RIP Scott Long

[thatguy]

What's wrong with Scott?
HE'S DEAD!
He don't play the guitar anymore
All dead, all dead, all dead, they're all dead!

Not my favorite person. I was not on the inside of his circle and he was sometimes off putting, but I think without Scott Long, there wouldn't have been a First Strike Musicians Collective in San Jose. Number Nine met a lot of folks in the scene and played a lot of shows because of that. Thanks, Scott!



--tv

[Greg]

I saw the posts on FB but wasn't sure who he was.

[Drunk Monk]

I don’t remember that music scene beyond Number Nine…

[thatguy]

Lex (a castaway on Survivor Africa and an additional season) was in Frontier Wives. I believe Greg Camp, from Smashmouth was in Heroic Airmen, I believe). Of course John Barrett, Dave Schumacher, Mike Donio and Moe Herringer were the Social Club. Carrie Fisher was in Kooch Bahar with Paula Lyons and Dave (I can't remember his last name) the drummer. Carrie sat next to me in 3rd grade. Number Nine played with them a few times as I recall. Dot 3 had Kenny Shick on guitar. He's still doing music stuff in the area, as is  Grey Matter's Jeff Ebbage (now in a Santa Cruz band called Fishhook".

I recall stuffing First Strike envelopes with all the bands' members at Muzzie's (formerly The Monk's Retreat fondue restaurant) in El Paseo de Saratoga one night and once we had a First Strike family picnic at Vasona. 

Number Nine was not a First Strike founding band. I think we were added in a second wave. As you might expect, there were a lot of egos, and competitiveness within bands and across bands, but it was really cool to be part of something bigger. 

--tv

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

That is cool.

I admit that I only recognized 2 bands (Number 9 and Smashmouth) 1 restaurant and 1 shopping mall.

[Drunk Monk]

Different Carrie Fisher, right? The Carrie I'm thinking of is older than you, too old to be your 3rd grade classmate, right?

[King Bob]

Yes he was kind of an asshole, but I was too in those days, so I guess I can't throw stones. And it doesn't matter now anyway.

I'm not on Facebook so I didn't see that. I looked online and I found one short thing where someone said he died of COVID complications. Is that true?

Christina was in Raul, which was another early First Strike band, and is friends with a lady who was in Juliet Slip, another early First Strike band, but I never saw either of them. I think First Strike was kind of ruined for me by the guys in the Kingpins. The SJ band that almost got signed was the Endmen - the singer ignored overtures from the label. They and Dot3 were probably the biggest bands then, and both were ended by mental problems of band members - the singer for the Endmen (later killed himself) and the bass/stick player from Dot3. I was bummed about Dot3. They could have been big, at least on the jam band circuit or something. Another band not in First Strike that I liked was 3D Jesus (great band name) but they didn't play much. And those girls from Kooch Bahar were cute.

Incidentally Christina's ex-boyfriend was the bass player for the Endmen, and after we once opened for them, he said she should go see us, and that we sounded sort of like the Meat Puppets, which I'll take as a fine compliment.

[Drunk Monk]

Yes he was kind of an asshole, but I was too in those days, so I guess I can't throw stones. 

This implies you are no longer an asshole, and isn't that grounds for getting blackballed here at D00M? 

...or am I just being an asshole?

Christina was in Raul, which was another early First Strike band, and is friends with a lady who was in Juliet Slip, another early First Strike band, but I never saw either of them. I think First Strike was kind of ruined for me by the guys in the Kingpins. The SJ band that almost got signed was the Endmen - the singer ignored overtures from the label. They and Dot3 were probably the biggest bands then, and both were ended by mental problems of band members - the singer for the Endmen (later killed himself) and the bass/stick player from Dot3. I was bummed about Dot3. They could have been big, at least on the jam band circuit or something. Another band not in First Strike that I liked was 3D Jesus (great band name) but they didn't play much. And those girls from Kooch Bahar were cute.

Damn. Such drama. I never knew. I recognize some of those band names, but really only followed #9 when it came to the local music scene. I have a lot of fond memories from your shows. 

The only other local band (like club level) I followed was Tune Ahead, and they were more SF scene - psychedelic rock. One of my closest partners-in-crime at RM traded lead & rhythm guitar for them. We were once offered to manage Shoreline together but neither of us wanted to commit to that. He eventually imploded at RM - while I was away in China. He burned every bridge there except for me, and I couldn't help him anymore. We've crossed paths at shows every once in a while and it's weird and awkward. 

Incidentally Christina's ex-boyfriend was the bass player for the Endmen

She's got a thing for bass players I see...

[King Bob]

Well I'm the only real bass player. He was a guitar player who got roped into it, which seems to be the case more often than not. Sadly a lot of them just hammer away on the roots. But then I am only now starting to really understand the instrument. (In the old days, I never did any serious practicing of the rudiments - scales and interval exercises.)

I almost joined Tune Ahead, but I didn't care for their originals very much and I found your friend (Keith I think?) a bit off. I remember that he had typed out all his lyrics with the chord changes and had them all in a binder and thought that was odd. I think he was an ex-cokehead; he had kind of a strange energy and desire for control. Plus I didn't like lugging my gear to Berkeley. I only played with them once or twice. I remember he was angry at me for not wanting to keep playing with them and accused me of not having enough commitment, as if I should have been immediately all in on day one.

[Drunk Monk]

I forgot about that. I embrace you sitting in on a Edison they through at some office complex after hours. That was quite a night…

Yeah, Keith had that post-cokehead ocd which is what undid him at RM. 

He really wanted you in the band. I remember he was so impressed by the handle you had on Tangled Up and Blue. He was stingy with compliments about other musicians too, so that was high praise.

[thatguy]

https://www.metrosiliconvalley.com/san-j...c-frontier

San Jose on the Music Frontier
Metro Silicon Valley | Silicon Valley’s Leading Weekly

Jun 29, 2022

This week, yet another epic matrix of ghosts will haunt the downtown San Jose rock ‘n’ roll landscape, thanks to the 20th anniversary of Cactus Club’s closing as well as Saturday’s memorial for Scott Long of the Frontier Wives.

No event is planned to commemorate Cactus per se, but since Long recently passed away, and since the Wives were the most heroic sweaty alt-rock cowpunk carnival band in San Jose history, a celebration of Long’s epic spirit will erupt this Saturday, July 2nd, at the Old Wagon Saloon, from noon-5pm. Plus, the Wives were inseparable from Cactus history. The Cactus documentary, “Rock the Block,” features the Wives playing during the opening credits. However, Scott Long goes back much further, and this is where Laundry Works deserves a mention.

Whenever anyone talks about Cactus, someone else complains that Laundry Works is not being discussed instead. Located at 87 N. San Pedro, in the building now housing the San Pedro Square Market offices, Laundry Works was the joint really responsible for San Jose’s alt-rock advancement back in the ’80s. Scott Long and the Frontier Wives were among the prime motivational forces of nature highlighting the local scene in those days, that is, before there was any legitimate club for alternative or college-radio bands to call their own. SJSU had the Spartan Pub, where one could see Mojo Nixon on a regular basis, but Laundry Works was really the place where it all went down. 

At the same time, the Wives and several other bands formed the First Strike Musicians Collective, with the noble ambition to put San Jose on the music map. In retrospect, the collective was probably the first ever attempt, in the modern era, to establish any kind of alt-rock identity in San Jose, a city that was basically viewed as the doormat of the Bay Area. 

At the risk of sounding preachy, in those days there were no cell phones and no internet, just hard-drinking musicians making their own flyers and gigging relentlessly. If an indie band wanted to go out on tour, they had to organize it themselves, often beginning at the San Jose Public Library, where people would rifle through tattered out-of-state phone books just to find college radio stations across the country and then sending tapes everywhere. Yeah, this was a thing. Bands actually did that.

Especially nowadays, with Instagram marketing hotshots promoting every weekend fundraiser and hotdog social, the First Strike Collective, in my view, were pioneers. They actually believed in San Jose. For a minute.

The Frontier Wives, as a band, were a gloriously unclassifiable, genre-fluid mess. Even if Scott Long’s tunes were about Louis Pasteur or KISS guitarist Ace Frehley, they were incredibly well written numbers, with lots of hooks, harmonies and hoopla. During their heyday in the late ’80s and early ’90s, tThe Wives could have and should have evolved into our equivalent of something like Husker Du, or maybe even the Pixies. They were wacky, rocking, drenched and loud, in all the right ways. 

Even better, the memorial for Long will feature almost all of the remaining Frontier Wives performing whatever they can throw together, along with other musicians and raconteurs from those very days. Apropos of history, the Old Wagon Saloon just happens to be right next door to where Laundry Works was all those years ago. I don’t know if it’s a full-circle moment or the infinity symbol crossing over itself. There is no end and no beginning to any of this, really, if you think about it. The persistence of memory carries on, especially for those of us that never left the neighborhood. 

Which, of course, brings me back to the ghosts. The Cactus legacy includes more than several long-gone folks. Many people that played at Cactus, locals and worldwide superstars, are no longer with us. I don’t need to name them all, but Scott Long has now joined that list. His spirit, large as it was, will definitely stalk the landscape this weekend along with the rest of ‘em.

There should be a plaque on South First Street commemorating the Cactus Club and another one on San Pedro commemorating Laundry Works. It’s the least we can do.

--tg

---

The memorial is: Saturday, July 2⋅12:00 – 4:00pm
Location: The Old Wagon Saloon
72 N San Pedro St, San Jose, CA 95110, USA

Description:https://www.facebook.com/events/531537625175675/


--tg

[King Bob]

Any idea what happened to him? Christina's friend from Juliet Slip didn't know, but thought it might have been bad lifestyle - booze in particular - catching up to him.

I won't be there. My brother in law just had a heart attack and died, so we're going to San Diego.

[thatguy]

Any idea what happened to him? Christina's friend from Juliet Slip didn't know, but thought it might have been bad lifestyle - booze in particular - catching up to him.

I won't be there. My brother in law just had a heart attack and died, so we're going to San Diego.

no idea what happened. I'm going to try to go. If I find out, I'll post here. 
sorry to hear about your brother in law. Safe travels!
--tg

[thatguy]

The event was on the back patio of the Old Wagon Salon, next to San Pedro Square. I think the brick wall next door is what remains of the LaundryWorks. I arrived and saw John (& Kim), Mike, and Dave from Social Club. All seem to be doing well. I talked to Kim Barrett for awhile, mostly about kids. I saw a couple other faces from a distance that I recognized, but didn't really talk to anyone else. Lex was busy buzzing around, chatting with folks. Matty, one of the guitar players from Frontier Wives, who was always super friendly, came over and patted me on the back, but we didn't talk much. There was a band playing covers for quite a long time. They were tight, doing classics from the 70's & 80's: Nick Lowe, Tom Petty, etc... Apparently, they are Kim Long's husbands band, who play pretty frequently. I was impressed that they were a 3 piece and did the covers so well...

Then, when they took a break, the official talky talk part of the memorial started. his live told in 3 parts: Amy talk about his childhood, another friend talked about the school years, and then Lex talked about the SJ years and his crazy life after that. A DJ from KFJC said a few words, and then the remnants of the Frontier Wives took the stage (er, corner of the patio). Matty and Mike on guitars, Lex on drums, the bass player from the first band filling in for Kelly Castro who was on a trip in Europe...Mic Jennings was supposed to be there, but apparently his mom went into the hospital, so he didn't make it to the event), and then another singer playing the part of Scott Long. I stayed for a few songs, but I had already filled the 1 hour meter 3 times and I had to fight traffic back to Marina, so I left at that point. 

During Amy's part, she said something about his taking a refuge in drinking and it finally catching up to him, but that was the only mention. I'm not sure if there was some compound illness, or if that was the final diagnosis. 

It was nice to see folks and have a little reunion. People were moved. I was happy to pay my respects. As John said, he was a catalyst and made things happen. 

--tg
PS: I only got slightly sunburned and the trip home down 101 only took 1.5 hours!

[Greg]

It's funny I'm getting other views of this event on FB from Mic Jennings and David Schumacher.