San Francisco. The latter will release April 25 and captures the show where the band originally called it quits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We were thinking of breaking up in San Francisco again,” Jones jokes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 2025 tour is currently scheduled to conclude Oct. 16 at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. The band will hit Washington; Philadelphia; Brooklyn, New York; Montreal; Toronto; Cleveland; Detroit; Minneapolis; Denver; Seattle and San Francisco. Additional tour dates will be announced later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13914295']Pre-sale opens April 2 and 3. \u003ca href=\"https://events.seated.com/sex-pistols-featuring-frank-carter\">Tickets go on sale April 4\u003c/a> at 10 a.m. local time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They will perform the band’s sole album, 1977’s \u003cem>Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols Album\u003c/em> live in its entirety as well as other material.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, why tour the U.S. and Canada now?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Why not?” says Jones.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think everybody needs this band right now. I think the world needs this band right now,” says Carter. “And I think definitely America is screaming out for a band like the Sex Pistols.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“At the end of the day, we’re living in a really, really difficult time. So not only do people want to come and just be entertained, they want to enjoy themselves,” he continued. “Punk is an energetic music. It’s one where you can go and vent and let your hair down, hopefully in a safe manner. Fingers crossed, no bottles or pigs’ hooves.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Carter fronted the Sex Pistols last year for a few U.K. dates. The band says they did not reach out to Lydon to see if he wanted to participate in this reunion tour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The last thing he wants to do is have anything to do with us right now,” says Jones, referring to a previous lawsuit between the singer and the band over music use in their TV series \u003cem>Pistol\u003c/em>. The judge ruled against Lydon’s opposition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We wish him the best,” Jones said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13967703']“Good luck to him,” adds Matlock. “I wish he thinks, maybe, ‘good luck’ to us. Probably doesn’t. But over the years, John (has had) all our phone numbers, and I can’t see many missed calls from him.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for the 2025 tour: Fans shouldn’t expect the violence of their 1978 run, but they should anticipate a tighter performance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re a bit older but we play just as well, if not better,” says Matlock. “And I think that’s something that’s got a great deal of aplomb that we’re going to bring to the public over there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Does this mean there could be new Sex Pistols music in the future? “It’s early days,” says Jones. “Let’s see what happens.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sex Pistols perform at San Francisco’s Warfield on Oct. 15, 2025. \u003ca href=\"https://www.thewarfieldtheatre.com/events/detail/908696\">Tickets\u003c/a> go on sale at 10 a.m. on April 4, 2025.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>It wasn’t the night punk broke, but it was close. Nearly 50 years ago, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13914295/platinum-jubilee-london-queen-elizabeth-sex-pistols-god-save-the-queen\">Sex Pistols\u003c/a> — then made up of vocalist Johnny Rotten, guitarist Steve Jones, drummer Paul Cook and bassist Glen Matlock — performed at the 100 Club Punk Special in London, a 140-capacity club, alongside Subway Sect, Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Clash.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The event marked a shift for the subcultural movement; the bands here would soon bring their underground culture to reach mainstream heights.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Now, the 2025 iteration of the Pistols — Jones, Cook and Matlock joined by frontman Frank Carter (of Gallows, Pure Love and Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes) — sit in the same venue to discuss their forthcoming North American tour. “This is where it all kicked off, really, all the punk,” says Cook.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This fall, the legendary punk band will embark on their first tour of North America since 2003, when they were joined by John Lydon (formerly Rotten). The 2025 run with Carter begins Sept. 16 at the Longhorn Ballroom in Dallas, Texas — the site of a particularly hostile show for the band when it first toured the U.S. in 1978.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jones recalls having “pigs’ hooves and bottles and what not slung at us by cowboys.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It is one of a few dates featured in three \u003cem>Live in the U.S.A.\u003c/em> albums, documenting the band’s ’78 run: Atlanta, Dallas and San Francisco. The latter will release April 25 and captures the show where the band originally called it quits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We were thinking of breaking up in San Francisco again,” Jones jokes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 2025 tour is currently scheduled to conclude Oct. 16 at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. The band will hit Washington; Philadelphia; Brooklyn, New York; Montreal; Toronto; Cleveland; Detroit; Minneapolis; Denver; Seattle and San Francisco. Additional tour dates will be announced later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Pre-sale opens April 2 and 3. \u003ca href=\"https://events.seated.com/sex-pistols-featuring-frank-carter\">Tickets go on sale April 4\u003c/a> at 10 a.m. local time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They will perform the band’s sole album, 1977’s \u003cem>Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols Album\u003c/em> live in its entirety as well as other material.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, why tour the U.S. and Canada now?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Why not?” says Jones.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think everybody needs this band right now. I think the world needs this band right now,” says Carter. “And I think definitely America is screaming out for a band like the Sex Pistols.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“At the end of the day, we’re living in a really, really difficult time. So not only do people want to come and just be entertained, they want to enjoy themselves,” he continued. “Punk is an energetic music. It’s one where you can go and vent and let your hair down, hopefully in a safe manner. Fingers crossed, no bottles or pigs’ hooves.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Carter fronted the Sex Pistols last year for a few U.K. dates. The band says they did not reach out to Lydon to see if he wanted to participate in this reunion tour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The last thing he wants to do is have anything to do with us right now,” says Jones, referring to a previous lawsuit between the singer and the band over music use in their TV series \u003cem>Pistol\u003c/em>. The judge ruled against Lydon’s opposition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We wish him the best,” Jones said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Good luck to him,” adds Matlock. “I wish he thinks, maybe, ‘good luck’ to us. Probably doesn’t. But over the years, John (has had) all our phone numbers, and I can’t see many missed calls from him.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for the 2025 tour: Fans shouldn’t expect the violence of their 1978 run, but they should anticipate a tighter performance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re a bit older but we play just as well, if not better,” says Matlock. “And I think that’s something that’s got a great deal of aplomb that we’re going to bring to the public over there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Does this mean there could be new Sex Pistols music in the future? “It’s early days,” says Jones. “Let’s see what happens.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sex Pistols perform at San Francisco’s Warfield on Oct. 15, 2025. \u003ca href=\"https://www.thewarfieldtheatre.com/events/detail/908696\">Tickets\u003c/a> go on sale at 10 a.m. on April 4, 2025.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Selected Shorts",
"info": "Spellbinding short stories by established and emerging writers take on a new life when they are performed by stars of the stage and screen.",
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