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One Loud Aggressive Powerful Night
the benefit rock show for Breast Cancer Action
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The night of August 2, 2001at Bottom of the Hill proved that the rock ain't dead in San Francisco after all. It was a benefit for locally based Breast Cancer Action, and this here website sponsored this event extravaganza. Thank you very much.
Nine bands. Nine flavors of music. And nine bands fronted by some of the most talented women in San Francisco.
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Back Row: Michelle Muldrow & Christa Hillhouse
Front Row: Shaunna Hall, Jorjee, Cara Crash
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And, yes, there are many more talented chicks in that fabulous city but I just couldn't fit everybody on the bill...and don't think for a minute that I didn't try. Each of these bands is a headliner. All of these bands can sell-out a club on it's own. The line up that I put together had a couple of venues vying to be the host club.
Unfortunately, Becky & Shelly of the bluegrass band APARTMENT #9 did not end up playing the show on account of they moved to Kentucky. JANIS TANAKA as well had to pull out of the show at the last minute cuz she went on tour with Fireball Ministry. "It's bad for you," Janis sympathetically told me on the phone as I cried her a river. "But," she continued in a chipper voice, "it's good for me!"
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All the bands were extremely gracious and were very much team players. They all knew somebody had to open the show...and that rad band was PSYCHEDELIC WEDDING.
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Rina, Pally, Jozie (bass) of Psychedelic Wedding
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Their evil musical tirades were only intensified further by guttural vocals. PW cleverly spew their rage and their heartfelt contemplations in both slow, gyrating fashion and also in high speed gear. I gotta give a special nod, wink, kiss on the lips to my hot mama Jozie. This was the first time I'd gotten to see her play in the band. She kicked ass with her low slung, throbbing bass, keeping it groovy and grinding right along. PSYCHEDELIC WEDDING pretty much set the pace: it was gonna be a loud, aggressive, powerful night.
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Okay, so, in a word...BITE. This is Chelsea's band. I've known her forever. This is one of the few bands that played on this night that I'd seen a few times already. Love, love, love their New York City style trash rock. They was gettin' all slurry and blurry eyed, kinda like being sprawled out flat on the pavement with one boot in the gutter and the other one dangling from inside the car's opened door...but looking at the stars. Their shot of early '70s punk adrenalin inspired more than just Chelsea removing her Blondie tee shirt in a over heated moment...I saw at least one other girl shed her Rolling Stones tank top for a bare chested dance. Or maybe she was just demonstrating how to give a breast exam.
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"Do y'all wanna see the BEST band? Sorry, they couldn't make it tonight..."
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Chelsea of Bite
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Michelle Muldrow is a San Francisco artist in every sense of the word. She's a musician, singer, songwriter, actor, painter. She straddles two bands when she can, and I asked her to bring both of those bands to play the benefit. Michelle's first set was with 3BaLL - she played bass. A sorta folky, hard rock conception with a chick named Elisabeth Menke sharing the lead vocals. 3BaLL reminded me of the classic Frisco sound.
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Elisabeth & Michelle of 3Ball
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Y'know, with the dual vocals of male and female. They played a pop rock song that could easily be a radio hit, and then went into a kind of ethereal sound. You could almost see their muse floating around. But wait! Then they went and scribbled their bluesy hard rock sound all over your damn face. A nice surprise for me personally was that they covered an APARTMENT #9 song, which brought the hillbilly presence of Becky and Shelly to the show after all.
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"How's my wig?"
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The theme of the night was definitely the idea of supporting a good cause but also supporting each other. There were absolutely no ego trips fucking anything up. In fact, I was told by more than a few of these women that their bands were really excited to be a part of this bill becuz they are fans themselves of all the other bands. Plus, most of these women are actually all friends, but not all of them have had the opportunity to play on the same stage together before this night.
Okay, so here is one excellent example of the non-existent ego. THE DUKES were supposed to go on before 3BaLL but I couldn't find any band members. It was standing room only and I'm not that tall. Without hesitation Michelle saved the day by agreeing to get 3BaLL onstage a little earlier than expected. Axl Rose woulda never done that!
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"I might be out of tune"
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Formerly known as Dukes of Hazard, THE DUKES took the stage and everybody gathered even closer to see and hear. I felt somebody come up behind me and do a slow dance on my butt - it was Jorjee. You have to be pretty special to get Jorjee's attention, so that should tell ya just how important this particular performance by this particular band was gonna be for the local rock and roll history books.
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Me & Jennifer Courtney
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It was in February that I asked Jennifer Courtney to do the benefit show, and she laughed it off. "What do you want me to do?! I don't even have a band anymore!" I told her I didn't care if she got up there and sang the fucking yellow pages - just please sing again! She said maybe she'd get the band back together for one more night...just like the Blues Brothers! Jen is yet another multi-talented artist who is also part of the acting ensemble of my someday-film-project endeavor.
To be honest, I'm not sure which came first: the idea of this benefit show or the idea of just trying to get Jennifer back onstage again. Either way, the two seemingly impossibilities I did merge. Okay, so THE DUKES hadn't played a gig since about 1996. To see Jennifer Courtney on that stage again, needlessly to say, was a breathtaking moment for a lot of us. As soon as Jen walked into the spotlight some chick immediately began screaming her name - even before Jennifer started to sing. That chick just wouldn't shut the fuck up. She was obnoxious and obsessed and...oh wait...it was me! THE DUKES kicked ass with their bluesy, sexy, good ol' country-fried style rock and roll. Jennifer gave each song a smooth, heartbreaking delivery with her smoky, roadhouse vocals. Big and strong. Soft and tender. She did it all. Sometimes she shared the mic with Danny. That night THE DUKES did my two favorite cover songs. One was George Jones' "He Stopped Lovin' Her Today", which Jennifer sang with every ounce of passion she had. The other song was a STONE FOX track, "Shaky Egg". It's mine and Jen's favorite song. It's a Pisces thing. And fuck me if Jennifer didn't successfully turn that somber song sultry. Oh my fucking gawd. Lordy. WHEW! During "Shaky Egg" I turned around to find Jorjee. She was already grinning from ear to ear. Just like me.
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"...She's not here. She's in my bed. And she's only 18..."
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In the beginning of the night I'd been introducing the bands. Let me just tell you something about being onstage. You can't see shit when you're up there. Stage lights definitely make things look cool from the crowd's point of view. But stage lights from the performers' point of view basically turns the club into an abyss of blackness. All I could see while introducing the bands was the sound tech guy way in the back. You think your favorite rock star is looking at you from the stage? Well, sorry, but, she's looking at the fucking soundboard guy.
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"We're a little rusty"
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Anyhow, after awhile I kinda sorta got too shy to get back onstage. But...HELL FIRE CHOIR didn't need no stinkin' introduction. Guitarist Shelly Cardiff is a veteran of the local rock scene. One of her previous bands was the legendary BIMBO TOOLSHED.
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Michelle, Shelly, Carmela of Hell Fire Choir
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Now, if you weren't already standing at the front of the stage by the time HELL FIRE CHOIR came on, you was shit outta luck baby. I hadn't seen or even heard HFC before this night. These chicks kicked my ass with their manic but melodic songs. And they definitely had a sense of humor. Shelly stopped a song right in the middle just to ask the audience if they liked it. Yes, the audience liked it, and the band resumed playing. At one point during their set I was standing at the back of the club talking to Melissa White of Breast Cancer Action when I heard Shelly onstage talking about the benefit and thanking me. And then she introduced a song about anal sex. HFC must get their divine inspiration and dazzling guitar work from somewheres down below cuz their music gave me evil wicked thoughts. But, in a fun way. Snotty girl-gang choruses topped off by synchronized moves by the three straight-faced guitarists...it was a stage show that had greatness scrawled all over it.
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"Stick around and watch the other bands, and watch me get drunk"
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Time for BLOODROSES, which was Michelle Muldrow's other band. I met Michelle when she was in EYESORE, and it was either in that band or in an early version of BLOODROSES that ex-RUNAWAYS bassist and current BANGLES bassist Michael (Micki) Steele played with Michelle. This was when Micki lived in the Bay Area like maybe 5 years ago. Just so ya know. Michelle is also part of my big film project. Okay, so BLOODROSES did a stripped down set, sitting on their amps getting mellow and cozy with their acoustic guitars. No set list - just playing whatever came to mind. Michelle took center stage this time around. Her voice has always seemed to have a natural sadness to it.
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Michelle Muldrow of Bloodroses
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Perfect for the wistful songs she sang, like one called "Mean Old World" and another heartbreaker called "Start of the End". I'd only ever heard Michelle sing with tremendous volume circling her petite frame, but on that night I discovered her voice is equally suited for the low-key bluegrass strummin' that BLOODROSES treated us to.
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"We'll buy each and every one of you a drink. I swear..."
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Shaunna Hall & Christa Hillhouse
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Okay, so. Shaunna Hall. Guitarist extraordinaire. Co-founding member of 4 Non Blondes. My angel of mercy. Shaunna Hall guided me over a few land mines when it came to the technical end of putting this show together. She not only helped organize and oversee the recording of this benefit show but she went one step (okay several steps) further by taking on the tedious job of setting up the gear onstage for all the bands to use. She and her band did the one and only sound check earlier in the day. AND THEN she and her band mates tore down the stage at the end of the night, and made sure the equipment made it's way back to the music shop from where I'd rented it. Oh, and she also donated the use of her own personal amp, so that all the other musicians had the choice of using 3 different set ups. How cool is that. All that kind of stuff is stuff that I never considered being stuff I should be worrying about, and stuff. All this generosity from a chick I'd only met a month or so before the show.
So when I asked Shaunna Hall to join the line up as a solo artist (she was still playing with STORM INC. at the time) she decided she'd rather share the stage with some of her coolest friends for a one night only show. She got ex-LUNACHICKS drummer Becky Wreck to trade off lead vocals with, and they called the band DOGG ASS. For some reason, I'd been calling their union HALL'n'WRECK all the while. Shaunna is such an amazing guitarist. She effortlessly changed gears from a prog-type jam to punk snot rock to an old country-western standard. Flawless. She also played an obscure 4 Non Blondes song. Two surprise guests - guitarist Cara Crash and ex-4 Non Blondes bandmate Christa Hillhouse - joined the band onstage for a rambunctious version of "Paranoid". Sans her ever-present bass guitar, Christa sang lead on that Sabbath song like the rock star she is.
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Cara Crash, who is another legendary SF musician, hadn't been onstage in quite some time, so to see and hear her playing demonic guitar licks again tickled my innerds. The last song was a bluesy, seductive one that Becky sang. It was on this song that her drumming just blew me away. She beat the shit outta them drums man. It was a perfect display of wild abandonment and precision. Cheers to Shaunna for sharing her spotlight.
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Christa Hillhouse & Cara Crash
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"This benefit saves lives"
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I think it's safe to say that the most anticipated band on the bill was BUTCHER HOLLER. It was their San Francisco debut. Before this night, the band had only played in their Hollywoodland splendor. So, the return of Jorjee and Kim was a huge fucking gigantic and enormously big deal. Yvette introduced her sister's band with a poem she'd writ especially for that night. It was a set of free for all music that gave us sweaty thoughts. With all the flash bulbs going off there was a strobe light effect as the band played. Y'know, for all her sexiness in dresses that barely reach down to her thighs, Jorjee is still the class clown. She'll give ya the money shot all right while singing her sassy, explicit lyrics and then she'll thank the audience in a very un-sexy Elvis drawl. We've all been waiting patiently to hear what Jorjee and Kim have
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Jorjee of Butcher Holler
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been up to, and we were happily bombarded with eight new songs. "Alison", "Je'taime Scumbag" and something that I think is called "Fuck My Pussy" are some of the new titles.Kim's omnipresent brain- rattling riffs weirdly compliment the German polka-paced style that BUTCHER HOLLER has adopted as their own. But, right in the middle of their set they threw in a good ol' American hard rock ballad with chords that were perfectly delicate and perfectly power fueled.
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I gotta say, I'm pleasantly surprised with what I heard. My chicks are still punk-inspired and still fashion-wise. For the last song BUTCHER HOLLER gave a performance that begged to be rivaled. It was one of those songs for which Kim and Jorjee are now infamous - a nasty rhythm and even nastier lyrics. During a rare guitar solo by Kim, Jorjee jumped into the audience for the second time in the night. Only this time she had herself a reckless make-out session with the entire front row.
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Kim Pryor of Butcher Holler
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She gave everybody their $8.00 worth all right. Oh, did I mention that the whole front row was made up of nothing but chicks? Yeah, Jorjee is the only straight girl I know who can get away with manhandling a bunch of dykes. Thank you! Goodnight!
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"That was a song about every girl I ever dated"
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San Francisco's newest darlings of alternative existence are none other than FABULOUS DISASTER!!! This was the hardest band to track down and get to commit cuz they'd been on tour most of this year. It was just pure luck that the girls were home the week of this benefit. Guitarist Lynda Mandolyn and I have been trying to get complete an interview for the last year and a half. Her band is always on the road! But it was so nice to finally meet this neat chick. FAB D. formed after I'd already left the state of California, so I've missed out on all their sold out shows and silly sense of fun.
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Fabulous Disaster
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I only recently found out that these punk pop princesses are bona fide rock stars not only at home but all over the world. They have celebrity groupies and everything.
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Lynda of Fabulous Disaster
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I loved that they dedicated each of their ten songs to different people - to guitarist Lynda's grandma, to HELL FIRE CHOIR, and to me too! Their performance was fabulously energetic and filled with the most amazing sing-song melodies I'd heard in a long ass time. I mean it as a compliment when I say that every one of their songs sounded like it was made for the soundtracks for teen flicks and bloody mob movies.
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Laura Litter of Fabulous Disaster
Photo by Eduroca
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Like I mentioned earlier, I started to flake in the middle of the night. I'd stopped introducing bands. I lost drink tickets. I unwittingly snubbed people trying to meet me. I just totally spaced out. So, like, I never really publicly thanked the bands for their participation. Luckily, the bands themselves took matters into their own hands. During their set each group made time to thank the previous and proceeding bands. They reminded people to read the breast cancer awareness literature being distributed. They shared how this form of cancer has invaded their families, and encouraged everyone to learn more about it. Brandon and Birdy of THE DUKES gave me a special made band tee shirt that said: 'Show us your tits and we'll check them for cancer'. They're so sweet and thoughtful! I saw lots of phone numbers being exchanged amongst the rock stars. And I hear that Cara Crash is founding an organization called Electric Lady Land just to keep all these bands in touch for business reasons.
This was definitely a special night for these San Francisco musicians and their fans.
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Thank you to the Bottom of the Hill folks: Ramona Downey; my new buddy John the sound engineer; and Don Voss for recording the night for posterity purposes (and for not charging me any fancy prices...you so rule dude).Thank you Jessica Palanjian at SF Weekly.
Thank you to GothGirl and Michelle and all the members of Devil Dolls Motorcycle Club.
Thank you to those who were there in spirit: Becky Slane and Shelly Frizell of APARTMENT #9, Janis Tanaka, Debbie Diamond, Joan Jett, Kathy Valentine, Janet Robin, Johnette Napolitano. And my fabulous web master, Punky.
And, thank you to all the bands for donating their time and for sharing their love of music.
Hell Fire Choir:
Shelly Cardiff - guitar/vocals
Michelle Weeks - guitar / vocals
Carmela Thompson - bass / vocals
Eric Davenport - drums
www.hellfirechoir.com
Butcher Holler
Jorjee - vocals
Kim Pryor - guitar
Robbie Patchen - bass
John Labine - drums
Fabulous Disaster:
Laura Litter - vocals
Lynda Mandolyn - guitar / vocals
Mr. Nancy - bass
Sally Gess - drums
www.fabulous-disaster.com
Dogg Ass:
Shaunna Hall - guitar / vocals
Becky Wreck - drums / vocals
Christy Michelle - bass
Cara Crash - guitar
Christa Hillhouse - vocals
www.shaunnahall.com
www.chillhousemedia.com
Bloodroses:
Michelle Muldrow - vocals / bass
Cindy Guiliani - acoustic guitar
Adam Hancock - electric guitar
www.thebloodroses.com
The Dukes:
Jennifer Courtney - vocals
Brandon Lortz - guitar
Danny Montoya - guitar / vocals
Birdy Hanson - bass
Dana Miller - drums
Psychedelic Wedding:
Rina - vocals / guitar
Mike - guitar
Jozie - bass
Pally - drums
PW_rocks@excite.com
Bite:
Chelsea Rose- vox
Keith Mueller
Geoff Large
Jeff Stosan
3BaLL:
Elisabeth Menke - vocals
Churchill Brauninger - guitar / vocals
Steve Kustra - lead guitar
Michelle Muldrow - bass
Dane Whitaker - drums
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Look for new interviews with all these bands in the coming months. Contact them directly for more info on merch (including their performance at the benefit show - if they can be persuaded to sell it...)
To contact BUTCHER HOLLER or THE DUKES: contact me and I'll contact them, and then they'll contact you and, yeah.
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