What sets a band apart? When everything has been done, is it enough to sound a bit like everyone in order to sound like no one? Is there anything left to do? For Vaudeville, there was one lingering thing…
“We scored an X-rated film… ‘Flesh Fantasy,’” says Sean Johnson, drummer of Vaudeville.
Actually, a la The Pretty Things/The Electric Banana, they composed the film score under the pseudonym The Lovely Mark Lovely.
“We pulled out the wah-wah pedals and everything…” Johnson continues. “It’s a bucket list kind of thing to do for a lot of people, because it’s so funny. The woman who directed and produced the film was from Hermosa, so it’s a local skin flick.”
And speaking of film, Johnson continues: “I was in a film class in college, and we talked about vaudevilles. Vaudeville shows were variety shows with music and comedy and stuff… Our music is kind of similar to the vaudevillian ideals, because our music has variety and a sense of humor… I thought the name looked good.”
Vaudeville is an RUHS band, who in some cult circles would be considered an important South Bay group. They are Daniel Woods (guitar, lead vocals, class of 2000), Jacob Maltinsky (bass, trumpet, vocals, class of 2002), and Sean Johnson (drums, vocals, energy, class of 2002).
When they formed from the ashes of the band From. in the early 2000s, they defined themselves by refusing definition; during a time when most local bands seemed to favor the punk or reggae sound, or emulated the Sublime-esque fusion of the two, Vaudeville dabbled in a more colorful rainbow of sound.
“I don’t think that we were important… don’t think about that sort of thing,” responds Johnson. “There were certain things we did that were welcomed… We weren’t a loud and fast punk band, nor were we a reggae band (it seems to me a lot of South Bay bands were that, one or the other)… We flirted with that stuff, because our influences were everywhere… didn’t want to be defined by any one sound… It was never conscious, we just wrote what came to us, and you go through periods… We could have done Christmas carols if we were in the mood.”
Even while fans came to expect improvisational wanderings as a mainstay in live shows (not too jammy, like Phish or anything), it could be argued that Vaudeville was a type of indie or alternative pop-rock outfit, drawing on perceptible influence from groups like The Kinks and The Who. But, as Johnson explains, their influences were everywhere, and thus, so was their sound.
Following a mini EP titled “Where’s Waltinsky” in around 2003, and a limited edition red vinyl single “Crystal Lake” around 2005, the band’s eponymous debut (aka S.S. Insomnia) from 2005-06 demonstrated the group’s breadth and diversity; variety, if you will.
The album was set in a rock format, engaging with pop choruses, less accessible via dissonant transitions, suffused with intermittent traces of funk, dub reggae, and psychedelia.
Soon following was a brilliant take on Gustav Holst’s “The Planets,” titled “Vaudeville… Presents The Planets.” During this revolution, the boys did a quick turn around up to Monterey to spin out a jazzy, rock-based instrumental track for each planet. The album was produced by friend and Redondo Beach native Mason Rothschild (of Birdhand, and Indigital Studios), who was at the time attending California State University Monterey Bay to become a music producer.
“We went up to Monterey and recorded it with Mason all in one weekend,” says Johnson. “We actually did it in the school studio – he had the key and we went in there Saturday and Sunday and banged it out… A couple of the songs we hadn’t even written. We got there Friday night and came home Sunday night.” With a full album.
All of Vaudeville’s recordings were released under Johnson’s label Otik Records.
He says, “The name comes from a Czechoslovakian horror film called ‘Little Otik,’ about a tree that comes to life and eats people.” (Horror film score is just one of his quirky appetites.)
Next was what this reporter refers to as Vaudeville’s “L.A. Woman” (The Doors). After a quiet few years in the studio, the group came out in 2009 with the seemingly more mature and stable LP “Devil’s Knocking.” John Hylander was absorbed out of E>K>U>K, another outfit Johnson drummed in.
“John did keyboards and helped a lot with vocal harmonies… he was recording our records for us… and was in the band for like six months, until the end.”
Until the end. Vaudeville dissolved shortly after the release of that perfect album, leaving fans, like “L.A. Woman,” only to wonder what could’ve been – after such a diverse and exciting catalogue. But the band didn’t break up.
“We never broke up,” Johnson says. “It’s just more like we can’t play because Daniel’s gone.”
Shortly after the release of their “final” album, Daniel Woods gained acceptance into the University of Wisconsin-Madison to pursue a doctorate.
Woods expounds, “I’m getting a Ph.D. in genetics… studying the genetics of flowering time in the grass Brachypodium Distachyon. A fun fact is that the lab I’m working in is the same lab that Milo [Aukerman] from The Descendents [legendary South Bay punk band] did his post doctorate work in – he was also a plant biologist.”
Johnson continues, “We would still be together, playing actually… Eventually, we want to at some point write and record via email… a completely different approach from what we used to do – usually just jam. It’d be a nice experiment… and we like a challenge.”
As it stands, Vaudeville still has never broken up, and old South Bay fans can look forward to an extra treat during the holidays. Typically, Woods returns home for winter/Christmas break, and the band throws together some shows. Wednesday Dec. 21 marks such the festive occasion – commencing with a Vaudeville canned food drive and show at Saint Rocke.
Vaudeville’s show at Saint Rocke on Wednesday, Dec. 21 starts at 9 P.M., doors at 5. Cover charge is $5 with a can of food or packaged toy. Supporting performances will be provided by local band Ocho Diez, and an excellent Highland Park band called Seasons. Vaudeville albums can be purchased on iTunes, and both they and Seasons can be heard 24/7 on DirtyHippieRadio.com. Johnson and Maltinsky can also be heard performing in their band The Damselles & The TC4, and Johnson in The Shirley Rolls. ER
