Brubaker

One band against a cruel system.

Years ago, the Sacramento band Kai Kln were playing a show in the Bay Area with Victim's Family, the legendary hardcore band on Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles label. Biafra, the former Dead Kennedy's singer was in attendance that night. After Kai Kln finished their set, he approached drummer Neil Franklin and complimented his drumming. After a pause, the punk provocateur wryly added, "But, your music is a little too Woodstock-ish for me."

Flash forward and ironically, the two are on the same bill at the Blue Lamp in Sacramento this Saturday night. Or maybe not so ironic. Franklin is playing as part of a supergroup that features his old Kai Kln band mate Gene Smith along with Victim's Family/Triclops bass monster Larry Boothroyd and the gifted guitarist Christian Riley of Blu Chunks/Walrus fame.

Meanwhile, headliners Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine feature Victim's Family guitarist Ralph Spight and the amazing bassist Andrew Weiss of Ween/Rollins band fame. The rest of the band includes drummer Paul Della Pelle, formerly of  Helios Creed and guitarist Kimo Ball. Given Biafra's agitprop bent, the group's music is about many things political-including torture policies and austerity. Their album titles include-"The audacity of hype," "Advanced methods of questioning" and their latest"White people & the damage done."

 The Brubaker bandmates, along with Spight,  have been close friends for quite awhile. Riley has most recently played with Franklin and Smith in the Ricky and Del Connection, a bluesier infusion of Kai Kln.

Smith, who wrote and sang most of both Kai Kln's and Ricky and Del's music, is doing the same with Brubaker. Smith is a natural writer, with a proclivity towards the bombast of 70's power chords and melodies, albeit revved up to a tempo that some have called "Cream on 78 rpm. "Gene has been on a writing tear lately," said Franklin of the singer/guitarist. "We have five new songs that we would love to record." It will be interesting to hear the contributions of Boothroyd and Riley, considering their combined jazz, punk, funk and metal influences. Propelling it all will be Franklin, who in addition to being one helluva drummer, is also the band's onstage spokesman, wise cracker and all-around talent at keeping things loose. If he were a baseball player, you'd want him in your clubhouse.

Since both Boothroyd and Riley reside in the Bay Area, the group has been going between practcing in Franklin's Sacramento garage and Smith and Franklin heading over to Emeryville. Franklin feels that things are getting tighter and better with every practice. "We're getting back to really crushing it with electric guitars!" he chirped."Hopefully, we're a little heavier than Woodstock these days."

As the famous line from Brubaker goes-"Mess with me now, you're gonna regret it later."

Come out and see for yourself. It's going to be a night of beautiful madness at The Blue Lamp.And if you're on your best behavior, you just might hear a little Dead Kennedy's too.

Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine
w/ Brubaker
@ The Blue Lamp, Saturday, April 13
9pm   21 and over

                                                     The cast and crew of Brubaker:

 Kai Kln rocking in Cesar Chavez Park in 2007
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrneFRpSHYM