Some Pop-O-Pies maybe?
A few days ago, when I was sorting through my inbox for the “Music from My Mailbox” post, I came across an email from Licorice Pizza reader Pat. He had sent along a couple of songs from a band called Pop-O-Pies. Unfamiliar with the band, I kind of skimmed the email and had intended to include one of the two songs with that group post. Looking for some quick info about the band, I found out Pop-O-Pies is not only not a new band, but their history was interesting enough to warrant a little more attention.
It turns out Pop-O-Pies was the brainchild of Joe Pop-O-Pie. He started the San Francisco-based band in 1981. For two years, Joe was the only regular band member, so Pop-O-Pie’s live performances consisted of one song: A cover of the Grateful Dead’s “Truckin’.” He picked “Truckin’” because Pop-O-Pies’ version was, for several months in a row, the most requested song on local college radio station KUSF.
Eventually, Pop-O-Pies gelled into a band with permanent members, although Bill Gould and Mike Bourdin would soon depart to found Faith No More. Joe Pop-O-Pie also did a short stint as Faith’s first singer, before returning to his own band. Future Mr. Bungle members Trey Spruance and Danny Heifetz would also pass through the hallowed halls of Pop-O-Pies, playing in the band’s last incarnation.
A couple of other interesting items: Jerry Garcia did hear the Pop-O-Pies version of “Truckin’” and apparently liked it enough to become a big supporter of the band, going so far as to pose with them for a 1983 Rolling Stone pictorial. And in case you were wondering, the name Pop-O-Pies comes from “A Nation of Pinheads,” which is a Zippy the Pinhead comic written by Bill Griffith. However, in the comic it’s spelled “poppo pies.”
Today’s music (thanks again, Pat!) comes from The White EP, Pop-O-Pies' 1982 debut release.
The Catholics are Attacking.mp3
Truckin’ (Grateful Dead cover).mp3
posted by aikin @ 9:15 PM
6 Comments:
Great stuff! The White EP also includes a "rap" version of "Truckin'" and explains that some bands have the same members and play different songs, but the Pop-O-Pies have different members and always play the same song...
We used to sing the Pop O Pies version of Truckin at Dead shows
"sometimes the lights are shinin on me/other times it's raining out"
Great record. "Sometimes the lights are all shinin on me/ Other times... it's like I'm a frybrain!"
THANKS FOR THE MENTION AND YOU'RE VERY WELCOME. THE REST OF THE SONGS ON THE EP ARE GREAT TOO. ANYONE INTERESTED SHOULD GO TO A SITE CALLED CUEBURN. SEARCH FOR POP O PIES AND THE DOWNLOAD LINK IS 1/1 AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BLOG. THE PASSWORD IS RIGHT NEXT TO IT. #frisco I THINK. I WISH THE BAND COULD GET TOGETHER AND RELEASE THE EP ON CD. I THINK THEY ARE FIGHTING OVER THE RIGHTS. ENJOY AND TRUCK ON! TAKE IT EZ, PAT
The best and most original bands to come out of the Frisco "punk" scene were Flipper,the Toiling Midgets and the Pop-O-Pies.
Oh and I'm from Frisco so I can call it Frisco and I was THERE.
Thanks for the tip Pat! When I found the vinyl in a Goodwill Thrift Store it was already too beat up to bother transferring. I've been needing this for a while - but hadn't looked for it until now. Thanks again!
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