Romeo Void
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Romeo Void was a New Wave band in San Francisco, California in the 1980s.
They are best known for the songs "Never Say Never" and "A Girl in Trouble (is a Temporary Thing)," which were minor hits. Their popularity was primarily in alternative and college radio, and as a dynamic performing act. They recorded for 415/Columbia Records. The original band members met at the San Francisco Art Institute. Most of the band members were also visual artists and did their own album art.
After the demise of Romeo Void, Debora Iyall, the lead singer and lyricist, put together and sang in the groups Knife in Water and Lower East Venus. John Haines played drums for Pearl Harbor.
"Never Say Never" was a favorite on early MTV. The song is driven by a throbbing, funky bassline and punctuated by jagged guitar; the brief, squealing saxophone solo is worthy of Albert Ayler. It's been written, however, that "it's Debora Iyall's teasing, existential musings — which predated and predicted the aloof yet frank sexuality of early- and mid-'90s artists such as Elastica and Liz Phair — that elevate 'Never Say Never' from a mere post-punk relic into a subversive, influential classic." The song's repreated refrain of "I might like you better if we slept together" has been called "one of rock's all-time greatest lines," but beyond mere titillation, a "careful listen to the verses, with their intimations of incest, murder, homelessness, and other dark subjects, makes plain that singer/lyricist Debora Iyall has more on her mind than simple salaciousness." [1] (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:p9c8b5b4tsq4~T1)
Personnel
- Debora Iyall: vocals
- Benjamin Bossi: saxophone
- Peter Woods: guitar
- Frank Zincavage: bass
- John "Stench" Haines, Larry Carter, Aaron Smith: drums, percussion
Discography
- It's a Condition
- Never Say Never EP produced by Ric Ocasek of The Cars
- Benefactor
- Instincts
Trivia
The fact that the band had 3 different drummers at various stages in their history led Debora to quip once in a WBRU radio interview that they were like Spinal Tap.