1985-1986
(The evolution of Everybody Violet through the eyes of band founder Miss Kristi Maddocks.)
From Fan to Vocalist in Fate Gallery
I hung out in the San Diego underground late ’81 to early ’82, but I wasn’t an out-‘n’-out player until 1983. That is when I matured a little bit and got to know myself a little better. I became more involved in the core scene and more interested in the creative process. Like many people who later became musicians, in the early days I was going to as many different shows as possible. I’d see lineups of music featuring anything from mod to funk, from new-romantic to punk. I liked everything then, but in retrospect I enjoyed any kind of blues-driven or psychedelic-inspired music most of all.
After years of watching shows I began to assert myself as a writer, a poet — and a wannabe singer/songwriter. My first band was an unknown SD garage band called Fate Gallery. Jimmy from the SD punk band Sacred Lies recruited me to front his new band when he took up guitar. I was the lead singer and lyricist, some guy named Greg was our drummer, and we had a couple of bassists come and go. [Gravedigger V/Nashville Ramblers bassist] Tom Ward is among a handful of people who ever saw us play or practice. Tom specifically recalled to me that we drove together in my little white VW Rabbit called ECHO (so named after Echo & the Bunnymen, of course) all the way to Poway to rehearse in someone’s parents’ garage. Those parents must have been thrilled. Fate Gallery rocked in an arty sort of way; think New Order and the Doors meet Siouxsie and the Banshees. I remember our sound had driving guitar and bass lines, with embellished drumming. (I’ve totally lost track of all of the members of Fate Gallery, and I have no photos or recordings of us, either … So I am hoping one of the guys reads this blog and gets back in touch with me. S.O.S to Fate Gallery! I’d love to hear one of our recordings, share photos and swap war stories from our lives today.)
From Fate Gallery to Go-Go Girl
Following a much-needed yet very dramatic break-up with my “no-good” first love, I became more immersed in the nuts and bolts of the psychedelic mod movement. I spent many late nights out go-go dancing, watching the Tell-Tale Hearts, the Gravedigger V and the Wallflowers, to name a few. Then I got involved with The Morlocks as their “manager.” This led to bad and good things. Creatively, I was getting a lot of inspiration.
Soon, a roommate and I set up house in a one-bedroom bungalow on Madison Avenue, which would be the site of many all-night parties. Leighton Koizumi, Lou Damien, Jerry Cornelius, Ted Friedman and Jeff Lucas spent hours with me writing poetry and making Romantic drawings. All sorts of people were hanging out — mostly boys, I remember. Boys, boys, boys … and a few girls. We played records; tooled around; and talked about art, voodoo, witchcraft and conspiracy theories. It was great fun.
But down the line — drama ensued! One of those boys whom I had dated briefly ‘fessed up that he actually had a long-time girlfriend … Feeling betrayed, I was further destroyed by my roommate, who by this time was living in a world of her own. After heated drama that was fueled by adolescent misanthropy, we parted ways. But out of this flourishing of creativity, idealism and betrayal, Everybody Violet was born!
Everybody Violet Emerges
It was like kismet: As soon as my old roommate moved out, Michelle Krone moved into the Madison Avenue place. Michelle needed a place to live, and I needed a roommate. It was a few weeks later when we found ourselves jumping around on my bed (like silly 20-year-olds are known to do) singing in harmony to a Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” at the top of our lungs, over and over again. Tired of being known as just “The Morlocks’ Girls,” Michelle and I looked at each other and said, “Let’s start our own band!” I would sing lead, and Michelle would sing back-up and learn the bass guitar.
Well, word got around the scene we were looking to become a legitimate group. A couple of days later, Michelle and I were introduced to Anni and Carina, and the great musical partnership of Everbody Violet was born.
Music came easy in our collaboration. The four of us bonded quickly. Anni and Carina had been playing music together for some time, so songwriting and arranging music together came quite naturally among us. Our egos didn’t seem to get in the way of creating fun and innovative music. We channeled our feelings of frustration, betrayal and young-adult angst into raw lyrics with beautiful melodies and interesting harmonies. We wanted to prove ourselves talented and confident musicians. I was determined that Everybody Violet outshine LA’s notorious all-girl garage band, The Pandoras (or anyone else who doubted our ability to rock like the boys or other bands before us).
Everybody Violet Goes Live
Everybody Violet played a total of six or seven gigs in about a nine-month period.
We only played original songs. At first, we used to meet at Anni’s studio on Second and Ivy or the Madison Avenue apartment to quietly rehearse with acoustic instruments. Eventually, our upstairs neighbors flipped out about the noise, so we began renting hourly rehearsal space at Paradiddles in North Park. That’s about the time Joanne Norris (formerly of Noise 292 and the Injections) joined the band. Joanne was a very strong percussionist and fit in with EV at first meeting. Joanne played without cymbals and added a tribal drive to the band, which really balanced our sound. This transition from acoustic rehearsals to electric performance replete with a fierce drummer helped Everybody Violet mature from being a melodic girl group into an edgy psychedelic garage band that could really rock.
Rehearsals at Paradiddles were fun and exciting. Large groups would hang out while we practiced, including Terri Friedman, who wrote some lyrics for us. Dave Fleminger (Answers, Mirrors) had already moved to New York, but he gave us feedback via audiotape. I knew we were on the right track musically when Tom Ward, Carl Rusk and Ron Silva (of the Crawdaddys and Nashville Ramblers) kept showing up to our rehearsals. Paul Howland of the Wallflowers offered to be our sound mixer, and Bart Mendoza of Manual Scan booked us at PJ’s, so we knew we were doing something right!
Others came to rehearsals and gigs. I was happy as could be. It felt as though all was right with the world. I can still remember closing out a set at PJ’s when a young guy threw himself at me and asked for a photograph … and I thought to myself, “I could really get used to the rock-star thing.” Everything came full circle — at one time I was the girl watching bands and dancing in the audience; now I was the one singing to go-go girls, wide-eyed boys, and other established musicians. Cool!
In the end, Everybody Violet was pulled apart by the transition of the Morlocks to the San Francisco Bay area. We were pulled apart by life, really. What a shame. We had just started recording in the studio … and word was that Greg Shaw, who was the force behind Rhino Records in LA, wanted to sign us as his first original act.
We Want Your EV Memories
If you were a fan of Everybody Violet and have memories, pictures of the band or good recordings of rehearsals or performances … we would love to hear from you!
Everybody Violet are:
Kristi Maddocks, vocals, maracas, tambourine
Anni, guitar and vocals
Anni came onto the scene drumming for the Mirrors. After Everybody Violet, she found an outlet for her melodic and harmonic inspiration by composing, playing guitar and singing.
Carina Burns, guitar
Carina for the most part was self-taught having only mere months of classical lessons. Since she knew no rules musically, her chord progressions were far from standard. She and Anni formed the music-writing core of the band.
Joanne Norris, drums
Joanne was an intense and gifted drummer bringing verve to the Violets’ music.
Michelle Krone, bass and vocals
Michelle was also self-taught but quickly melded with Joanne into the backbone of the band.
Everybody Violet plays “In Time”: Listen now!
“In Time”
No quiet inside
Outside for our kind
In the world unkind
In messages so sublime
Emotions denied, desire electrified
Spending time for money and love
And time and time
Deep I dive
For quiet and piece of mind
And spend my life
In time
(bridge, guitar solo)
Deep I dive
For quiet and piece of mind
And spend my life
In time
No peace inside
Outside for our kind
In the world unkind
In graves that remind
People amplified, analyzed
Electrified
Spending time for money and love
And time and time
Deep I dive
For quiet and piece of mind
And spend my life
In time
music by burns/words by maddocks 1985