URBAN MUSIC scenes cannot be planned, or shaped, or controlled; they just happen, spontaneously and organically, when a diverse collection of artists ends up in the same place, at the same time, with the singular goal of making great music. San Jose reached such critical mass back in 1986, when 13 disparate acts banded together as the First Strike Musicians Collective—and set out to put the city on the musical map.
Although the Count Five, the Doobie Brothers and Dionne Warwick had garnered San Jose some national attention, San Francisco was still the reigning cultural metropolis. Turning the spotlight on the South Bay seemed long overdue. First Strike had a lot going for it: dozens of artists committed to the cause, sympathetic local media and a downtown on the verge of redevelopment. It was an exciting time to be in San Jose.
The first nightclub to notice wasn’t really a nightclub. It was a rib joint called the Laundry Works. Housed in an old brick building on the outskirts of San Pedro Square, it featured rustic décor, cheap liquor and a low stage that created a feeling of intimacy.
Dean Hessler, who managed the place, had been hiring cover bands to draw a crowd on weekends when First Strike approached him about adding original acts to the roster. Hessler agreed to try one night a week, which quickly turned into seven.
“I was a big music fan, but didn’t really know about the local scene,” Hessler recalls. “I’d seen [San Jose rockabilly group] the Kingpins in L.A. not too long before. And with First Strike, using local bands seemed like perfect situation. I really jumped into it.”
Hessler went “gung-ho” booking original music at the Laundry Works, hiring First Strike bands, other Bay Area artists and a few nationally known acts, such as Chris Isaak, Jonathan Richman and the Meat Puppets. A music scene developed, one that wasn’t based on any particular genre. Soon everyone had a place in San Jose where they could appreciate live local music—and hang out.
“That whole time and that scene, it’s why I’m doing what I’m doing now,” says Greg Camp, best known today as the guitarist for Smash Mouth. Camp, then 19, performed at the Laundry Works with the pop band Heroic Airmen.
“I had played in clubs before, but it was the first time I was part of a scene,” Camp says. “I remember being really influenced by all the local music … being really inspired. Every week, I went down there to play or to listen to music and would come home and write songs.” Camp would later pen many of Smash Mouth’s chart-topping hits, including “All Star” and “Walkin’ on the Sun.”
Sadly, the Laundry Works’ run was short-lived: the restaurant was sold in early 1987. But it went out with a bang, closing with a sold-out three-night lineup of 23 bands. Their performances where recorded for the album, All Washed Up: The Last Days of the Laundry Works, which became one of Tower Records’ bestselling local releases ever.
What’s more: The restaurant’s brief success as a live music venue helped musicians and entrepreneurs see the downtown’s potential, giving rise to other bars and clubs and, ultimately, the SoFA district.
San Jose has changed a lot since the ’80s, but the musicians who were part of the old scene haven’t forgotten the Laundry Works—or the community it helped create. Dozens plan to reunite for a live show on June 13. (Camp says he’ll play with several of the bands, including the Maids of Honor.)
Scott Long, front man for the alt-country band Frontier Wives and one of the show’s organizers, invites music fans, old and new, to attend. “The level of quality entertainment is going to be second to none. This is not a nostalgia show; this is going to be the greatest hits of San Jose.”
Rebecca Smith Hurd ([email protected]) wrote Metro’s local music column, “Neighborhood Noise,” in the late 1980s while she earned her journalism degree at SJSU.
RINSE AND REPEAT: THE LAUNDRY WORKS REUNION featuring the Maids of Honor, Grey Matter, Frontier Wives, Epic Rumors, Hip Drivers, Kooch Bahar, and Den of Antiquity
Sunday, June 13, 3:30–10:30pm
Club Rodeo , 610 Coleman Ave., San Jose
Tickets: $10 (available in advance from TicketWeb)
