With the reunited Jane’s Addiction headlining Live 105’s BFD this weekend, it’s the perfect time to remember the first club to bring Perry Ferrell’s legendary band to the South Bay. From 1985 to 1990, Santa Clara’s One Step Beyond was a hub of counterculture in the Valley, with their all-ages policy exposing a generation of indie kids, punks, goths and other mistfits to not only Jane’s Addiction, but the Ramones, Replacements, Ministry and other alt-rock legends.
After the success of the One Step Beyond reunion last year, organizers are doing it again on July 21 at Club Illusions in Palo Alto (which has its own unique history throughout its various identities as the Keystone, the Vortex and the Edge). Headlining the One Step Beyond reunion this year will be the Frail, with performances from several DJs, including Live 105’s Aaron Axelsen.
Before Axelsen was shaping musical tastes around the Bay Area as music director at Live 105 and host of the weekly new-music showcase Soundcheck, he was having his own tastes shaped at One Step Beyond.
“I used to go to One Step Beyond and see crazy bands there when I was 14,” says Axelsen, who grew up in the East Bay. “It was a big part of who I am.”
He sees this event as sort of a high-school class reunion for those who had their eyes and ears opened at 1400 Martin Avenue. He’s also a big fan of headliners the Frail, the up-and-coming San Francisco electro-pop group who are releasing a new record this summer.
The One Step Beyond reunion will be held July 21, 8pm at Club Ilusions in Palo Alto, $10 pre-sale/$15 at the door.
.The Frail Headline One Step Beyond Reunion July 21
