Bargain Rock brings Japanese garage-surf greats Jackie and the Cedrics back to Bay Area
The beloved Bay Area garage-rock celebration Bargain Rock returns to action this weekend, hosting three separate shows featuring the first local appearances of Japan's garage-surf heroes Jackie and the Cedrics in ages.
The spiritual successor to the 2000s institution Budget Rock that made its reputation presenting an array of past and present local trash-rock luminaries over the course of a sweaty, beer-soaked weekend at SF clubs, Bargain Rock has helped continue the legacy of the Bay Area's legendary garage-rock scene. Started in 2006 at underground Excelsior venue the Fabric Haus as a way for then new band the Teutonics to play a show (Ty Segall's group Traditional Fools had their first performance that night), Bargain Rock would eventually "go legit" move to Thee Parkside for a number of weekend garage-rock bacchanals featuring the likes of Rikk Agnew (Christian Death, D.I., the Adolescents) and the late former Flamin' Groovies singer Roy Loney and his band the Phantom Movers.
Organizers Lou Lou Rosenthal, Ben Day and David Kurtz last held a celebration in 2022 with a weekend festival that included such notables as local psych/proto punk juggernaut Hot Lunch, iconic surf/trash favorites the Phantom Surfers and Sacramento garage-punk greats Th' Losin Streaks among many others.
This year's festivities are built around a rare return visit to the Bay Area by Japanese surf-rock veterans Jackie and the Cedrics. A staple of San Francisco clubs during the '90s when founding members Rockin' Thunderbolt Enocky (guitar), Rockin' Jelly Bean (bass, occasional vocals) and original drummer Jackie T-Bird would tour the U.S. relentlessly, the band's reputation for putting on high-energy, sometimes chaotic live shows at club and punk-rock dives across the country helped build a loyal following of stateside fans.
The nattily suited band were less prolific when it came to recording, though the trio did manage to put out a number of Japanese EPs and singles released by such notable American garage-punk imprints as Estrus and Norton during the decade. The trio (currently filled out by drummer Mirakuru Kiss) has focused most of its activity in its native country, though Jackie and the Cedrics will still sometimes travel to the U.S. or Europe to appear at surf and garage-rock festivals like Budget Rock. The three shows in the Bay Area mark the first time they have played locally in at least a decade.
The first show Friday night will feature the band topping the bill at the Golden Bull in Oakland, where they will be joined by the Phantom Surfers. One of the foundational acts of the Bay Area's modern surf/trash/garage-rock scene, the group was founded in San Francisco in the late '80s. The masked marvels of twang stand alongside the Mummies and the Trashwomen (who the Surfers mentored and encouraged) as key groups that helped spearhead the local revival of retro guitar rock in the Bay Area during the '90s
While the band has self-deprecatingly referred to itself as the worst surf band of the '90s, the Phantom Surfers became firmly established as a noted international act, appearing on television in Australia and Argentina in addition to becoming a regular attraction on European tours and festival dates. Though their album The Phantom Surfers and Dick Dale did not in fact include the surf-guitar legend, the band has managed to perform and record with such instrumental rock giants as Link Wray and Davie Allan. Still anchored by founding guitarist Johnny "Big Hand" Bartlett, the current line-up of the group also includes longtime guitarist Maz Kattiah (also a member of the Mummies) and drummer/SF garage-rock institution Russell Quan (also in the Mummies and at least a half dozen other bands).Friday's line-up is filled out by Rosenthal's garage-soul outfit Lou Lou & Her Spizy Boyz and R&B punks Durty Whyte Boots. The Golden Bull will also host a free "slot car potluck" on Sunday afternoon featuring open turntables for fans who want to bring their own records to spin.
On Saturday, Jackie and the Cedrics move the dance party to Thee Stork Club, where they will be supported by aforementioned Bay Area trash-rock legends the Mummies. The group first came together in San Mateo in 1988 to begin a revival in snotty, Sonics-informed '60s style rock snarl. Led by singer/organ player Trent Ruane, whose snarky stage banter and manhandling of his Farfisa became a trademark of the band's entertaining shows, the Mummies also featured prolific drummer Quan, bassist Kattuah and guitarist Larry Winther. With their tattered mummy wraps and self-proclaimed "budget rock" attitude, the band's shambling, chaotic stage performances and lo-fi recordings stayed true to a DIY aesthetic until their dissolution in the early '90s.
The split wouldn't last, with the group reuniting to tour Europe with friends Supercharger in 1993 and traveling through the U.S. the following year in addition to putting out the live album Party at Steve's House. Still, the Mummies were prone to extended periods of inactivity, even as members of the band played in numerous other bands. Several members would perform with the Phantom Surfers, while SF garage-rock figurehead Quan has had a hand in the Count Backwurds, the Dukes of Hamburg, the Bobbyteens and many others.
The Mummies reunited again 2003 when they issued their first CD Death by Unga Bunga. The band has been a regular festival attraction for the better part of the past two decades, appearing at multiple editions of the Mosswood Meltdown in addition to destroying local clubs with their packed and raucous shows. More recently, the band has been the focus of documentary filmmaker Jim Granato's lens for an upcoming comedy/garage-sploitation feature with the working title "Budget Rock Confidential." The powerhouse one-two punch will be augmented with appearances by SF Mexican garage-rockers LaTeenOs and Day's beer-swilling (and spilling) costumed "German" band the Teutonics.
On Sunday the party moves across the Bay to San Francisco for an early show at the Knockout in the Mission District. There Jackie and the Cedrics will be joined by garage-fest regulars the Okmoniks -- who just played Gonerfest in Memphis last weekend and are celebrating the release of their brand new nine-song, 17-minute blast of Farfisa-organ fueled chaos, Afterparty Fever!!! released on Slovenly Recordings -- and a rare appearance by Mosswood Meltdown co-founder Mark Ribak and his brother Billy's band, the Rock N' Roll Adventure Kids.
Bargain Rock 2024 with Jackie and the Cedrics
Friday, Oct. 4, 8 p.m. $20
The Golden Bull
Saturday, Oct. 5, 8 p.m. $30
Thee Stork Club
Sunday, Oct. 6, 5:30 p.m. $20
The Knockout
