This is what the band called "Wanda Music", named after our fictional character who a cool modern woman. The Wanda tracks were mostly wild yet structured, jazzy instrumentals. Carolyn is playing in a different time on the verse than everyone else but it works out somehow.

Thanks to Kat, this was digitized off an old cassette tape; the masters had bled through and stretched.

Wanda's Got New Boots

"Don't shoot until you see the whites of their eyes" --Thomas Paine.
Karen Silkwood was a whistle-blower against the nuclear industry and she was allegedly murdered by being driven off the highway into a ditch. When we were in Colorado we were active at the Rocky Flat nuclear protests. We also witnessed a bad flash flood that wiped out a nearby canyon -- it makes an appearance in this song. There was a movie about her in 1983, not sure if song was written before or after. This song dates itself by the personal-is-political approach. 

Silkwood

Our basement looked like a meth lab, so we wrote a song about it.

Vocals/Guitar/Bass - Drew Zieff

Drums/Aux Percussion - Matt Tucci

Walter White Would be Happy

The new song is taken from the soundtrack to the forthcoming Dylan Thomas biopic ‘Set Fire To The Stars’ starring Elijah Wood. Directed by Andy Goddard. 

---

Buy Gruff Rhy's multimedia project 'American Interior':  http://po.st/AIiTunes

Follow Gruff online:
Gruff's website: gruffrhys.com
American Interior website: american-interior.com 
Facebook: facebook.com/Gruffingtonpost
Twitter: twitter.com/gruffingtonpost
YouTube: youtube.com/user/gruffrhys24hrs
Instagram: instagram.com/gruffingtonpost

Set Fire To The Stars

This is a short live set at the Nightlight in Oakland, Sept 12, 2015. Features new drummer, Jeff.

TheCramp - OnsAtNightLight

Muestras de las canciones incluidas en el CD de regalo de la revista Q

Patti Smith   Until The End Of The World

©1982-2013 The Varve. The Varve was born in Colorado in 1979 and moved to San Francisco in 1980. They were an all-girl band from Colorado that was formed out of two other all girl bands: The Profalactics and The Guys. The Varve played all around San Francisco until breaking up in 1985 and took a few tours to Santa Cruz, Sacramento, LA and Colorado. The band was included on a album called "Live at Le Disque", released this EP and later released "Wandafied" with 9 tracks.

This was the band's biggest hit on the college charts. Recorded at Hyde St Studio. 

The band was part of an art rock/noise scene that was big in San Francisco at the time. Guitarist is now with The Insufferables.

The Plan

The Varve was a post-punk, art/noise/alternative all-girl band who started in Denver and Boulder Colorado from the wreckage of two earlier punk bands, the Profalactics and The Guys. The Varve started about the same time as the GoGo's and Bangles. They moved to San Francisco and added drummer Kat Apostrophe (formerly Urge, also Baby Buddha). 

The sound was a blend: punk/jazz/rock/post-punk and rockabilly. The band created "Wanda Music", tracks which were wild yet structured, jazzy instrumentals.

The band was an active member of the San Francisco bay area punk/alternative scene from 1980 to 1985 and had mini tours to LA and Colorado. They played with Romeo Void, the Contractions, Flipper, Two Tones, Ultimate Sammy, the Modettes, Brian Brain, Wilma, Red Rockers, Translator, and other bands at the Fab Mab, iBeam, on Broadway, Berkeley Square, Stone, Keystone, Palms, le Disque, Catalyst and elsewhere. They rehearsed at famed Iguana studios and lived in the Castro across from Translator.

The Varve released:
.  2 tracks on an LP "Live at Le Disque", 
.  a 3 song EP recorded at Hyde Street Studios produced by Michael Barbeau, and 
.  a 5 song cassette tape produced by Floyd Solders and released by Cow-Op productions in Denver.
The band also recorded demo tapes with Tom Mallon and others in Colorado.
The band made 2 videos (now lost?) and appeared on public TV.

The Plan

The Varve

Related tracks