A “two-fer” this month! Quite by accident, my CD’s by THE RICHMOND SLUTS and BIG MIDNIGHT wound up side by side (they still are in fact). I already had cleaned up the Richmond Sluts LP from the Katrina mud and had played it several times, though I didn’t know who the band was right away since there was only a photo on the label. I was playing some CD’s one day in my three-disc CD changer (part of my turntable system actually), and I was struck almost immediately by how similar the lead singers were on the two CD’s. They each had a similar up-note at the end of a line – Californians often talk as though each sentence is a question, and this was like singing in that way. I checked the CD’s and found that the lead singer and primary songwriter – Shea Roberts – was the same in both bands. Bassist Chris Beltran is in both bands as well; he is credited as Chris B in the Richmond Sluts. That made me consider other situations where bands change names, or where a band changes dramatically using the same or a similar name.
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The Richmond Sluts were founded by Chris B (Chris Beltran, on bass guitar) and Shea Roberts (guitar and vocals) in 1998; they shared similar tastes in music, such as the Clash, the Rolling Stones, New York Dolls, and the Stooges. After adding Justin Lynn (keyboards), the Richmond Sluts developed a distinctive sound and began performing with the Brian Jonestown Massacre and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.
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Big Midnight was formed in 2002 by Shea Roberts (guitar, vocals, keyboards, percussion) and Chris Beltran (bass, harmonica, keyboards) of the Richmond Sluts, plus KC Kozak (drums, backing vocals), Elisha Drons (guitar), and Lydia Walker (backing vocals). Jimmy Willets plays guitar on one track. (The Richmond Sluts also have some uncredited female background vocals).
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The Richmond Sluts have reunited; besides the core members Shea Roberts, Chris Beltran and Justin Lynn, the band has added Jesse Nichols (guitar) and John Tyree (drums). While they have not recorded a new album yet, the band has a cool logo – fashioned from a thick tongue like their heroes the Rolling Stones – and a T-shirt that features the tag line, Born to Boogie. The Richmond Sluts have embarked on their first European tour this year.
(June 2014)
