Six degrees, indeed

The task at hand seemed simple: dig up the dirt on early-80’s SF new wave band, BOB. With the internet at my disposal, I’d just pick up a few brief factoids, report to the blog readers, and then get back to twirling my hair and filing my nails. But oh, the tangents I discovered!

First things first. Delve into this nugget, BOB “The Things That You Do” (MP3). The tune was extracted from a self-titled single released on Dumb Records out of SF in 1980. A decidedly lethargic version of this song also appears on their "Backwards" album that was released on the label 3 years later. I wanted more info, but imagine the search terms I could possibly use in this situation: bob, dumb, San Francisco. Real helpful. Ok, so I was able to find a few useful facts...

Releases by Dumb Records
Ixna “Mi Ne Parolas” (click for Real Audio) Marina La Palma and Jay Cloidt, vocals in Esperanto.
Novak “Oh Farrah” single
The Survivors
Other Music (released on Nth Degree, a Dumb sublabel)

Now it gets really weird. I start searching for BOB’s members: Jim Lively, Dewey Bruse, Margret Blanche... found a few real estate agent name-twins, but still no BOB info. Then, wait, I live in a hole and I recognize this name... Pons Maar! That’s right, holy shit, this dude was not only BOB’s drummer, but also the Lead Wheeler in Return to Oz, the lizard-man in Masters of the Universe, the lead character in the TV show “Dinosaurs” AND the voice of the Noid! His website of art/video clips is here. Maar only appeared as BOB's drummer on the single, and was replaced by Dze Bayles by the time their LP was released.

On a side note, I learned that Return to Oz is apparently some sort of portal to my subconscious (I blamed the film for my childhood nightmares of animated mannequin heads on this very blog a few weeks ago). And thus, my adventure has come full-circle.

Comments

[Zach in Philly]

Wha-what's this about BOB?
Truly, the internet is not at our disposal -- it is a disposal.
Found another tune by BOB in the archives: "Thomas Edison" courtesy of the 03/28/03 Cherry Blossom Clinic. Good dance music, both tracks, and smirkatious lyrics in "The Things That You Do" (which, Liz, delight me:-)

Btw, thx Mark Allen for the July 3, 2004, listener hour archive.

[Rick Ele]

That Ixna song ("Mi Ne Parolas") supplants hi-hat cymbals with scissors. Listen close...It's a neat little touch!

I know Liz has been in love with that Bob record for a long time now. It must feel great to have made the "Where Are They Now?" discovery so many years after first becoming enraptured by Bob's first 7-inch.

I'm still almost trembling from the time some guy called the KDVS lobby phone ten years ago and said, "Hi...Uh...You don't know me, but I was in a band called Rebel Truth."

[Scott Davey]

I remember BOB vividly from SF / early '80's. I was in a band called Red Asphalt at the time - we played with them on several occasions, including one show at a Sacramento pizza parlor called Slick Willy's (no, really) where both bands were roundly abused. They were an incredible band, very original, killer songs, and a vibist who somehow managed to stand on his vibes when aroused... Quite a group of character as well... As far as the stone weirdos to careerists ratio the punk/New Wave era kicks the hell out of the last couple decades...

Scott

[Jim Lively]

I did a web search on my name and this link came up. I'm amazed anyone still remembers BOB. For several years I played guitar and co-lead the band with Dewey Bruse (Bruce Zimmerman) and decided to leave the band not long after the release of "Backward". Last I heard, Bruce and Maggie moved to LA and tried to keep the band going, then I lost touch with them. Dze was living in Oakland about that time (he didn't move to LA with the band) and later left for parts unknown. Novak (producer) was also in LA writing computer code. I don't think most people know Novak was well respected in the electronic/experimental music scene having worked with Bob Moog before being recognized as a musician and producer in the early 80's. He was also on the forefront of the early Apple computer music technology.

These days I'm still in SF working as a sound designer for animation and low budget feature films. You can hear some of my work at happytreefriends.com, an animated show made by mondo Medai here in SF. It's warm and fuzzy and violent and things go horribly wrong...great fun.

I also remember the Slick Willey's gig...punk band at a red neck biker bar? Not a good idea.

Jim

[Kurt Denke]

Hey! I remember Bob! I was in a band in Seattle years ago called Fred. A local production company called Modern Productions had taken up residence in the Showbox Theater, and they put together a show: Bob, Fred, and Mike. Mike was a one-man act, and I don't remember much about him. But I have a complete tape of the Bob set--I loved a song they did with the refrain: "Dead animal / dead animal / like an animal / oh, you make me feel like a dead animal..."

I remember meeting them...mostly I remember Margret, who cussed and smoked like mad. Good band.