Romeo Void - Live From The Mabuhay Gardens: November 14, 1980 (CD)

Release Date: 04/21/23

The first authorized concert album from the San Francisco 1980s new wave /post-punk band captured when the band was recording its debut album

The first officially-authorized concert album from the San Francisco 1980s new wave /post-punk band captured during the months when the band was recording its debut album, 'It's a Condition'. The 11-song set features most of those album tracks as well as the later B-side, 'Guards,' and two previously unreleased songs, 'Fine Line' and 'Double Shot.' This crucial document provides a snapshot of the band that would soon win notoriety with the MTV hits 'Never Say Never' and 'A Girl in Trouble (Is a Temporary Thing).' Drawing inspiration from the local underground music scene, the band's founding members were San Francisco Art Institute students Debora Iyall (lead vocalist, lyricist) and Frank Zincavage (bass guitar), alongside local musicians Peter Woods (guitar) and Jay Derrah (drums). They soon added saxophonist Benjamin Bossi. According to Iyall, the name Romeo Void referred to 'a lack of romance.'

Live from Mabuhay Gardens: November 14, 1980 was captured during the same period that Romeo Void was recording the critically acclaimed debut album for 415 Records, 'It's a Condition'. Jay Derrah was still drumming with the band at this live show, but was replaced by John Stench by the time the sessions for 'It's a Condition'. The set features one of three Romeo Void live sets captured that year at the famed punk club by deejay Terry Hammer, who would typically broadcast portions of his recordings on the UC-Berkeley radio station KALX.

Eight of the eleven songs would eventually appear on It's a Condition. The opening track, 'Guards,' would surface in 1981 as the B-side of the band's national breakout single, 'Never Say Never.' 'Fine Line Number' is an original that has never been released in any format. The album's closing number, 'Double Shot of My Baby's Love,' is a cover of the Swingin' Medallions' 1966 hit, which was the first 45 single which Debora Iyall owned.

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