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THE BREEDING GROUND
Death Metal, Punk, and beyond

The stank Oakland night club Ruthie's Inn was the breeding ground and home field for originators of American Death Metal like Exodus, Laaz Rockit, Metallica, Slayer, Possessed, Death Angel, Acid Rain, Blind Illusion, Metal Church, Murder, Lazarus and Leviathan - each of which had band members living in Oakland, Berkeley or El Cerrito in the early 80's.

Ruthie's, Barrington Hall, the Berkeley Square, and later Gilman Street were the homes to a diverse punk band-roster that included during different phases: Psychotic Pinapple, Flipper, Fang, Christ on Parade, Corrosion of Conformity, Econochrist, Kwik Way, Crimpshrine, Operation Ivy, Mr. T Experience, Jaw Breaker, Green Day, Neurosis, AFI, Screw 32, Strychnine, Rancid and others.

In the 80's the Square and the Keystone (both on University) were the center of a "new wave" of Berkeley dance bands including The Uptones, Freaky Executives, Big City, and Zulu Spear.

The experimentation of the Beat Nigs, Consolidated, and the Disposable Heroes of Hip-Hoprisy broke ground in industrial and electronic music in the early 90's.

In the mid-90's The Mo'fessionals, Alphabet Soup, Dizzybam, Fungo Mungo, Chill Factor, and Smoking Section could make everybody in the club wanna dance, predating the emergence of live "rap/rock" by about five years.

And a long history of orginal Oakland "rap" music can be found here.

This is just what I grew up on: the 80's and 90's live music scene of the East Bay. (And I don't even have a section to fit Primus, or Y&T in to). And I shouldn't forget The Omni Ballroom on Shattuck Avenue.

I can only crack the surface of local acts in other genres (like Pop Princesses: Sheila E, the Pointer Sisters, and En Vogue, or R&B hitmakers like Timex Social Club, Club Nuveau, and Tony Toni Tone.) Plus, the Oakland Blues deserves its own page. We'll get to that. In the mean time here's some other links and funny glimpses into the East Bay music scene of not-so-long-ago...



OAKLANDISH PODCAST
Music mixes of some of the above scenes and subgenres.

THE KEYSTONE
A rememberance of the old Keystone Club on University Ave, which showcased a lot of Berserkely Records artists and other unknowns.

THE PRIMUS FAMILY TREE
Just one degree of seperation from the prog-funk trio yields some amazing encounters.

BAY AREA PUNK SCRAPBOOK
Photos of The Slits, Crime, Crucifix and others playing the likes of the Mabuhay... The Clash & The Ramones in Berkeley and more.

DAY ON THE GREEN
Every huge band ever played Bill Graham's Day on the Green in Oakland back in the 70's and 80's. Yes, everybody. Yes, them, too. This is the story of one particularly fresh Day on the Green that symbolized a sudden shift in the tides of rock. And, what a day it was...

ROCK MEDICINE
Here's an interesting medical study proving that way more drugs were being consumed at East Bay concerts than in the rest of the Bay Area. You know how we do it!