San Diego CityBEAT (2001)

No será necesario, me parece, presentar a Bart Mendoza, personaje decisivo en todo lo que ha dado de sí la escena Mod/pop de San Diego durante 30 años, bien como músico (Manual Scan, The Shambles), bien como editor de fanzines y periodista.

En 2001 firmó lo siguiente sobre The Event para la serie "The History of San Diego Music" del periódico San Diego CityBEAT:

The Event

San Diego circa 1988 may seem to be an odd place to find an authentic sounding and looking Sixties styled Carnaby Street teen group, but the Event's enthusiastic take on pop art rock, ala the mid sixties Who, was well received by their high school peers and California rock fans alike. And they were still attending High School in University City.

They rehearsed in their parents' garage, soon hitting the local teen clubs. Ken Naylor (vocals), Tim Soete (guitar, vocals), Mike Therieau (bass), and Ben Wayne (drums), delivered a driving intensely exciting performance, a mixture of thrashing power pop, English psychedelia, and a dash of r&b. They made their name on the live stage with a series of increasingly volatile shows. Taking their inspiration from groups of the sixties, their concerts were an experience. The music was aggressive and consisted mostly of impeccably played originals, such as "Pop-Think-In" or "Tom The Imagemaker" and the odd obscure cover. Local music fans, from the Che Café to 2581, were quickly won over.

One remarkable performance at San Diego State's Montezuma Hall had the band playing in front of a row of televisions all showing different public personalities. As the set reached its climax, the already frantic crowd exploded as Ken calmly walked over to the side of the flower strewn stage, and casually returned with a sledge hammer. The ensuing mayhem and on stage destruction, as the band played on, created an almost impossible act to follow for the headlining acts that were to follow them.

They recorded a series of demos, with their first release, the otherwise unavailable "You're On My Mind" on a sampler with local fanzine "Sound Affects". And anyone that remembers the local TV production "It's Happening" will recall the group appearing twice as well.

It was only a matter of time before labels would take an interest. That same year the band signed to Bomp records subsidiary Voxx, releasing their only album in 1990. "This Is The Event", produced by Mark Neill and Dave Doyle -both of The Unknowns-, was an instant genre classic. With its pop art sleeve designed by famed graphics designer Coop, it wouldn't have looked out of place in a stack of vintage records by their heroes The Move, or The Creation.

Sadly except for a couple of other compilation appearances, that was to be it for the group. Once school ended, the quartet drifted apart, but except for Ken, not out of music. After the band split Mike, Tim and Ben all relocated to the Bay Area, obstensively for school. Naturally they kept playing. Drummer Ben joined up with r&b outfit The Driving Wheels, and later played with The Kinetics, who released a single album in 1998. He was last spotted gigging with The Salem Lights, though now on keyboards. Mike joined blues favorites The Loved Ones, signing with Hightone and releasing 2 singles and 2 albums. Currently he plays with roots rock quintet Mover and has released 2 albums there as well.

Tim also switched instruments, becoming a highly respected drummer. In 1993 he teamed with ex-Nation Of Ulysses guitarist Tim Green, to form heavy instrumental rock trio The (Fucking) Champs, with 2 singles and 3 albums, including a joint effort with Trans Am to their credit.

Though they only lasted a few summers The Event continue to have an impact, particularly in Japan and Europe, where their youthful exuberant take on a classic musical style, continues to win them fans long after the band's demise.

Nota: Gracias a Marc Argenter por el scan que acompaña al texto de Bart. Este flyer de una actuación del grupo en San Francisco, diciembre de 1988, fue reproducido, en 1992, en el número 6 del fanzine francés Boss, que confeccionaba Alex Hussenet.