The Unclaimed get back to San Diego for ‘A Midwinter Masque’!

Among the San Diego legends slated to play “A Che Underground Midwinter Masque” Feb. 18 and Feb. 19 at The Casbah San Diego, The Unclaimed stand out as honored guests and faithful friends of the SD scene.

A musical force in their own right, the Los Angeles garage-rock pioneers also inspired and mentored successive generations of musicians, including the set of LA-area bands that came to be designated the “Paisley Underground” as well as San Diego bands that shared their ethos and aesthetic.

The Unclaimed put out their first EP in 1980 and played memorable (and occasionally infamous) shows in San Diego, often with L.A. compatriots like The Pandoras, The Salvation Army and The Bangs. What’s more, Unclaimed founder Shelley Ganz credits Mike Stax with re-energizing the band when he invited them to play the 30th anniversary party for Ugly Things magazine on Memorial Day 2013. (The current lineup also includes guitarist Patrick Cleary, bassist John Worley and drummer Shaun Bryant.)

It’s fitting that they return to San Diego Feb. 19 to cap off our musical weekend!

Ahead of the big event, Patrick Cleary discussed The Unclaimed’s 2022 trajectory, including a brand-new album featuring a fresh batch of songs the band will perform at the Casbah in February as well as a plethora of reissues.

“Here’s the story of the new album. We had recorded two basic tracks for the songs ‘Attila The Hun’ and ‘The Heart Never Forgets’ in January 2019, with Dave Klein, who recorded our 2019 EP. We didn’t know exactly what we’d do with those.

“However, this past November we were invited to do a tour in Spain early next year. While we ultimately had to decline the offer, I got the idea that it would be nice if we had something new to promote when we went on tour. I called Dave Klein, and he told me that he had some open dates coming up if we were interested in recording. He talked me into doing a whole album since we wouldn’t be able to get a single or EP ready early enough anyways. We have plenty of songs, and we decided it would be best if we could just track as much as we could while he had the recording space set up for live drums, guitar and bass tracking.

“We picked 10 more compositions that Shelley had introduced to us over the last few years. Here’s the full list of titles: Attila the Hun; The Heart Never Forgets; YD Girl; Hunters and Gatherers; Kemosabe; Calling All Girls; I’ll Always Cry For You; Just Can’t Understand; (Not So Good) Queen Bess; I Found A Girl; Guitar M’Sheen Gun; Maui Loon.

“We started on Nov. 20 and finished on Dec. 9, tracking 10 songs in addition to those first two. We are thinking of calling the album Creature of the Maui Loon.

“I don’t exactly know when it’ll be ready to for mastering and then ultimately release, though I do hope it will be in 2022. I hear there are up to nine-month delays in vinyl orders, but maybe we could do a CD release sooner.

“We’re working with Massimo del Pozzo of Teen Sounds Records. He just reissued the remastered Moxie EP and Primordial Ooze Flavored mini-LP. We’re putting together the package for Under the Bodhi Tree, which will have a brand new front cover using a previously unseen photograph of the group performing live.”