Who knew there were so many late '80s pre-teen punk bands with "scab" in their name? We covered Human Skab yesterday, and today it's The Rolling Scabs, who were basically two 12-year-old boys from the San Francisco area. Their story sounds too bizarre to be true: their adult guitar player was a retarded mental patient who played so poorly he's turned down in the mix; their drummer went by the name Tony Fag; they played with bands like Naked Raygun and Frightwig; recorded a 7" of made-up-on-the-spot songs live at Berkeley's punk haven Gilman St. Project; and lead singer Giuliano "Scab" Bourbon died at age 15 after an "elevator-surfing" accident.
Don't believe me? Listen and learn, my friends:
"We're The Scabs" It's basically Iggy & The Stooges' "Now I Wanna Be Your Dog." Only now it's about scabs.
"My Mom Smokes Pot" Sublime's big hit "What I Got" drew some lyrical inspiration from this one.
"Around The World in 80 Seconds" They visit The Great Wall. In Japan.
11 comments:
Man, a pity that kid died, albeit stupidly, b/c they sounded rather fun. I'm eyeing my work elevator with new interest..
This band is whats up,
kids are the ultimate
rock stars.
Oh my God, how did you find out about this. Giuliano is my brother. he died the same year i was born.
Sorry, I didn't check this sooner, but I found about them thru WFMU's Beware of the Blog, I think. Don't know where they found out about them, but it seems the band's legend has lived on thru the years. Sorry about your brother...
This is the real thing... the enthusiasm and raw energy these kids pump out would bring even Fred "Sonic" Smith to tears...
The story is actually true...Giuliano Bourbon lived two door down, and in 1987 he and his impish cohort Jacob were the neighborhood troublemakers. I mean that in the most innocent way possible, but after realizing their charm we got them on the phone to book a gig with Tim Yo of Max RnR. Their name was sorta a tribute to the Human Skab who was rocking our worlds at the times.
They did a few shows, discussing song themes & making up lyrics on the subway over to Berkeley's 924 Gilman. They were cute city kids, into Weird Al and cartoons but with awareness of the dystopia around them that delivered Aids, drugs, hookers and broken homes. They soon gained instant infamy in the punk scene, appaering in scene reports in zines & even sorta feuding with the feminist Yeastie Girlz who called them sexists. Soon enough, the gigs stopped when they were both grounded for life, and Giuliano was sent to back east to attend a private school where he died shortly after turning 15.
We put out 800 copies of this stuff on a tribute 7" after he died circa 1990. I really should dig around & find more of their cassettes...
"I really should dig around & find more of their cassettes..."
Please do! Send 'em my way, I'll post 'em here.
I Remember hanging with Giuliano at The Rectory School in Pomfret Ct. I will never forget him.
This was in an issue of MAXIMUM ROCK AND ROLL just an advertisement, i have the seven incher, but it doesnt have any other details
i need a blogspot so i can leave messages...
this is amazing. Jacob was my best friend in middle school - i went to Giuliano's memorial service in a park shortly after falling in with Jacob and met so many awesome folks it blew my little mind. thank you for posting this and bringing back some great memories. wish i'd met G...just spending time with Jacob was trouble enough! stole more booze from our parents than i could afford to repay even now.
Great energy! That's what punk IS
And thank you guys for sharing these storys....
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