The Styrous® Viewfinder: Pearl Harbor & the Explosions

Pearl Harbor & the Explosions was a musical act from San Francisco, California, United States. Forming in 1979, the new wave band had limited success in the late 1970s and early 1980s, with their debut single, Drivin', reaching the lower end of the American Billboard chart in 1980; this is my favorite song from the album.

Pearl Harbor & the Explosions

vinyl LP back cover

back cover photo by Michael Jang

photo of back cover by Styrous®

Around this time, they released this self-titled LP that included the song Shut Up and Dance, which received considerable airplay, particularly in the Bay Area. The vocalist, Pearl E. Gates (also known as "Pearl Harbor", and later "Pearl Harbour" (British and Canadian spelling) (blixa link below), would eventually marry Clash bassist Paul Simonon.

Pearl E. Gates

photographer unknown

Gates had been a part of the Leila and the Snakes live shows, prior to forming the band. After Gates left the band, the remaining members, Peter Bilt and the Stench brothers (John and Hilary Hanes) performed as Peter Bilt and the Expressions.

The album was reissued in May of this year with the original nine songs plus six bonus tracks and one 1979 radio ad (links below).

Pearl Harbor & the Explosions

vinyl LP labels, side 1 & side 2

photos by Styrous®

Tracklist:

Side 1:

A1 - Drivin' - 4:34
A2 - You Got It (Release It) - 2:29
A3 - Don't Come Back - 3:30
A4 - Keep Going - 3:21
A5 - Shut Up And Dance - 4:00

Side 2:

B1 - The Big One - 4:06
B2 - So Much For Love - 3:01
B3 - Get A Grip On Yourself - 3:30
B4 - Up And Over - 5:51

Companies, etc.

    Recorded At – The Automatt
    Mastered At – Kendun Recorders
    Phonographic Copyright (p) – Warner Bros. Records Inc.
    Copyright (c) – Warner Bros. Records Inc.
    Published By – Keintunen Music
    Pressed By – Capitol Records Pressing Plant, Los Angeles

Credits:

    Bass, Vocals – Hilary Stench
    Design [Cover Design] – Basil Pao
    Drums, Percussion – John Stench
    Engineer – Jim Gaines
    Engineer [Assistant] – Ken Kessie, Wayne Lewis
    Guitar, Vocals – Peter Bilt
    Mastered By – John Golden
    Photography By – Michael Jang
    Producer – David Kahne
    Vocals, Percussion – Pearl E. Gates
    Written by David Kahne (tracks: B4), Hilary Stench, John Stench, Pearl E. Gates, Peter Bilt

Notes:

© 1980 Warner Bros. Records, Inc.

Labels:

℗ 1979 Warner Bros. Records, Inc. (Track A2 Only)

℗ 1980 Warner Bros. Records, Inc.

All songs published by Keintunen Music - ASCAP
Barcode and Other Identifiers

    Barcode (Text): 0 7599-23404-1
    Barcode (Scanned): 075992340410
    Pressing Plant ID (Stamped on Both Sides All Variants): ✲
    Matrix / Runout (Run-out Side A Etching Variant 1): BSK-1-3404-LW 1 JG
    Matrix / Runout (Run-out Side B Etching Variant 1): BSK-2-3404-LW 1 JG
    Matrix / Runout (Run-out Side A Etching ]stamped] Variant 2): BSK-1-3404-LW 2 JG [KENDUN-A]
    Matrix / Runout (Run-out Side B Etching [stamped] Variant 2): BSK-2-3404-LW 2 JG [KENDUN-A}

Pearl Harbor And The Explosions ‎– Pearl Harbor And The Explosions
Label: Warner Bros. Records ‎– BSK 3404
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Los Angeles Pressing
Country: US
Released: 1980
Genre: Rock
Style: New Wave

Viewfinder links:

Pearl Harbors

Net links:

blixa Sounds ~ Pearl Harbor & the Explosions

LA Weekly ~ Album of the Week: Pearl Harbor & the Explosions
Something Else ~ Pearl Harbor and the Explosions reissue
The Vinyl District ~ Pearl Harbor & the Explosions’ debut LP reissue

YouTube links:

Drivin'
Drivin' (1980) video
Shut Up & Dance

Styrous® ~ Saturday, December 7, 2019

20,000 Vinyl LPs Archive
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~

August 29, 2017

45 RPMs 19: Leila And The Snakes, Obiko & Kaisik Wong

Leila And The Snakes

45 RPM record jacket

cover photo by Eddie Troia

photo of record jacket by Styrous®

Déjà vu has raised it's ubiquitous head and life is coming around full circle for me again. Since the 50's I've always recorded a record I liked on tape so I wouldn't wear out the record. This was the case with this 45 by Leila And The Snakes. I have listened to both songs on it, Rock and Roll Weirdos and Pyramid Power, for decades but did not look at the record jacket after I bought it until I decided to write about it for this blog entry.

As I was reading the cover to gather information, I discovered Lisa Jear did the makeup for the photo on the cover! So what? Jear was the makeup artist for some of the Sandra Sakata (link below) fashion shows for Obiko (link below) I produced from 1980 to 1997 . . .

Leila And The Snakes

45 RPM record jacket detail

cover photo by Eddie Troia

detail photo of record jacket by Styrous®

. . . as well as modeling the designs of Kaisik Wong (link below) who was instrumental in getting me the position to produce those shows.

Lisa Jear

Kaisik coat and collar

photo by Kaisik Wong

Jear also did the makeup for Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart, a 1985 film directed by Wayne Wang and starring Laureen Chew, Kim Chew, Victor Wong, Ida F.O Chung, Cora Miao, Amy Hill, and Joan Chen.

WOW!

Leila And The Snakes

45 RPM record jacket back

photos by Eddie Troia

photo of record jacket by Styrous®

Leila And The Snakes was an American rock group based out of San Francisco in the 1970s and 1980s. The lead singer of the group was Jane Dornacker, who went under the name of Leila. Dornacker had previously toured with the group The Tubes. Other members of the group were Pamela Wood on the bass and Scott Free on drums. Wood and Free were later replaced by the brothers Hilary and John Hanes (Stench). Also featured was guitarist Miles Corbin, who went on to form the surf instrumental band the Aqua Velvets. The sons of Wood now play in the group, Major Powers & The Lo-Fi Symphony (link below).

Also appearing on the two-song 45 RPM referenced below (which was referred to as "The Album" during subsequent live sets) was Pearl E. Gates. She went on to front Pearl Harbor and the Explosions, marry Paul Simonon of The Clash, and sing backup on Sandinista!. Pearl was featured prominently in the Leila live act. Eventually she resigned from the band.

Dornacker, who had run for Homecoming Queen at San Francisco State as a 6-foot freshman, eventually became a prominent radio personality in San Francisco. She also played Nurse Murch in the 1983 motion picture "The Right Stuff". In 1985 she migrated to New York, in order to make it big in show business. In 1986, she died when the traffic helicopter she was reporting from crashed into the Hudson River in New York City.

Leila And The Snakes

biography insert

photo by Styrous®

Leila And The Snakes released the 45 RPM recording in the late 1970s. It was produced by Roger Clark of Little Roger & the Goosebumps and arranged by Dick Bright. Side A features Rock and Roll Weirdos, copyright Lucky Pork Music, written by Dornacker. Side B features Pyramid Power, copyright Lucky Pork Music, written by Dornacker/Clark. The band also recorded an album produced by Hugh Cornwell of The Stranglers. No final mix was done, however, and it went unreleased.

Leila And The Snakes

biography insert detail

detail photo by Styrous®

Leila And The Snakes

biography insert detail

detail photo by Styrous®

Leila And The Snakes

biography insert detail

detail photo by Styrous®

Leila And The Snakes

biography insert detail

detail photo by Styrous®

Leila And The Snakes ~ Rock and Roll Weirdos

45 RPM record, side 1

photo by Styrous®

Leila And The Snakes ~ Pyramid Power

45 RPM record, side 2

photo by Styrous®

Tracklist:

Side 1:
A - Rock And Roll Weirdos, written by Jane Dornacker

Side 2:
B - Pyramid Power, written by Dornacker*, R. Clark*


Companies, etc.

    Recorded At – Beggs/AZ
    Mixed At – Beggs/AZ

Credits:

Acoustic Bass – Curly Keranen* (tracks: B)
Arranged By – Dick Bright, Roger Clark (3)
Backing Vocals – Dick Bright (tracks: B), Little Roger (tracks: B), Pamela Wood (2), Pearl Gates*, Robert Vickers (tracks: B), Scott Free (8) (tracks: B)
Bass – Pamela Wood (2)
Drums – Scott Free (8)
Engineer – Jenny Mosiev, Richard Beggs
Guitar – T.V. Dunbar*
Organ – Jane Dornacker (tracks: A), T.V. Dunbar* (tracks: B)
Piano – Jane Dornacker
Producer – Dick Bright, Roger Clark (3)
Violin – Dick Bright (tracks: B)
Vocals – Jane Dornacker

Notes:

Includes biography insert

Leila And The Snakes ‎– Rock & Roll Weirdos
Label: ASP Records (2) ‎– A0001
Format: Vinyl, 7", Single
Country: US
Released: 1978
Genre: Rock
Style: New Wave

Viewfinder links:

Obiko
Sandra Sakata
The Tubes - White Punks On Dope
Kaisik Wong

YouTube links:

Leila & The Snakes -

Rock and Roll Weirdos

Pyramid Power

Major Powers & The Lo-Fi Symphony -
      93,000,000 Miles
      I Need Your Help

Styrous® ~ Tuesday, August 29, 2017

45 RPMs Archive

20,000 Vinyl LPs Archive
101 Reel-to-Reel Tapes Archive

August 10, 2015

The Tubes - White Punks On Dope - VHS video tape

The Tubes
VHS videotape cassette

photo by Styrous®

Well, here I go again with a second VHS videotape cassette dinosaur (link to the first one below)!

The Tubes

VHS videotape cassette

back cover photo by Exley

photo of tape cover by Styrous®

The Tubes video uses the graphics and contains tracks from the album, The Completion Backward Principle, but has songs from other albums, including my Tubes favorite, White Punks on Dope, which was SO much fun to rock out to. This video was choreographed by Kenny Ortega.

The Tubes

VHS videotape cassette

front cover detail

detail photo by Styrous®

Mötley Crüe covered "White Punks on Dope" on their album New Tattoo, and performs it live in concert on their "Lewd, Crüed, & Tattooed" DVD. The Nina Hagen Band interpreted the song in a German-language version, translated to "TV-Glotzer" (with re-written lyrics about being an East German who lives vicariously by staring at West German television all day) on their self-titled debut album in 1978.

White Punks on Dope, from the album, The Tubes, is included after the closing credits, and contains many scenes from the Tubes early cable access TV appearances as well as footage from early shows where Waybill would play the part of Quay Lude.

The Tubes

VHS videotape cassette

back cover detail

detail photo by Styrous®

When I was working on Broadway and the Leatherneck bar (see link below) I met Jane Dornacker, who wrote the song, Don't Touch Me There, sung by Re Styles (who I met through Jane), for the second studio album by The Tubes, Young and Rich in 1976. Dornacker also toured with The Tubes as a backing singer and dancer.

Dornacker was rock musician in her own right. She was lead singer (Leila), keyboardist, and songwriter of the San Francisco "tack" rock group, Leila and the Snakes. Pearl Gates and Pamela Wood provided supporting vocals for the group. Their repertoire included Rock and Roll Weirdos, Pyramid Power and a spoof version of Peggy Lee's Is That All There Is? Gates later left (and took the band with her) to form Pearl Harbor and the Explosions. One of my favorite songs by The Explosions was, Drivin'.

On October 22, 1986, while giving a traffic report for WNBC Radio in New York City, Dornacker died when the traffic helicopter she was in crashed into the Hudson River. She was 39 years old.

The Tubes

VHS videotape cassette

back cover detail

back cover photo by Exley

detail photo by Styrous®

John Waldo "Fee" Waybill was born on September 17, 1950, in Omaha, Nebraska, is the lead singer and songwriter of the The Tubes. Waybill has also worked with Toto and Richard Marx. He has appeared in films, Xanadu (1980) and the 1982 independent Canadian film, Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains.

Waybill now works as a record producer. He was the producer for a number of popular artists, including Bryan Adams, and singer/songwriter Richard Marx. One of Fee's latest efforts includes vocals and co-writing on All's Well That Ends Well, the critically acclaimed song in 2011 by Steve Lukather, of Toto.

The Tubes

VHS videotape cassette

back cover detail

detail photo by Styrous®

Prairie Prince was born Charles Lempriere Prince on May 7, 1950, in Charlotte, North Carolina. He has also worked with Chris Isaak (on his first four albums), Todd Rundgren, Brian Eno, David Byrne, XTC, Tom Waits, Paul Kantner, George Harrison, Dick Dale, Glenn Frey, Richard Marx, Bill Spooner, Neil Hamburger, John Fogerty, Nicky Hopkins, Tommy Bolin, Phil Lesh, and former Tubes and Grateful Dead keyboardist Vince Welnick.

He was a founding member of Jefferson Starship – The Next Generation in 1992 and appears on both their studio albums (the 1999 release Windows of Heaven and the 2008 release, Jefferson's Tree of Liberty), plus numerous live albums.

The Tubes

VHS videotape spine

photo by Styrous®

William "Sputnik" Spooner was born in Arizona on August 16, 1949. His first band was the XLs, a Beatles cover band. A band he started subsequently, the Beans, moved to San Francisco in 1970. Shortly after arriving the Beans merged with another group, the Red, White and Blues Band, then became the Tubes.

The Tubes

VHS videotape spine

photo by Styrous®

Vince Welnick was born in Phoenix, Arizona on February 21, 1951. He joined The Beans, which eventually morphed into The Tubes. Welnick also appeared in Xanadu, along with the rest of The Tubes. In 1994, he was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Grateful Dead.

On June 2, 2006, Welnick committed suicide by cutting his own throat, after battling depression for 10 years.

labels for the video tape came loose years ago
The Tubes

VHS videotape labels

photo by Styrous®

Songs:

Matter of Pride
Sports Fans
Amnesia
Mr. Hate
Mondo Bondage
Don't Want to Wait Anymore
Business
Talk To Ya Later
Sushi Girl
Let's Make Some Noise
White Punks on Dope

Personnel:

Bill Spooner - Analysis, Guitar, Vocals
Michael Cotten - Trend, Synthesizers
Fee Waybill - Motivation, Lead Vocals
Roger Steen - Development, Guitar, Vocals
Prairie Prince - Systems, drums
Vince Welnick - Accounts, keyboards, Vocals
Rick Anderson - Policy, Bass

Viewfinder links:

Pink Floyd: La Carrera Panamericana [VHS video tape]

Leatherneck bar, S. F

Net links:

The Tubes discography
The Tubes website


White Punks On Dope on YouTube
White Punks On Dope - The Tubes on YouTube
(live San Francisco 1983)
Don't Touch Me There on YouTube
Mondo Bondage on YouTube
Amnesia on YouTube
Mr. Hate on YouTube
Sushi Girl on YouTube
Don't Want To Wait Anymore on YouTube
The Tubes history on YouTube

What fantastic times those were!

The Tubes - VHS video tape is for sale on eBay

Styrous® ~ Monday, August 10, 2015

20,000 Vinyl LPs Archive

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