The return of the Unknowns

(Last chance to see: Ray Brandes reviews why this San Diego reunion of the band’s classic lineup is a very big deal indeed.)

Labor Day Weekend is approaching fast, and tickets are selling briskly for the Che Underground’s long-awaited showcase featuring historic reunions by San Diego hometown heroes the Crawdaddys and the Unknowns.

The Crawdaddys have received some recent critical acclaim in both the domestic and international press for their shows in Los Angeles, Toledo and Madrid, while interest in the Unknowns reunion is heating up quickly.

The Unknowns’ reunion will mark the first time Bruce Joyner has sung with the group in 21 years, and the first time all the members of the group’s classic lineup have played together in nearly three decades! I spoke to the members of the band about the historical significance of the show and what it means to them personally.

According to guitarist Mark Neill, “[Bassist] Dave [Doyle] came up with the idea. He said, ‘What would you think about putting together a show with [vocalist] Bruce [Joyner] and [drummer] Steve [Bidrowski]?’ We hadn’t even spoken with Steve in about 28 years, so I called him up. We got together and practiced, and it was literally like the last time we played. We remembered all of it!”

Dream Sequence: The history of the Unknowns

Doyle says, “Mark and I had discussed doing something for several years, but with us spread out, it wasn’t possible at the time so we left it rest. Everyone was in a position to play this year so we decided to go forward.”

A tentative reunion planned for last year had to be called off due to Bruce Joyner’s health problems. “We’d been in contact with Bruce on and off — I always call every couple of years to check in with him and his health,” says Neill. “He came into some pretty bad health issues last year and he was unavailable.”

“The great thing about Bruce is that he is a trouper — he’ll be in a lot of pain and yet he is always happy and available to talk,” adds Neill.

Unknowns in France! See the video …

Currently in great health and residing in Smyrna, Georgia, Bruce will be flying out to the west coast for practices and for the Casbah show, which he is greatly looking forward to.

“San Diego always treated the Unknowns great,” says Joyner, “and I’m doing this for the fans. I don’t want to let anyone down.”

Joyner has nothing but kind words to say about the San Diego Unknowns fans. “San Diego reacts to the Unknowns the same way that Europe does, in that they love rock and roll,” he says. “I talk to some of them from time to time — they supported us so much that it really lived up to my expectations about what I thought rock and roll should be about.”

The significance of such a reunion after three decades is not lost on the members of the group. “The Unknowns will be a pretty arduous gig and we’re not young anymore,” says Neill. “This is likely the last gig the Unknowns will play together. This is going to be fun and something we are all looking forward to, and I am looking forward to it being really good.”

What can Unknowns fans expect to hear at the show? “We’re going to do everything,” says Neill. “We’re going to do as much of the old stuff as we can from the period with Steve and Bruce, circa 1980-82. If we can, we’re going to throw in some of the odd covers we used to play at high-school gigs.”

Tickets are available now on the Casbah Web site for both shows: The Crawdaddys, the Baja Bugs and special guests on Sept. 2, and the Unknowns, the Sidewalk Scene and the Comeuppance on Sept. 3.

— Ray Brandes

Music history from Ray Brandes:

• The Tell-Tale Hearts: From the vaults
• It’s 1985: Do you know
  where your bell-bottoms are?
• ‘Sweet Kisses from Mommy’: An introduction to an old friend
• The Mystery Machine in motion!
• ‘You’re way on top now’: Gary Heffern meets Iggy Pop
• Tell-Tale Hearts take on New Colony Six!
• The train keeps a-rollin’: The story of the Nashville Ramblers
• Hallelujah! The story of Glory
• The Tokyos over San Diego
• The Hitmakers’ hit that never was
• Sensational: The All Bitchin’ All Stud All Stars and the roots of Country Dick Montana
• The Penetrators: Walking the Beat
• Dream Sequence: The history of the Unknowns
• Let the Good Times Roll: The untold history of the Crawdaddys
• The Zeros: I Don’t Wanna Be a Hero, I Just Wanna Be a Zero
• Lend Me Your Comb: A short history of the Hedgehogs

Music and culture by Ray Brandes:

• Remember Walking in the Sand? Sunscreen, lemonade and summer radio
• No Particular Place to Go: Four-wheeled memories
• Everybody Is a Star: The ideal supergroup
• Radio days
• “Puberty Principle”: First sonic crushes
• Helter Skelter: Tate-LaBianca at 40
• Guess who’s coming to dinner?
• My favorite things: What are you listening to?
• Footloose: Rockin’ the ’80s
• “I don’t get it”
• Me and my monkey: Guilty pleasures
• Man-eaters and mad crushes
• Our Lady of Chula Vista
• You Never Give Me Your Money: IOUs and the Che Underground