Tonight's show proves it and is dedicated to Shirley, as in Cha Cha Muldowney!
Shirley- L7 Hungry For Stink
Who Says Girls Can't Rock- The 'B' Girls Who Says Girls Can't Rock
*Gimme, Gimme- Nikki & The Corvettes Romantics And Friends-Midwest Pop Explosion
*Gimmie My Radio- The Donnas American Teenage Rock 'n' Roll Machine
*All In My Head- The Linda Lindas No Obligation
Who Will Save Rock and Roll?- The Dictators D.F.F.D.
I Don't Wanna Dream Anymore- Uni Boys Uni Boys
Amateur Hour- Sparks Kimono My House
Harmless- Daniel Romano Preservers Of The Pearl
^Vacation- Go-Go's Vacation
*White Mice- Mo-dettes White Mice
*Shoplifting- The Slits Cut
*In Your Room- The Bangles Everything
Who's Gonna Tell Mary- The Moondogs Powerpearls Vol. 3
Something on My Mind- Speedies Teen Line no. 1
Girls on the Run- The Radio Radiowave
Real Life Saver- Gary Charlson Real Life Saver
*Trash Can Murders- The Runaways Waitin' For The Night
*Borrowed Time- Fanny Fanny Hill
*Hit And Run- Girlschool Hit And Run
*You're No Rock N' Roll Fun- Sleater -Kinney All Hands On The Bad One
>Please, Please- Goldie & The Gingerbreads Sailor Boy
>Gotta Get Away- The Pleasure Seekers What A Way To Die
Find It- The Kelly Affair Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls
>Glue- The Ace of Cups It's Bad For You But Buy It!
Girl's Rock (English Version)- Shonen Knife Our Best Place
^Power Pop Peak: #8 Billboard Hot 100 8/21/82
*SacroSet[s]: All-Female Bands Who Write/Play Their Songs
>Power Pop Prototypes: 1965, 1968, 1968
TDMR: What's a beautiful girl like you doing racing in a place like this?
SM: Winning
LOVE it- you can't get more rock & roll than that!
 |
| Shonen Knife 10/21/25 |
The inspiration for this show came from seeing Osaka legends Shonen Knife last fall. My wife and I had seen SK play at Slim's in SF about 30 years ago so when KSVY's Bob Taylor mentioned they were playing at Hopmonk in Novato we were all-in. I wasn't sure how the band would draw in Novato, CA but the place was pretty full and SK full-on ROCKED. Sisters Naoko and Atsuko Yamano were in fine form, joined by incredible drummer Risa Kawano who has been with the band since 2015.
Seriously- she is the most entertaining drummer I've seen in years! Tearing it up like a Clem Burke with a huge smile on her face the whole time. Jaime, Bob, and I had an amazing time and, in addition to rocking hard, learned from Naoko that "novato" means "wild pigeon" in Japanese. Jaime secretly bought me a Shonen Knife t-shirt that night and gave it to me for my birthday later that week. I wore it on our next trip down to Long Beach to hang with my #1 Pats fan grandson.
 |
| Go Pats! |
Seriously- she is the most entertaining drummer I've seen in years! Tearing it up like a Clem Burke with a huge smile on her face the whole time. Jaime, Bob, and I had an amazing time and, in addition to rocking hard, learned from Naoko that "novato" means "wild pigeon" in Japanese. Jaime secretly bought me a Shonen Knife t-shirt that night and gave it to me for my birthday later that week. I wore it on our next trip down to Long Beach to hang with my #1 Pats fan grandson.
As I've lamented before in this space, with the ascension of the Pacific Northwest music scenes in the late 90's, many of my favorite bands made San Francisco a mid-week tour stop. After playing Friday/Saturday in San Diego and LA, rather than coming to San Francisco the following weekend, many chose to play SF on Tuesday or Wednesday leaving Friday/Saturday for Portland and Seattle. My only complaint about the Hopmonk Shonen Knife show is that it was on a Tuesday. You heard me right- TUESDAY, the second least rocking night of the week.
The same thing happened a few months back. I'd been waiting over a year to see LA's Uni Boys and when they finally came to town it was again on a TUESDAY. Even more troubling, the "town" in this case was Sacramento as their tour with Daniel Romano stayed on I-5 from LA to Portland, skipping San Francisco altogether! That said, the Uni Boys were great, though we missed Reza who was on drum duty for the Lemon Twigs that night. We really dug the legendary Old Ironsides too- what a cool place, it practically oozes rock & roll- and we got to a couple of cool record stores and a great restaurant before the show. Also, perhaps due to local ordinances or the age of their crowd- the doors opened at 6pm and the Uni Boys went on at 7pm, somewhat mitigating the Tuesday night of it all. (It was like a rock & roll Early Bird Special- clearly I am old.) |
| Uni Boys 4/28/26 |
When putting these All Kindsa Girls shows together I have promised myself not to give in to my OCD tendencies. So, while tonight's show features many all-female bands who write and play their music, not ALL the songs fit this theme. My OCD does insist however that I tell you all the groups I considered yet did not play, including:
British Bands: Belle Stars, Bodysnatchers, Gymslips, Raincoats, Dolly Mixture
US Indie Bands: Salem 66, Pandoras, Babes In Toyland, Scrawl
Metal Bands: Kittie, Vixen, Sahara Hotnights
Riot Grrl: Bikini Kill, Bratmobile
60's Bands: Shaggs, The Feminine Complex, Isis
?? (haven't listened to them yet): Rude Girl, Madame X
Whew! Now that feels better. Not to take anything away from the groups above but, as I've mentioned before, when trying to do a 100% theme show, I'd find myself playing some less than great records simply because they fit the theme. I'm happy with tonight's mix- a ton of great songs fitting the theme alongside some great new records by aforementioned tour mates Uni Boys and Daniel Romano as well as Power Pop Classics by The Moondogs, Gary Charlson, and Sparks.  |
| The Dictators circa 2023 Adny, Keith, Albert, RTB 3/20/23 |
Tonight we also paid tribute the great Ross The Boss Friedman of The Dictators, one of my all-time favorite guitarists, who we lost on March 26, 2026. I saw several versions of The Dictators over the years, the last opening for The Damned at the Regency Ballroom in SF on May 20, 2023- a Saturday no less! This was the "Adny's in, Handsome Dick is out" version with Blue Oyster Cult's Albert Bouchard on drums and a dude named Keith Roth subbing on rhythm guitar for Scott "Top Ten" Kempner (who died on November 29, 2024) and covering HDM's vocal parts. I'm not gonna lie, Handsome Dick's swagger (he's got his own problems) was sorely missed but Ross The Boss was on fire, blowing us away with his power and precision. The second to last time I saw the band they were called "The Dictators NYC" as Adny and HDM were fighting over the name in court. Had Ross not been playing I might have skipped it but the band (HDM, Ross, Dean Rispler, Daniel Rey, and JP Patterson) absolutely smoked. Right after this tour they were legally forced to go back to their original name "Manitoba."
 |
| The Dictators NYC RTB, HDM, Rispler, Rey 11/10/16 |
Over 35 years, from the first time I saw The Dictators to the last, Ross The Boss never lost a step. Fierce, endlessly inventive, and, on the august occasion I was lucky enough to meet him, a genuinely nice guy. RIP Ross The Boss- there will never be another like him!
 |
| Ross & Rick 11/10/16 |
Click the link below to stream/download this week's show:
