The Amazons | The Che Underground

The Amazons make Rolling Stone! (Thanks, Vedder)

March 5, 2016February 23, 2016 by Mmrothenberg

After all the blood, sweat and tears secreted over the years by the musicians in our combo, a Joe Jackson cover and shambolic version of “Roadrunner” got us national press on Monday in Rolling Stone, Consequence of Sound and Pearl Jam’s site. I believe a couple guest turns by our old high-school theater buddy Eddie Vedder had something to d0 with all the to-do. But hey, while we’ve caught the buzz, I might as well tell the story.

The Amazons were an acoustic guerrilla rock trio we put together in San Francisco in 1997: me; my fellow San Dieguito High School Theater alum Todd Barker on drums; and on bass, Jason Brownell, a friend of mine who went all the way back to fifth grade in Milwaukee before I moved to San Diego.

Listen now: The Amazons play “Brother P-Touch”

The Amazons: “Procrustes”/”Sisyphus”

February 2, 2011September 1, 2010 by Mmrothenberg

Here are two parts of an uncompleted song trilogy I wrote for the Amazons, the acoustic band I was in until I left San Francisco in April 2001.

I always liked the weird anti-heroes and losers in Greek mythology, two of whom figure in “Tales of Brave Procrustes” and “Roll Like Sisyphus.” (I always intended to write that third one about Icarus, mainly so I could be the first songwriter I know to get the word “heliocentric” into a lyric.)

The Amazons: “Brother P-Touch”

March 29, 2019September 16, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

“Brother P-Touch” is a song I originally wrote for the Ho Hos that became a flagship number for my last San Francisco band, the Amazons. I share it here with a San Diego twist and a fun anecdote about the power of Web distribution.

When I penned this number around 1993, I was writing about printers for MacWEEK magazine. The Brother P-Touch was and remains a very popular line of label printers. When I first heard the name, I pictured this lecherous messianic figure, kind of a cross between Rasputin and David Koresh, and built the song from there. The chorus leads with the exhortation, “Brother P-Touch — raise your arms!” I don’t think any of my San Diego expat bandmates ever realized I was evoking not only a charismatic preacher but the Penetrators’ song “Nervous Fingers,” during which those of us in the pit would raise our arms and wiggle our fingers.

Read moreThe Amazons: “Brother P-Touch”

Can you hear me now?

December 11, 2017May 10, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

We were all connected by music back in the day, but I hope our musical adventures aren’t all retrospective. Time to look beyond the Reagan Administration for inspiration!

What have you created since 1985 that we can share here on Che Underground: The Blog?

Putting my MP3s where my mouth is, I’ll go first. Here are two tracks that live on a nascent site dedicated to the Amazons, my aforementioned San Francisco-based acoustic trio. “Tales of Brave Procrustes” and “Roll Like Sisyphus,” recorded at the Amazons’ farewell gig March 2001 (with the fabulous Lemons Are Yellow), are two installments of an unfinished triptych (Greek mythology-themed, in keeping with the Amazonian imagery). The unwritten Icarus song has been percolating for nearly a decade, and maybe sharing these tracks will shake it loose at last.