B52s. The Go-Go’s. Cracker. Bands whose music hits home somehow. Enter Elettrodomestico. I met this stellar two-piece band — Jane Wiedlin of The Go-Go’s and Pietro Straccia — here in the Haight in 2017 as we were traveling the same music circles (they played the Red Vic!). Both have spent time here over the years, and a certain sort of psychedelic sci-fi vibe shines through in their music. This May, their second album comes out with a cover of “Low” by Cracker, and two tracks featuring vocalist Kate Pierson of the B52s. Seems music vibes are circling back around from days gone by into days to come.
HSV: What does the Haight Ashbury mean to you?
JANE: My fondest memory of the Haight was staying at that big old Victorian house on the NW corner of Haight and Ashbury in January of 1978 to see the Sex Pistols play Winterland. A big caravan of punks from Hollywood, including me, drove up for the show. My friends The Avengers opened. It makes sense to me that the Haight went from hippies to punks, because both movements were/are progressive and counterculture.
PIETRO: For years, Club Deluxe was a meeting point vortex of our tribe of psychonauts and misfits. My most memorable moments were those countless nights spent at our friend Justin’s conversing and jamming in the back patio of his studio in “THE” Victorian at 710 Ashbury. (Think Grateful Dead y’all)
HSV: The Cracker connection. Why “Low”?
J: “Low” is my absolute favorite song of the ‘90s, and when we talked about recording it, it seemed like a natural. I think we brought our own signature sound and style to it. I can’t wait to play it live!
P: Playing someone else’s song can often give a band a deeper insight into their own sound. This cover has reminded me of how much Jane and I love harmonizing and layering our vocals giving the music our touch of angular twilight.
HSV: How about the Flamin’ Groovies?
J: I never got to meet them but I do feel like they should be way more recognized than they are. SF birthed so many great bands from so many eras: The Avengers, The Mutants, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Dead Kennedys, Brian Jonestown Massacre, and so many more. A lot of people think the Haight music scene started and ended in the ’60s but it’s not true at all!
P: It’s an honor to be mentioned in the same issue as these legends whose vibes have surely made their way into our music, and for that I am grateful.
HSV: What would you like to say to the Haight community?
J: Keep being weird and wonderful! Keep being progressive and peaceful and musical and creative!
P: Wherever I may find myself in the world, I am committed to keeping dear to my heart the core spirit of that phenomenal cultural shift that originated in the Haight in the ’60s. I know I’m not alone!
FULL ARTICLE
1. What does the Haight mean to you?
JANE: When I lived in The City, I was in Corona Heights, just over the hill from the Haight. I live in Hawai’i on the Big Island now. It’s very very quiet and agricultural where I am and I do miss the vibrant days of SF. The Haight was always my favorite shopping area. So many memories of gorgeous little shops with everything from vintage clothes to quirky old home decor items. I’ve gotten multiple piercings on Haight Street, and even played a show at The Vic with Elettrodomestico. My fondest memory of all, though, was staying at that big old Victorian house on the NW corner of Haight and Ashbury in January of 1978 to see the Sex Pistols play Winterland. A big caravan of punks from Hollywood, including me, drove up for the show. My friends The Avengers (best SF band in history!) opened the show.
PIETRO: The same day I moved to SF in 97, I borrowed a bike on that typical sunny, windy afternoon of late September and headed directly to the Haight. As my first introduction to the city, I wanted to soak in the fleeting spirit of what had happened in this iconic neighbourhood three decades prior. I had aspirations of contributing to its current musical scene and although I never had the pleasure to live there, some of my most formative cultural experiences occurred there. With various bands, throughout the years, I ended up playing the Haight Street Fair, Easter in the Park, The Red Vic and The Milk Bar several times. For years Club Deluxe was a meeting point vortex of our tribe of psychonauts and misfits.
My most memorable moments however were those countless nights spent at our friend Justin’s conversing and jamming in the back patio of his studio in “THE” victorian at 710 Ashbury. When we wanted to take the music to louder and higher grounds we would head two doors down to Tsvi Deer’s house and record free form space jams with our band IJOS (Inner Journey Outer Space).
2. HSV is “hyper-local with a global perspective” so it’s about community here and all over the world. What does community mean to you?
JANE: Finding a group of friends who love the same music, are stylish in the way that appeals to you and share the same political beliefs is everything. The world is a big scary place and we all need comrades! For me, that started with the punk movement in 1976. It makes sense to me that the Haight went from hippies to punks, because both movements were/are progressive and counterculture.
PIETRO: To me the Haight represents the partially unrealized potential of the highest ideals of community, friendship … peace.
We briefly glimpsed how these sentiments could inspire positive change in humanity and culture. However, we also observed significant resistance to their universal adoption.
Wherever I may find myself in the world, I am committed to keeping dear to my heart, the core spirit of that phenomenal cultural shift that originated in the Haight in the late 60’s. I know I’m not alone!
3. The Cracker “LOW” connection. Tell me how you chose to do this song.
JANE: “Low” is my absolute favorite song of the nineties and when we talked about recording it, it seemed like a natural for our band. I think we brought our own signature sound and style to it. I can’t wait to play it live!
PIETRO: Jane had been wanting to record this song for a while and it didn’t take much to convince me. As the world’s musical catalogue grows exponentially, we have more facets and textures of this art form to be inspired by and add to. Playing someone else’s song can often give a band a deeper insight into their own sound. This cover has reminded me of how much Jane and I love harmonizing and layering our vocals giving the music our touch of angular twilight.
For this tune Jane recorded not only all rhythm guitars but added layers of haunting harmonics for the lead parts. I took care of drums and bass.
With some of the new recordings we channeled those 60’s vibes with Joe Gore contributing his mastery on bass and twelve string guitar. This is most obvious on “Another Day / Another Night” where Kate Pierson also joined in with her legendary vocals on the psychedelia of our harmonies.
We often chuckle at the idea that this style of vocals in our music has led Elettrodomestico to be compared to a darker, “evil” version of The Mamas and The Papas together with other contemporary bands. Although we currently don’t live there, the Bay Area is our base and we consider ourselves a California band!
4. How about the Flamin’ Groovies?
JANE: I never got to meet the Flamin’ Groovies but I do feel like they should be way more recognized than they are. San Francisco birthed so many great bands from so many eras: The Avengers, The Mutants, Faith No More, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Jellyfish, Switchblade Symphony, Dead Kennedys, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, and so many more. A lot of people think the Haight music scene started and ended in the 60’s but it’s not true at all!
PIETRO: It’s an honor to be mentioned in the same issue of these legends who’s vibes have surely made their way into our music and for that I am grateful.
This record started off as spontaneously as our previous one. We initially recorded Low and Just Like My Dog, (written with our friend and producer Travis Kasperbauer), in 2019 before the world “closed down”. It was meant to be released as a single picture disk in preparation for our tour with the Psychedelic Furs.
When all live shows were cancelled the following year and Jane and I moved out of the Bay Area to opposite parts of the world we kept writing music long distance as we often do. At the first chance of being in the same continent together, we headed back to Lucky Recording Co in Brisbane just south of San Francisco with our best friend and producer Travis Kasperbauer and recorded 4 new songs, two of which featuring the B52’s front woman on vocals as part of this new release.
We also did a spooky remix of the song The Town Of Maybe Never, using Ericka Page as the remixer. That mix is called The Town Of Maybe Never: Beautiful Nightmare.
5. What would you like to say to the Haight community, and to communities all over the world?
JANE: Keep being weird and wonderful! Keep being progressive and peaceful and musical and creative!
https://www.facebook.com/elettroband
