Here is a cd which I know VERY little about. The band is "Four Penny Opera", the cd is self titled, and was released in 1993. It wasn`t on a label, and was released by the band. It was produced by John Loken. It features 5 tracks (I Break Up, No Free Will, Nadina, Challenge Of Change, and What Happened To You).The band was:
Jermaine - Vocals and Bass
Jody Blake - Guitars and Vocals
Michael Revell - Drums and Vocals
J.B. Watson - Dirty Guitars
If you have any information on these guys and the cd, please feel free to comment. or send me an email.
If you would like to buy this cd, send me (Ken) an email to insanelyraremusic@gmail.com
Follow up to an email sent to insanelyraremusic@gmail.com on Mon, Jan 28, 2019, 3:53 PM:
ReplyDeleteThe album was recorded Sunnyvale, California at TRS with J Scotty Smith engineering & in Santa Clara at Bruce Tambling Sound with Tambling at the board there. It was technically produced, engineered and mastered by the late Kevin Gilbert in both Sherman Oaks & Pasadena, CA. The only reason Loken was listed as producer was Gilbert's preference. Gilbert didn't want to jeopardize the deal he was under at the time with Warner Bros. with his band Toy Matinee and his solo work. Incidentally, Smith and Gilbert were in a band together from Sunnyvale called Giraffe which, in the late 80s, won a music contest in Japan sponsored by Yamaha catapulting Gilbert to major labor stardom.
Four Penny Opera hailed from the San Francisco Bay Area, specifically, Saratoga. Half the band are siblings and all attended Saratoga High School in the 80s. In terms of reach and broadcast, tracks were played and the band interviewed on numerous Bay Area major and collage stations in CA including KOME, KFJC, KSJS, KSCU, KSFS, KCSB, KCPR and Arizona's UofA. The band played regularly at then Bay Area night clubs including: Laundry Works, FX Club, The Cactus Club, Oasis, DNA Lounge, The Keystone, Omni, New Georges, The Stone, One Step Beyond, others, and Niles Station (their last live gig fall of '94). Influences were broad and often compared during these interviews to a sort of Led Zeppelin meets Nile Rodgers-INXS / Chili Peppers funk oriented arena rock. Publications & press included Metro, BAM and other Bay Area niche circulars and collage papers. There are only known two survivors of the band. Revell & Jermaine (the brothers). Blake (Jody Friscia) died in 2000 and Walker has not surfaced anywhere including mainstream social media. Friends whom have asked of his whereabouts over the decades attest to not having any luck locating him either. All artwork, jcard layout and merch were designed and created by the brother's Revell. For more, the brother's have a band Facebook page: Four Penny Opera.
I collaborated with Revell's on the artwork and computer layout for this album and I am listed in the credits. Good album and was ahead of its time. It was a bunch of good times hanging out and getting to know everyone. I did the edits with color and black and white images on an old Mac with an early release of Photoshop after hours in the offices of Adobe in the Lab. This is when they were located in Santa Clara in what is now the Google complex. RIP Jody and if you're out there Walker, Rock On with that dirty guitar!
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