Bart Mendoza of Manual Scan and the Shambles comes through with a cache of photos, sounds and a video montage of Scan and its predecessors, the Pedestrians and Starjammer.
First up: a photo of three-quarters of the original Manual Scan lineup from 1981. The band had recently formed when Bart Mendoza and Kevin Ring of the Pedestrians (guitars) joined forces with Dave Fleminger (bass) and Paul Kaufman (drums). Says Bart (on the left), “Here is an early pic for the site, I’d love to hear what Paul remembers of this day. I think it’s a transitional pic, just post-Pedestrians, probably a few weeks after.”
Paul Kaufman responds, “It’s a blast to see this! Yes, I remember when we headed down to Balboa Park, which provided nice backdrops for a photo shoot … But where’s Dave in this photo?… You can tell I wasn’t able to keep up with the Mod attire. I think the jacket might have been a last-minute addition from the Ring wardrobe.”
Next, multiple photos from multiple eras. Bart says, “I like the candid ones. The Pedestrians pic is horrible quality, but it was taken at our “Woolton Fete.” [Editor’s note: Woolton Fete was the garden
party where young John Lennon and Paul McCartney first met.] It’s the night we met Dave Fleminger (1980), and it’s a clear enough shot of the stage.”
From a later event: “The Boys about Town pic is from the first big ‘New Sounds’ in 1986 (following a smaller gathering at Club Zu) and shows the stage — and the upstairs offices with the window over the stage. L-R Simon Smith (Mood Six/Merton Parkas); Ed Ball (The Times/Television Personalities); me; Paul Bevoir (The Jetset/Small Town Parade). The New Sounds show was at JP’s. ”
“I believe the pic of Dennis and Jerry and me and Dave is from The Kings Road.”
We also have a very early picture of Starjammer, one of the earliest Bart Mendoza-Kevin Ring collaborations. Bart says, “The Starjammer pic is from a party in Bird Rock — New Year’s Eve, if I remember correctly.”
Referencing the SDSU flyer, Bart mentions that “the Untouchables are the band we played with the most through the end of the ’80s.”
The photo in front of the Botanical Gardens is a Balboa Park shot with the Manual Scan lineup that included Tony Suarez (bass) and Brad Wilkins (drums).
Here is a link to a “video collage” with photos from Manual Scan’s early days up to the 2005 reunion with Dave, which includes the uncropped version of the Botanical Gardens pic. Also note Kevin in the audience at New Sounds — he joined the band for the last few numbers.
And a jingle by the Shambles for “Mod Radio UK” that features tantalizing film sequences from the era.
Finally, some classic Balboa Park shots from the era when Tom Ward played bass with Manual Scan. Says Bart, “These are two of my favorites; I love the composition.”
I love your Manual Scan memorabilia. I loved Manual scan through all the ages. You were probably the most dedicated Mod band through and through, meaning the most obvious link from the San Diego scene to the world of Quadrophenia. I always loved the vocal harmonies and upbeat rhythms, as well as the band’s rendering of endless amounts of danceable pop and soul tunes. Manual Scan always presented themselves as very down to earth and approachable, with Bart dressed up in his classic suits and humble demeanor. And I especially appreciated the fact that you were one of the only Mod bands to include female performers. Who was that girl who often played tambourine and sang back-up in the early 80’s? She was always soproperly demure in her pencil skirts and crisp white blouses….
Hi Kristi-
thanks for the kind words. Those were fun days indeed. The girl in question was Yvonne Simon, who previously played guitar in Starjammer and The Pedestrians. She was with Manual Scan through the International Blend days…
Starjammer photos are….amazing. I first met Kevin a few years after that pic, when he worked at Guitar Trader in Kearney Mesa.
I love this article. I missed out on Manual Scan somehow. How did that happen? These pictures fill in the blanks and have reminded me how talented these guys were (are). Can’t wait to hear them at the reunion show!
I dig the Starjammer photo too…is that Dave Gardner (the other bass-Dave) on bass? How does one manage two Dave’s on bass in a row along with two Paul’s on drums inna row? Guitar trader is where I met Kevin too…looking back that store seems about the perfect musician hangout to have nearby…laid back and tons of cool old gear. Guitar Center it was not.
The Pedestrians gig at the Wizard/AbbeyRd was a revelation to me, I was a secret popster pretending to be a punk, and dug the clean, fresh now sound…The Pedestrians played “I Think We’re Alone Now” spot-on with the clicky guitar/bass thing and I totally got it. They had a retro edge, but in light of all the posturing going on in the music scene (our set right before theirs involved our singer getting spit on the whole time), it seemed like an evolved future I was more than ready to be in. My memory -- often as fuzzy as the photo -- seems to point to getting to know Kevin soon thereafter at GT, altho I had an intro to the band through a classmate at CHS who knew the Starjammer’s keyboardist.
One thing that immediately comes to mind is some of the surprise names for the songs on the setlists — wasn’t ‘Rotary Principle’ sometimes called ‘Penguins in Cucumber Sauce’?? The shows had this great spontaneous quality and the songs were usually played reeeeeally fast.
hmmm…starjammer…was the keyboard player named Larry? I think I went to Gompers with him…along with Jerry, Christopher, Tom G., Susie G., and of course Tom Ward.
And uh yeah…we all remember Yvonne. Whatever happened to her?
Dave -- “Rotary Principle” was indeed sometimes called “Penguins in Cucumber Sauce,” though I can’t for the life of me remember why 🙂 Maybe Monty Python? And Patrick, the keyboard player for the Pedestrians was Larry Sherman. He was the first one to bring originals into the band -- we recorded quite a bit of his stuff. As for Yvonne, it’s been about ten years since I saw her at a NYE party at Kevin’s. She was married, happy and living in Central California as I recall. Larry checked in with Kevin and myself last time he was in town a couple of years ago and was also doing well.
Yes, Dave, the Starjammer photo did include David Gartner, who is still in contact with me now and then. I do note that I’ve gone full circle, and grown my hair back out. At least from the places on my head that still grow hair. Now if only I could be that skinny again . . .
FWIW, The Pedestrians were pretty much the same band as Starjammer. I think the difference was the keyboard Larry used!
Oh, and if I recall correctly (a rare thing these days, so don’t hold me to it), the version of “I Think We’re Alone Now” featured both Dave and I on bass, presaging Spinal Tap by several years. I had a Rickenbacker bass at the time, and really wanted to use it.
Hi Kevin
Hi Mike. Good to “see” you, my friend.
As mentioned elsewhere, Starjammer/Pedestrians bassist David Gartner went to San Dieguito High School with David Rives and me. Wheels within wheels!
He also went to Muirlands Jr. High for a while.
Starjammer?
Yep. Larry was the KB player. He had business cards in my 2nd-year Geometry class at Gompers!
Wow. That’s my favourite sky-blue knit shirt. It was woolen and hot -- with a real RAF pilot’s insignia from WWII.
Boys About Town? I was already gone. Funny, to see Bart on stage, and Kevin in the audience… Ed Ball? I wish we’d met. I don’t think that he or Dan Treacy ever knew their biggest fan in the whole universe lived in California. I can still sing (and sometimes do) all of ‘Miss London’, ‘This is Tomorrow’ and ‘It’s Time’.
You’ve made the movement/To be yourself,
Regained your footing/to happiness and health
T’would seem unsingable -- but bursting with poetic optimism, from Ed.
BTW. I wouldn’t have recognised Dennis! Man, we were really little kids.
Jerry,
Funny, to see Bart on stage, and Kevin in the audience…
Yeah, even now that seems strange to me, though God knows Bart is gigging a lot more than I am these days. Not that I don’t want to gig, just that I need to work. You don’t work, you don’t make no money . . .
Thinking about it, I’m pretty sure that, somewhere in my boxes and boxes of STUFF, I still have some of those Starjammer business cards. I think we had ’em made up about two months before we changed the name to The Pedestrians.
That’s an age when you can unselfconsciously name a band after a Viking spaceship from a Mighty Thor comic book!
I think I had that comic, a couple of years previously… When Larry produced his cards, it was a little bit of synchronicity -- I was a budding young scenester. I recognised the name, and within a few months would be meeting you in the London Tavern. With no idea of the connection here for many, many years…
Larry -- as I would have guessed, even in ’81 -- is a doctor, with research publications. His abiding interest at the time was neurofibromytosis: Elephant Man Disease.
Bart: Who took that first pic? And why wasn’t Flem there?
Paul: How many gigs did you play with Scan? I don’t recall it being a whole lot. But then I’m not recalling a whole lot anyway.
FWIW, I just asked my mom to dig through her old shots. She has photos from the London Tavern show. The first one, maybe. I remember them being in black and white, and very dark. She has tons of stuff from the very early days.
Wow! I’d love to see your mom’s photos, Kevin. And send her my regards!
I’m thinking I played in 10-ish Manual Scan gigs? Off the top of my head: 2 at London Tavern; Chula Vista Lions Club; Int’l Blend; Pat’s House…I’m sure I’m forgetting some.
Could this be the long-lost Larry Sherman? (thanks, PubMed!):
http://ohsu.org/ngp/faculty/sherman.shtml
a) That is ABSOLUTELY Larry.
b) I will say hi to my mom for you tomorrow morning. She volunteers at the non-profit organization I run.
c) As I left this afternoon, I noticed that one of the photos she found was a different shot from the same series as the first photo above. I’m thinking it’s quite possible she took the photos.
d) 10-ish sounds about right to me. Though I really only recall the London Tavern and the Chula Vista Lions Club. (The latter more vividly than the first, which is not saying much.)
Paul K also played with scan at the Zebra Club.
I have the evidence.
Dave,
Did I play that gig? Something tells me I didn’t.
Hey, I can’t find your email address. My email is my name (Kevin@ followed by last name as spelled, with hyphen, and dot com).
Now that Dave reminded me, I’m almost certain that it was the full, original Bart-Kevin-Dave-Paul K version of Manual Scan at the Zebra Club. I think we played second, between the early version of the Answers (this was summer 81) and the Men of Clay.
I think this was the show with the ice machine incident.
OMFG! Some of my fondest memories of high school were playing with Starjammer and The Pedestrians. I was at that party in Bird Rock, off in the corner (where keyboard players usually reside). I also remember a particularly long gig at a church and being chemically altered afterwards. The PolyMoog lasted until about 10 years ago. It has been replaced by a baby grand and a Sony.
Love what I have heard from you guys -- Kevin and Bart I must find time to see you next time I’m in the Sandy Eggo.
In my spare time I’m actually playing some music: I give talks about music and the brain from the keyboard (it’s a multi-media thing) and I’m working with Valerie Day (from Nu Shooz) on a project called “Brain Chemistry for Lovers” (there are a few goggle-able articles out there about this). Much fun…..
I don’t recall the business cards…. but I do recall passing out stuff to get people to come to our performances. Anybody have recordings of the Starjammer tunes? I have lost all of them…. I remember quite a bit of time in a studio.
If you are ever any place near Portland let me know. I’ll round up the usual suspects….
Larry: Portland, Shmortland! The kids are crying out for a Starjammer reunion at our showcase in San Diego end of May. 🙂
Reunion, eh? That might be just the thing…. details? And Kevin -- do say “hello” to your mom for me. I always secretly wished that she would adopt me…
Larry, the studio was my garage. Ron Feinberg rented a 4-track and a mixer and we did it all there. I have the master tapes about five feet away from me as I type. And yes, I will say hi to my mom. I think I may have to drag her to the reunion show. She’ll be holding court somewhere in The Casbah.
Paul . . . YES! I remember now! Was that the gig where there was some really drunk guy offering $50 for a band to do Hotel California? We didn’t do it, but Men of Clay did. Or was that another show?
That was absolutely that show at the Zebra…I tried to get the Answers to join in on a rendition but nobody was willing to be that uncool. I think I actually knew the chords because I was a secret Eagles fan.
Let’s see…Bm…F#7…A….E……when FM radio ruled the world.
Men of Clay took the bait but I don’t remember where they took it, I’m sure they killed the beast.
Most bands didn’t get paid $50 for an entire set back then.
And the ice machine incident was the same show. A full night of entertainment. The ice cubes there must have tasted real nice until they got all that stuff outta the works…
>>The ice cubes there must have tasted real nice until they got all that stuff outta the works…
“Everything’s nice till there’s soap in the ice … ” — Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers, “One-Track Mind”
I remember the Starjammer sessions in the garage with Ron. But didn’t we also make a recording in a studio (in PB?) just before I left the Peds?
I don’t actually remember that, Larry, but there’s a lot I don’t recall.
Hi Kevin. Hi Bart. The classic Manual Scan of my memory was the very tight and always entertaining Suarez -- Anderson -- Mendoza -- Ring lineup. Always a great show and usually some levity from the stage.
I have vivid memories of Kevin at Guitar Trader. Always well dressed and scowling (probably just at me). Very hip. We brought them boxes of day-old donuts from the store down the street when it was time to come in and haggle over that old fender bassman amp or a set of new tubes. It was amazing how quickly that crew could devour stale bearclaws.
Was Guitar Trader the greatest source of everything for the budding musician — including gear, connections, attitude, and wisdom? Between Kevin, Fred, and Dan there was a brew of angst, devotion to fellow musicians, and contempt for normalcy that helped shape and form many of the bands. I am sure that there were a few more places like that (Dan McClain’s record shop, Freedom Guitar, maybe even the Counselor at Albert’s Music City) that might explain why San Diego was so unique and unreplicatable elsewhere. Then again, maybe I am just bummed because I had to go into Guitar Center last week to buy my 8 year old his first guitar & it just felt so corporate.
Anyway, MS has got to be in the lineup in May. Wouldn’t be the same wiothout them.
We’re overdue for a post on crucial music stores of our youth. Guitar Trader’s one, fo’ shizzle.
Here’s a guitar-store-related Manual Scan story:
One time around ’81 Kevin Bart and I drove to Jim’s House of Guitars (on El Cajon or University??), I think Kevin was trading in a small-bodied Rickenbacker, or else he was buying one, not sure. But we had some guitars that we were bringing with us, either because we were gonna rehearse or we were going to do some horse-trading…
What I remember clearly is us loading into my Buick Skylark and heading South down highway 805, and a couple times people driving by us with weird expressions and making odd gestures… We probably figured it was because we were so cool or something. Finally near the time we cross I-8 we realize what’s up….we had left one of the guitars (in the case) sitting on the TOP of the car, on the roof, and somehow it had managed to not fall off! No wonder people were looking at us like we were nuts and pointing at the sky!
A fairly flat roof on the car, and a fairly flat guitar case is my only explanation for that miracle, other than divine intervention and/or the power of rock ‘n roll.
Hah! Yeah, I was thinking about that one just a few days ago. I think I was buying a solid body Ric 12 at Jim’s. Damn, that’s a memorable one. I think we flipped off at least one of the drivers who was honking and pointing up . . .
It’s hard to choose any one line up of Manual Scan as classic. It’s really Bart and Kevin, and as long as they were involved, it was the Scan. I remember a string of really good drummers--Paul Brewin, Brad Wilkins, Dave Anderson--as well as bassists--Ron ?, Tony, Tom Ward, even Carl Rusk as I recall. If you were “mod” and played bass or drums, sooner or later you’d find yourself playing with them.
If one considers the Shambles as an extension of the group, a continuation of the Bart-Kevin collaboration, they have to be one of the longest continuing San Diego groups around--quite an accomplishment. I had the honor of being around for the Manual Scan-Shambles transition period, and we had a lot of fun on our “Pointy Toed Road Show” tour. I often cite the two hour, inebriated makeshift sixties and seventies medley sung in the back of the van on the way back from Chippenham to London (with Bart, Kevin, Mark Z, David Klowden, John Kanis and I sharing lead vocals) as one of the great rock and roll moments of my life.
No one has thus far mentioned this, but I believe Kevin Ring is one of the great underrated guitarists in San Diego music. Every one of his leads is melodic, concise and economical. He always manages to rock to the mothership as well.
Wow, lots of info on here! Dave- that guitar on top of the car roof story is one of my all time faves and yep there was definitely some flipping off of at least one driver honking and pointing 🙂 Larry, somewhere in my memory I seem to recall that we did go into a studio (other than our own set up) once. I think it was the small studio across from Swap-A-Tape in Pacific Beach. Thats definitely the first “real” studio I was ever in. I have three instrumental takes of your song “Starfire” on a CD-R but I dont know where they were recorded. The Ron? in question is Ron Friedman, an all around great guy. The bulk of our album and all of the “Days and Maybes” EP was recorded with him on bass.
Thank you very much, Ray.
>>Wow. That’s my favourite sky-blue knit shirt. It was woolen and hot -- with a real RAF pilot’s insignia from WWII.
Jeremiah: Actually, I’m gobsmacked at the sight of you in short sleeves!
I don’t think I ever saw your forearms until we were in our 30s. 🙂
larry, i’m in ashland. and my son and i are moving to pdx soon… so we will have to get people up here, right!?!
kevin, your mom, frida davis and carlas unstoppable mama were my favorite moms ever back in the day. i miss all three. again, tell her hello for me.
and about manual scan… i loved seeing you all play. it was the upbeat excitement that made me so happy. well, that and dancing with jerry and chris (when i could get him to!). monica and i would just go. off. it was awesome. i would pay good money to go back in time to a headquarters show or a kings road show and just enjoy. but i bet all of us would stare at the me at this age. wondering “who the hell is that old lady!?!” b/c, as jerry said, we were little bitty kids. dayum.
Well, having had the pleasure of hanging out with several of the old gang earlier this evening, I can say for certain that it’s shocking how many of us HAVEN’T aged. Carla and Monica being prime examples.
geography is in the way of my getting to just hang with you all. ugh. you got to see two people i would give much to just hang with. i am now green.
remember Scan playing a date at Coronado High School…best early Scan gigs were at Montezuma Hall at SDSU. Solid shows at Club Zu in Solana Beach which turned into a pizza place and the show at New Generation….good to see the boys doing well