"Corona" by the Minutemen
I am seeking individuals who can contribute any current and/or historic information so that it may be recorded in San Pedro's musical history.
For instance: The Del Rubio Tripletts,
The Rubber Band, White Gas, etc.
CLICK HERE TO EMAIL ME
The Music Machine (1965–1969) was an American garage rock and psychedelic (sometimes referred to as garage punk) band from the late 1960s, headed by singer-songwriter Sean Bonniwell and based in San Pedro. The band sound was often defined by fuzzy guitars and a Farfisa organ. Their original look consisted of all-black clothing and black moptop hairstyles. Bonniwell was known to wear a single black glove.
The group came together as The Ragamuffins in 1965, but became The Music Machine in 1966. The single "Talk Talk" was recorded at RCA studios on July 30, 1966.
Their debut album, (Turn On) The Music Machine, was released in 1966 on the Original Sound label. Seven of the twelve tracks were originals, written by Bonniwell. One of these, "Talk Talk," became a Top 20 hit in the U.S. The follow-up single, "The People In Me," peaked at #66. Bonniwell blamed the weak showing of this single on a supposed feud between the band's manager and a top record executive. Four cover songs were included on this release, due to record company pressure.
After a promotional tour of the U.S., the rest of the original line-up, which included Ron Edgar (drums), Mark Landon (guitar), Keith Olsen (bass) and Doug Rhodes (organ), left Bonniwell, due to internal conflicts. In 1967, Music Machine (essentially only Bonniwell at this point) were signed to Warner Bros. and re-named The Bonniwell Music Machine. The name was changed to give more prominence to the band's core member, songwriter and vocalist Sean Bonniwell. A self-titled LP was released that year, made up mostly of previously recorded singles with the original line-up. The recording spawned no big hits, despite the inclusion of a few more pop-oriented songs.
A third album was recorded but never released. In 2000, a Bonniwell Music Machine album called "Ignition" was released on Sundazed Records. This is a collection of songs from the unreleased 1969 album, as well as demo tracks from the band's Raggamuffin days in 1965.
In 2000, Bonniwell wrote about his life and The Music Machine in a biography called "Beyond The Garage," published by the small press publisher Christian Vision.
The Sunshine Company
Southern California soft-pop quintet the Sunshine Company comprised of singer Mary Nance (from San Pedro), singer/guitarist Maury Manseau, guitarist/violinist Douglas Mark, bassist Larry Sims and drummer Merle Bregante. Signing to Imperial Records, in the fall of 1967 the group issued its debut LP Happy Is the Sunshine Company, scoring their lone Top 40 hit with the single "Back on the Street Again."
Side note: As a teenager during that period (1967-68) I remember members of the "Nitty Gritty Dirt Band" and "Poco" hanging out at the Nance home on 2nd street in San Pedro.
SPB
: Well-known classic rock band with top 40 hits including "You're the Biggest Part of Me" and "(That’s) How Much I Feel".
Juan Covarrubias, Created Purple Haze Productions has over 20 Bone Thugs, 2pac, and Eazy-E, (unofficial) Videos
John Bettis: Lyricist for many big artists including: Michael Jackson, Madonna, The Carpenters, Whitney Houston and others. He has won an Emmy award and has been nominated for an Oscar for his work on the Godfather III theme song.
the band members for the influential and eclectic punk rock band grew up in San Pedro and the band was formed there. Bassist/songwriter Mike Watt still lives in San Pedro and is an active participant in its music scene. Drummer George Hurley still lives in San Pedro, as well.
Jerry Trebotic is an American drummer, best known for his longtime association with veteran punk bassist/songwriter Mike Watt, with whom he has toured in the project bands The Jom and Terry Show and Mike Watt + the Secondmen. As part of the Secondmen, he played on Watt's third solo album, 2004's The Secondman's Middle Stand.
the bassist of Nirvana, grew up in San Pedro before moving to Aberdeen, Washington.
Jack Anthony, singer/songwriter and lead singer of the Jack Anthony band, was born and raised in San Pedro and has released several punk/rock/pop albums and one EP which contains a song entitled "Averill Park", named after a local San Pedro park. In 2006 MTV filmed a reality show called "Garage Band Makeover" with the band.
Art Pepper, Jazz saxophonist, was born and raised there.
singer and songwriter, his biggest hit "Gimme Little Sign" reached #9 on the pop charts in 1967.
co-founder of and lead guitarist for 90's rock/grunge band Hole. A 1981 graduate of San Pedro High School, he also attended Holy Trinity Catholic School, Dana Junior High School and Los Angeles Harbor College. From '83-'86 he was lead guitarist for 'Crystal Image' which became 'Cinema 6' (originally 'Cinema' but conflicted with a partially reformed YES that was to use the name 'Cinema'). The lineup included Paul Leveque on keyboards & synthesizers (San Pedro), Lance Ulrich on bass (San Pedro), Steve Jerand on drums (Torrance) and Michael Paul Morgan (Redondo Beach) on lead vocals, also writing all lyrics. It was a very innovative all original progressive rock band, all over Hollywood and LA, with prime-time radio airplay on KLOS after winning the 'Battle of the Bands' at Bill Gazzari's in Hollywood. The first club gig was Dancing Waters, the last gig was 'The Country Club' in Reseda (BIG!). The band rehearsed in Erlandson's garage just down the street from the cemetery on Western before moving into the upstairs of Ulrich's father's liquor store on Avalon in Carson.
was with Edie Brickell & New Bohemians where he toured and recorded with them from 1988 until 1991. In 1991 he briefly joined the band Pearl Jam and toured with them before the release of their début album Ten. He can be seen in the band's first video, "Alive". Other notable work includes his contribution to the tours and albums of Tori Amos, Morrissey, Fiona Apple, Christina Aguilera, Critters Buggin, Dido, Sean Lennon, The Master Musicians of Jajouka, Robert Fripp, Jon Brion, David Torn, Indigo Girls, Weapon of Choice, Stone Gossard, Tim and Neil Finn, David Bowie, Elton John, Peter Gabriel, The Wallflowers, Natalie Merchant, Bill Frisell, the Saturday Night Live Band, Robbie Williams, Kanye West, Garbage, Anika Moa, Shakira, John Mayer, Brad Mehldau, Liz Phair, Chris Isaak, Dave Navarro, Kevin Max, Sam Phillips and William Shatner.
at a very young age always knew that poetry and performing was something that he wanted to do. In his grade school years while attending schools like Barton Hill Elementary in the early 70's when he wrote his 1st poem, a poem to his Mom, to his 1st chance to sing and make background noises on a song called 'Thats the way the World should Be' recorded at Capitol Records, to performing in San Pedro Christmas Parades with Dana Jr. High in the mid-70's with his street dancing group "The Knicker-Bocker Lockers" to the late 70's and early 80's with the same group but called by the new name of "Dr. Jones and the Electric Clones" where his moniker was "Sir Boogaloo Slid" back when Electric Boogaloo was popular. Performing in a number of talent shows to playing an instrument in a live Church band ( The Bass ), with "Bethany Christian Fellowship".He took a few years off from performing to structure his life, but never stopped writing poetry.In the late 80's he started performing Rap to music, seeing that it was becoming so popular he began to pursue Hip Hop as a way of life. He met with his partner and very close friend Lance Carter in 88' to form the rap group "FULL SCOPE POSSE". "Bizzo" as he is known to his close friends remembers; 'When I 1st met Lance he had a very deep voice' and I just thought " Man, he ought to do something with that" I approached him about rap, which he never did before but was crazy about it'. So, he made a proposal that he would write if Lance would recite, the two agreed and made and signed a personal contract between each other which became the foundation for the Rap group. Soon afterward came the 1st of 3 annual performances in the Rancho San Pedro Housing projects 'A Gala Affair to Stop Drugs, Gangs and Violence' to launch and announce the crew to the community. "'In this show we had a local celebrity by the name of 'Chuckii Booker' come and support'' who was also someone he grew up with. Then It was off to doing shows in every possible crime riddled community like in Watts, Compton, Gardena, Torrance and even Venice, California as well as other functions being held in San Pedro like " Save Old San Pedro" and "San Pedro Street fairs" and "Concerts in the Park" at Point Ferman, onto cable public access channels like 'The Gig' and "Toys for Tots" performing songs like "Learn to Stay in School" "Get an Education" and "Just Wait", also performing for radio station KJLH 102.3 and Rory Kaufman for the Metro rail station openings at Compton and Willowbrook, Manchester, Florence and Gage. All of these songs were geared towards the children of elementary age, seeing that he and Lance both had daughters the same age (5). "We felt like we were on a mission to save the kids before gangs and drugs took hold of their lives" he says. In 1992, after a L.A. County tour, Bizzo' was approached by members of a musical band named "Alter Ego" to assist in some of their shows, because their lead vocalist and music producer had gotten injured in a freak accident. Magic was born in a form of music no one was using at the time. Live music with Rap. No samples, no D J's, just live instruments like guitars, Keyboards, Drums and Horns. After making a name for themselves locally, other rap groups showed interest and wanted to form something special in which " The D.C Clique " was born. A combination of 3 rap acts, a live band and a singing vocalist posing as 1 group, with the members being B. Keith Logan, Lance Carter, Monet Williams, Abe Ervin, Marvin Alexander III, Rod Williams, Kevin Marfizo, James O'Leary, Dario Ramirez,Tim Pace on Percussions & Tony Sam. The D.C Clique performed the last of the 3 shows for the gala affairs, an all day affair in Rancho park. Then it was off to other cities like Hanford, Visalia, Merced, Cohcoran, San Diego, San Francisco, Long Beach and Compton for the L.A. Watts Summer Games of 93' and 94'. Not long after the group disbanded and went they're on way. Bizzo' now resides in Hurst Texas with his wife of 15 years and 3 sons. Still playing his bass for a Church ( St. John Missionary Baptist Church ) as well as writing poetry which is featured on Poetry.com under Brian K. Logan, while acting as a booking agent and A&R for and Indie label called Knowledge Born Productions. You can find all of this and more @ www.myspace.com/fullscopeent or www.myspace.com/fullscopemng
Mike Watt
Michael David Watt (born December 20, 1957 in Portsmouth, Virginia) is an American bass guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is best-known for co-founding the rock bands The Minutemen and fIREHOSE; as of 2003, he is also the bassist for the reunited Iggy Pop & The Stooges and a member of the art rock/jazz/punk/improv group Banyan as well as many other post-Minutemen projects. Though Watt has not had much mainstream success or visibility, he is often cited as a key figure in the development of American alternative rock: the Red Hot Chili Peppers dedicated their hugely successful Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991) to him. When he was young, Watt's family moved to San Pedro, California, where he became good friends with D. Boon. Watt and Boon picked up bass and guitar, respectively. Watt was a fan of T. Rex and Blue Öyster Cult, while Boon's exposure to rock music was limited to Creedence Clearwater Revival, another Watt favorite.
Watt and Boon were initially rather ignorant of music; they didn't know bass guitars were different from guitars, and Watt simply removed two strings from a guitar to emulate a bass. When he acquired a bass guitar, he lamented that the instrument was rarely prominent in rock music, but has cited John Entwistle, Jack Bruce, James Jamerson, Geezer Butler, Richard Hell, Larry Graham, Bootsy Collins, Joe Bouchard, Dennis Dunaway, and Gene Simmons as influences. When he first saw a real bass at 15, he commented that it looked liked a guitar with bridge cables.[1] Years later, Watt would say that the lack of role models left him free to develop his own approach to playing bass guitar.
The Minutemen
By the mid-1970s, Watt and Boon formed a band called The Reactionaries with drummer George Hurley and vocalist Martin Tamburovich. The band later became The Minutemen with another drummer named Frank Tonche, who lasted two shows with the group; Hurley, who had been in a short-lived new wave group at the time the Minutemen first formed, rejoined Watt and Boon. After signing with SST Records in 1980, The Minutemen began touring constantly, releasing a number of albums along the way. Their music was based on the speed, brevity and intensity of punk, but included elements of jazz, folk, and funk.
In 1984, Watt met Black Flag bassist Kira Roessler during a Black Flag/Minutemen tour. They soon became romantically involved, and subsequently began collaborating on songs, including material on the Minutemen's final album 3-Way Tie (For Last). They also formed a two-bass duo, Dos, and have since recorded and released three records.
The Minutemen ended tragically on December 22, 1985, when Boon was killed in an automobile accident while driving to Arizona with a girlfriend. Their fifth full-length album, 3-Way Tie (For Last) had already been scheduled for release at the time of the accident. In the documentary film We Jam Econo, Watt mentioned that the last time he saw Boon, he had received lyrics for 10 songs from critic and songwriter Richard Meltzer for a planned collaboration with the Minutemen. The Minutemen were also planning to record a triple album with the working title 3 Dudes, 6 Sides, 3 Studio, 3 Live as way to counteract bootleggers.
fIREHOSE
After Boon's death, Watt was profoundly depressed; he and Hurley initially intended to quit music altogether. Sonic Youth invited Watt to hang out with them in New York in 1986; they recorded a cover of Madonna's "Burnin' Up" (with additional guitars by Greg Ginn) on the first Ciccone Youth EP, and Watt played bass for two songs on the Sonic Youth album EVOL.
Subsequently, one Ed Crawford, a Minutemen fan who drove to San Pedro from Ohio, persuaded the Watt/Hurley rhythm section to continue playing music. fIREHOSE was formed soon after. After three releases on SST, fIREHOSE signed with Columbia Records. Shortly after the release of 1993's Mr. Machinery Operator, the band decided to call it quits.
Watt and Kira married in 1987, but their marriage fell apart not long after fIREHOSE's break-up. However, both their friendship and Dos have remained intact; they even recorded their third album, Justamente Tres, not long after their divorce.
Solo career
Ball-Hog or Tugboat?
Contemplating The Engine Room
After working with fIREHOSE, Watt began a solo career. His first album, Ball-Hog or Tugboat?, featured appearances from dozens of musicians (many were Watt's peers from the 1980s SST era), including Henry Rollins, Eddie Vedder, J Mascis, members of Sonic Youth, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Frank Black, Nirvana, Soul Asylum, Jane's Addiction, the Beastie Boys, Evan Dando, and the Screaming Trees. The album and its supporting tour were Watt's first taste of mainstream fame, when Eddie Vedder and Dave Grohl of Nirvana were part of his touring group. After Vedder returned to his Pearl Jam commitments and Grohl began working with his new band Foo Fighters, Watt formed his only four-piece touring group to date, The Crew Of The Flying Saucer, featuring guitarist Nels Cline and two drummers.
In 1996, Watt contributed bass lines to two songs on Porno for Pyros' second album, Good God's Urge. He subsequently ended up being the bassist for the tour that followed the release of the album, sparking a friendship with lead singer Perry Farrell in the process. (The band's drummer, Stephen Perkins, had already worked with and befriended Watt during the Ball-Hog Or Tugboat? sessions.) In November of that year, he created and established his own official homepage, Mike Watt's Hoot Page, initially using his personal Internet Service Provider's free web space until bandwidth demands spurred him to move the site to its own domain name and server.
In 1997, Watt released Contemplating the Engine Room, a punk rock song cycle using naval life as an extended metaphor for both Watt's family history (the album has a picture of his father in his Navy uniform on the cover) and the Minutemen. The album, which was critically well received, features a trio of musicians including Nels Cline on guitar, and Watt as the only singer.
Watt went on to play in such groups as Banyan (with Stephen Perkins and Nels Cline)
CLICK HERE FOR A LINK TO THE IGNORED HISTORY OF PUNK MUSIC IN SAN PEDRO
1978-1985
