After canceling two shows at Avalon last month, Salmon have finally decided to play their first show in five years on Saturday, July 28 at 9 Lives in Gilroy, which is appropriate considering that the band started out in Gilroy.
Back in the mid-90s, Salmon were one of just a handful of local bands that could play the Cactus Club once a month and pack the venue every time. As their popularity grew, everyone in the scene pinned all their hopes on them as San Jose’s big breakout band. They scored a record deal with the major label, Red Ant, but the album Paco, Drop the Chicken never made an impact outside of San Jose.
Salmon’s rise came right in the midst of the rap-metal era, right before nu-metal took over. Unlike some of the bigger acts—Korn, Rage Against the Machine, 311—Salmon were a much goofier more eclectic group which was due to rapper Lawrence Martinez, whose biggest influence was Les Claypool from Primus, and guitarist Aaron Goodwin, who had a background in jazz and experimental music.
Though their metal-fueled rap songs didn’t show it, Salmon’s roots went back to the bay area funk scene from the early 90s—bands like Fungo Mungo, Limbomaniacs and Psychefunkapus.
Before Salmon formed, Martinez and drummer Pat Ruiz played together in a short-lived goofball funk-rap group called Dutch Courage. After Dutch Courage split, they formed “Groovalistic Salmon” with Goodwin and bass player Tom Walker and stuck firmly to the spastic funk format. They dropped “Groovalistic” and wrote a rap-metal song about the Flintstones. The song became a favorite at shows. Fans asked them to write more songs like the Flintstones song, which they were happy to do. Next thing, Salmon was the hottest act in San Jose, except that they were really from Gilroy.
Salmon play at the 9 Lives in Gilroy on Saturday July 28. The show starts at 8pm. Tickets are $10.
.Salmon to Play First Show in Five Years
