The one and thee only…Doug Hilsinger
August 29th, 2008 by carol the aphid eater 
Well, I’d held back writing a piece on Doug until I’d actually had a chance to work with him…and now I have.
First off, my ears are still rattling!
Doug is a rawker in the truest sense of the word. His many bands have graced the best stages throughout our fine city and the world and have left audiences in awe of his remarkable talents for years. My mother used to tell me, being a good, supportive and deluded mother that she believed I could sing in any style, from Elvis to Mahalia she’d say. Well, if this were true for anyone, it would be for Doug Hilsinger. Except…he does it all with a guitar. A mean, ground shaking and altogether unbelievably impressive guitar. The man has been in every type of band conceivable. From country and blue grass to head banger and speed metal. He can do it all!
To name but a few;
Spokepoker
Assassins of God.
Bomb
Waycross
Behold the armada
Hallflowers
Bee and Flower
The list just goes on.
Then of course there’s his groundbreaking recording of Brian Eno’s Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy).
He re-arranged Eno’s entire masterpiece, deconstructed its original and turned it out and into a masterpiece of a whole new and different imagining. Eno himself gave the record a nice little blurb via telephone. Check it out.
http://www.saucefaucet.com/enomessage.mp3
Need I say more? Very well…I shall. Doug has even performed Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) with his Eno Orchestra at no less than world famous Fillmore Auditorium.
http://www.saucefaucet.com/tiger.html
Now here is where I mooch my way into the picture. Last night, I had the extreme pleasure…(honestly I hadn’t had that much fun in a long, long while, including the night before at my own band’s cd release party!)…of playing with one of Doug’s outstanding cover bands at The Eagle Tavern.
If you have not seen or heard any of Doug’s many cover bands with which he performs once or twice a year at The Eagle Tavern, then you are really missing out on some fun fun fun!!! You owe it to yourself as a true San Franciscan to come out and see these shows. Every year, he assembles musicians from all walks, all male; who don wigs and dresses, and for one night only, performs what amounts to sheer magic.
Here are a few that I have seen and have left me speechless;
Cinnamon Girls- Neil Young and Crazy Horse
Fat Bottom Girls-Queen
She-Gees- Bee Gees
52 Grrrrls- B-52’s (in which I got to be Cindy Wilson)
And then, of course, there is his maverick band, Bomb
Bomb, was the name of an acid fueled San Francisco based hard rock band started in the late 80’s. They toured extensively, released several albums, including one on Warner/Reprise in 1992, but began their career with a vinyl only LP on their own Boogadigga Records circa 1987 entitled “To Elvis In Hell”. The band were known for their intense music and wild onstage antics…and occasional nudity.
Their first LP caught the attention of Rock and Roll scribe and historian Greil Marcus, as well as a slew of indie zines and punk rock fans across the American heartland where they toured.
They signed to Bay Area based Boner Records in 1988 who put out “Hits of Acid” on vinyl and cassette.
Bomb - I Loved You Then I Died
Bomb -Smile & Pose
This record was followed up in 1989 with “Happy All The Time” a vinyl & cassette EP. At the time they were one of San Francisco’s most popular local acts outdrawing local faves like Primus, Chris Isaak and 4 Non Blondes, and soon worked out a European deal with Gary Held’s fledgling Revolver label to release “Lucy In The Sky With Desi” in 1990, the band’s first CD, which combined material from both earlier Boner releases.
Heck, they even did a certain Depeche Mode cover that was recorded and released in Germany in 1990, a good decade or so before Johnny Cash got hipped to it by Rick Rubin…
Bomb - Personal Jesus
In 1991, they attracted the attention of former Jane’s Addiction manager Charley Brown, who got the band a deal with the Warner Bros. side imprint Reprise, originally founded by Frank Sinatra.
Bomb - There Is No Promise Of A Future In The Moment
Gee do you think that song title could’ve dimmed their prospects with Warner Bros?
If that wasn’t bad enough…
How about telling WB’s in house legendary Van Halen / Doobie Bros./Bullet Boys producer Ted Templeman you don’t want his stinking help and instead spending your budget flying out to fat worthless world music remix czar Bill Laswell’s pad.
The CD/Cass that resulted was “Hate Fed Love” ponderously produced in Brooklyn by Laswell’s lackey’s , basically sucking most of the life out of the band’s sound and creating a record that would soon flood cutout bins nationwide. Can you say Tax Write Off?
(Ironically, The Flaming Lips, another difficult to pigeonhole act that Bomb toured with, were brought on board the label at the same time with a more loving touch by a certain David Katznelson, and are still on the WB to this day. Even after Katznelson left the corporate hoo haw…)
Bomb’s total lack of tour support, non-existent radio & retail promotion, infighting, spiraling speed and heroin use all doomed the band. They broke up in 1993, but eventually emerged out of rehab & ruin to play some celebratory San Francisco shows in the late 1990’s and released a fan farewell CD only EP called “Lovesucker.”
Doug also manages and books the world famous Eagle Tavern, and has championed the careers of many bands the world over, which is why touring bands clamor at the chance of playing The Eagle. Not to mention, it’s one of thee best paying venues in the city for up and coming musicians.
http://www.sfeagle.com/
Doug Hilsinger records, mixes and masters many bands including my own, Mon Cousin Belge, Quelle Horreur in his own studio, Saucefaucet.
http://www.saucefaucet.com/
So, stop by The Eagle sometime, and find the tall handsome guy with the red hair and goatee. Say howdy and ask for a cocktail, because he mixes them like he does his music. Which is to say, “he does not fuck around!”
August 29th, 2008 at 11:55 pm
That is a nice picture of doug. He looks like a nice guy.
August 30th, 2008 at 3:49 am
he is…a very nice guy. a beautiful person really.
September 4th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Beautiful, serious? I have lots of nice things to say about Doug. Beautiful is not one of them . . .