That Badass Woman On Bass: Elizabeth Deal Meyers Of Candy 500
Interview By: Ginger Coyote
Liz and I go back in time to San Francisco hanging out with Celebrity Skin, Maggie Loy, Ariana Feldman, Chuck Mosley, Tim Ferris, Rebecca Tucker, Roddy Bottum, and Billy Gould in 84’ .
We had such a fun time I am asking Elizabeth about her days in San Francisco and her punk years in Portland and her life being married enjoy as we go back in time….
Punk Globe: What year did you move to San Francisco Liz?
Elizabeth: I think it was late 84, or early 85. I went down there to meet up with a certain drummer from Raleigh NC. RIP. Fell in love with him and the city. The love affair with the city was a winner.
Punk Globe: Who all was down in San Francisco from Portland? I met you all through Ariana Feldman. How did you meet her? I know she was working in the Haight at Back Street Betty.
Elizabeth: I met Ariana through Maggie Loy. Ariana was something else, a real corker as they say. Naturally hilarious, I love being around people like that.
The Portland/Eugene contingent was pretty big, it ebbed and flowed. People would come and go. Jimmy Dread, John Lyons, Angie Mima, and Gina Jensen are a few that come to mind. Rozz Rezabeck from Theater of Sheep Was there, although I didn’t know him at the time. I unintentionally squatted in his apartment for a week when I first got to SF. His ex-girlfriend had broken into his place while he was in Europe. You know her, She was infamous for breaking and entering, assault, theft, and house burning. Always looking for a rock and roll boyfriend. She ended up hitting the jackpot with a guy from Aberdeen.
Rebecca Severin lived around the corner from the Firehouse across the street from Valencia Gardens projects. At that time it was a war zone. I had been crazy about Frightwig since I saw them play Portland at The Pine Street Theater. So naturally it was great meeting and actually becoming friends. I met her through Maggie as well. Rebecca was a marvel always sewing in her room, standing up no less. Great guitar player too. A true Renaissance woman.
Punk Globe; I remember that apartment you lived in. But having trouble remembering where it was located? Nicky Sicky was there a lot. I think Dave Dictor was as well. I know I had some good times there. If those walls could talk
Elizabeth: I believe you are talking about the apartment on 16th St. If so, Dave Dictor lived around the corner with his partner and kids. Maggie, Kate, her boyfriend, and I lived in that house. I didn’t even have a bedroom. I literally slept on the floor in the dining room.
From the 16th St. flat I moved to an apartment with Michael Hornburg who went on to write Bong Water and Downers Grove, both of which were later adapted into feature films. The apartment was on the corner of Bush and Leavenworth “Tenderloin Heights” as we called it. Michael worked at Club 9 as a sound guy. He was from Portland as well but I met him quite serendipitously in SF. Walking down Grant Avenue in Chinatown. I was in dire need of a place to live, and I saw Michael riding down the street on his bike, and in that split second, we recognized each other from Portland. He stopped and we started talking. Ended up having a few drinks at the LiPo. Fortunately for me, he was looking for a place to live as well. He was really gracious and funny. It was perfect timing. The LiPo bar on Grant Avenue….. I loved that place. Really dark inside with a great jukebox and lots of Chinese gangsters sitting around in suits having covert conversations. Epic dive.
Punk Globe: I lived on Bush Street between Powell and Mason. I remember hanging out with you, Ariana, Chuck Mosley, Rebecca Tucker, and Maggie Loy with Celebrity Skin who lived in the space where Ian had her store when it was the Compound with the spiral staircase. Boy were they hell to climb down drunk.
Elizabeth: Celebrity Skin lived in the apartment upstairs yeah. The Compound was Firehouse 7 by the time I got there. An original firehouse from the late 1800’s. I used to use the firepole to get to the office in the basement. The club had the best live shows. I remember seeing Sister Double Happiness there on occasion. Amazing. Such an incredible band. Gary Floyds voice has a lot of soul. Delicious, like a buttery, bluesy biscuit. The Dicks were one of my favorite bands. I could watch Lynn Perko play drums all day. My first band 69 Ways actually opened for The Dicks at a house party in Eugene years before.
Celebrity Skin were legends. One day I was standing on the corner of 16th and Albion outside the firehouse and this old beat-to-shit van rolled up and this guy, I was later to know as Tim Ferris, rolled down the window and said, “Hey, do you have a driver’s license?” I said yes and he asked if I would drive them to The Mabuhay for a show. None of them had a license. So off I went. It was Celebrity Skin. Chuck Mosley was in the back. It was the first time I saw them and I have been a fan ever since. Their live shows were always extraordinary. I remember one Christmas show they played at the I-Beam. Jason Shapiro was dressed like a Christmas tree. For some reason that memory has been forever etched in my brain. Maybe it was the mushrooms…….. I don’t know how he played in that costume.
Punk Globe: Did you enjoy tending bar at The Firehouse 7?
Elizabeth: I did, and managed it for 2 years after Barb left. Those were the days of Gold’s gym bouncers and metal detectors at the door. Happy hours that lasted from noon to 7? Dollar fifty wells and really cheap beer 7 days a week. That place was a rich collection of local and touring musicians, eccentrics and crazy people on the daily. One day the bar was packed and this local guy who was 86 due to his violent outbursts and bathroom trashing, came in heading back to the bathrooms. One of the night shift security guys who was just hanging out, stopped him and told him to leave. Long story short, the guy proceeds to turn and head out the door trailing a line of poo on the floor falling from his pant legs….. It took a minute but pretty soon the stench filled the bar and it was just like the Baby Ruth scene in Caddyshack. Everyone flying out the front door, myself included. I can’t even clean up dog crap without gagging so I offered anyone who would do it a free bar tab for the rest of my shift, which was another 6 hours. Jimmy Dread stepped up and saved the day. He used a broom, dustpan, and mop which were promptly thrown in the dumpster.
Chick Cassidy, who was the brother of Jack Cassidy from Jefferson Airplane was, as you probably know, one of the regulars. He turned out to be a really great friend. I loved his Grace Slick stories.
Another great Firehouse story was when some hippies from Eugene left an entire roll of sweet tarts drenched in LSD on the bar. At closing time that roll of sweet tarts ended up on the back bar. As it turned out my bartender and I ate the entire roll while we were cleaning up that night. I just remember when I got out of the cab and walked up the stairs to my flat the walls were moving and seemed really bright. I had no idea that we had each unknowingly consumed around 6 hits of acid and not just any old LSD. This was University or Oregon hippy chemist LSD. That is until my bartender’s boyfriend called me and said she was “really tripping” and wanted to know if he could bring her over to my house “for a bit.” This was about 4 in the morning. I just remember when the sun came up it was Cinco de Mayo. The celebratory parade later passed right under our window. It was surreal. She and I spent the next 2 days laughing and dodging lasers shooting from the television. We later heard several origin stories about the sweet tarts from Eugene. Unbeknownst to me, several of my bartenders were flying high on those sweet tarts that night.
Punk Globe: Tell us some of your favorite memories of living in San Francisco.
Elizabeth: What I loved most about San Francisco was that you could see great bands every night of the week. There was always something going on. Coming from Portland where nothing really happened until the weekend, I enjoyed that very much. AND the fact that whatever you were into you could find it in SF. People came from all over the world to be there. The only native San Franciscan I ever met was Keith Chatham, from Condemned to Death. I loved All the street fairs, especially the Castro and Folsom street fairs. San Francisco taught me so much about people, tolerance, and culture as well as the magic of shamelessly being whoever the fuck you wanted to be. I was so lucky to live in the city at that particular time and work at the Firehouse. Reggae night, hip hop night, new wave night, and live music shows. The DJ Doc Martin had a night there as well. I loved every minute of it.
Punk Globe: Did you play bass with anyone in San Francisco?
Elizabeth: Not anything serious. I was too busy trying to pay rent. You really had to hustle if you didn’t want to live in a house with 20 people or sleep on dining room floors.
Punk Globe: You were in San Francisco at the same time as Courtney Love. Did you cross paths? After all, you and Chuck Mosley were close and she was tight with Roddy.
Elizabeth: Who?
Punk Globe: I remember there being a fire. I think she started at the flat where Roddy, Billy Jay, and Erin lived. Courtney woke everyone up and went outside and saw a cute fireman. She then went back inside the flat and came back out with a white sheet drenched around her naked screaming Fire Fire. We all had a good laugh.
Do you remember going to that Mexican drag club Esta Noche on 16th Street they served us the strongest drinks ?We got so fucked up.
Elizabeth: I do remember Esta Noche! I remember seeing one of those amazing Latin queens beat the living shit out of this dude for pulling her wig off. Right there on the sidewalk. His buddy just left him too. He wanted no part of what she was dishing out. You never had to leave the Mission District. A fully self-contained neighborhood.
Punk Globe: I remember hanging out at The Albion and 500 Club on Guerrero. Was Puerto Alegre another haunt on Valencia Street? Louie made the best Margaritas from a small blender…
Elizabeth: I don’t remember the Puerto Alegre. The Chatterbox was a great place. I love small bars that host live music. I wonder if it’s still there. I remember being at a St. Patrick’s Day party at the 500 club when a fight broke out. Bar stools flying overhead, fists flying you almost had to crawl out of there. We ended up bringing 3 Australian tourists home with us that night and they stayed for a week. That’s when I lived on 16th and Bryant. Crazy house, with 6 roommates. Pretty sure the Australians didn’t quite know what to make of it all but had a blast nonetheless and like the rest of us took with them some great San Francisco stories.
Punk Globe: We would all get together at the New Dawn for breakfast and lots of coffee. Did Maggie work there?
Elizabeth: I don’t remember Maggie ever working although I’m sure she did. She was a modern-day Artful Dodger. I say this with the sweetest of sentiments. Maggie was a force back then, the “queen of small talk” as I lovingly called her. She was and still is a really great writer. “The queen of small talk beats drums on my block.” XO Maggie.
Punk Globe: What other clubs do you remember hanging out at?
Elizabeth: Night Break, I-Beam, Club 9, DV8, Lips, The Oasis, local dives….the list is endless. Looking back, it seems like we pretty much lived in bars and clubs. There wasn’t much sleeping going on during the 80’s in San Francisco.
Punk Globe: I sure do miss those days in San Francisco. In what year did you decide to move back to Portland? I was so happy to see you in Portland you were living above Joe, Severin, and Rachelle
Elizabeth: I moved back in 89. It was a surprise to see you again just out of the blue. I was living there in that 4 plex with the legend “Miss Leesa ”Anderson. A rather convivial darling who has been my best friend and confidant for over 30 years now. Another Portland person that I didn’t meet until I lived in San Francisco. She was the 2nd singer for Sado Nation.
Punk Globe: Tell us about Portland. I loved it there. When the roses were in bloom pure heaven.
Elizabeth: Sooooooo, Portland where to start… The Portland punk scene was such a cool place to land for a little hayseed such as myself who found herself there in typical form, completely by accident. I didn’t get there until 1982 but the scene had been brewing since the late 70’s. and for such a small city there was a lot going on musically. Portland was really kind of dicey back then. It was an absolute microcosm of underbelly culture and it was great. Bud Clark was the mayor and his famous “Expose Yourself To Art” poster hung on my wall. These were the years before Vera Katz came in and put her gentrified gloss on the city. Spiking rents and forcing all the artists out of downtown and NW Portland. Unfortunately in the last decade, Portland has fallen into serious decline. The legalization of hard drugs was an experiment that hasn’t exactly worked out. It’s gotten so bad it’s tragic and the people with the means to leave do just that. There is however, still a diehard diy and music scene. Luckily, Portland is located an hour from the mountains and an hour and a half from the sea. It’s a pristine location and in time she’ll rise like a Phoenix.
Punk Globe: Let’s go back in time to when you were playing bass in Candy 500 tell us how the band got together.
Elizabeth: The band was already formed but had an apparent falling out with their bass player so they asked me. I was previously in a band with Ursula and the guitar player Cindy called 69 Ways in the early 80s. Ursula was a natural front Woman. I loved her voice and writing style so I said yes.
Punk Globe: How old were you when you got your first bass guitar?
Elizabeth: 19
Punk Globe: Was bass always your weapon of choice?
Elizabeth: Back then yes. But honestly, I always wanted to be a drummer but there was just too much stuff to keep track of. Too many small pieces to worry about. Especially in those transient and chaotic days.
Punk Globe: What kind of Amp were you playing within Candy 500?
Elizabeth: A very battered and bruised 70’s model Fender Bassman that I bought from Captain Whizeagles a music store owned by Fread and Toody Cole of Dead Moon. Fread and Toody were in a band called The Rats with Louie Samora (legend) who later played with The Jackals and now Eastside Speed Machine. Fread and Toody were really good for the local scene. You could buy equipment on “layaway.” I sure wish I had that amp now.
Punk Globe: Who were some of your favorite bands to play with and what were your favorite venues to play at?
Elizabeth: The Portland scene was so small in those days, There weren’t many clubs for Punk bands but the few we did have were great. The Metropolis, the Satyricon of course, and The X-Ray Cafe were always a psychedelic, pandemonium experience, 13th Precinct, The Pine Street Theater later called La Luna. There are more and I probably played at some of them but I can’t remember. My favorite band to open for was Napalm Beach. Chris Newman and Sam Henry were my rock and roll idols. Absolutely 2 of the greatest musicians the Pacific Northwest ever produced. Sadly they have both left us in the past couple of years. The Francis Farmer Gals with Dawn Panttaja, and Jeri-Ann Sheehan. They were one of my favorite Portland bands. Quintessentially Portland, and a sound all their own. RachelleMenache played with them as well at one point. Dawn went on to host Karaoke From Hell, a live band Karaoke experience that has become a beloved Portland institution. We lost Jeri-Ann around 15 years ago and it still hurts. The Oily Bloodmen were great. So many bands, so long ago. It’s almost like someone else’s life.
Punk Globe: You were also working at the legendary Satyricon Tell us about that.
Elizabeth: I tended bar Satyricon when I got back from San Francisco in 89. I waited tables at Fellini as well. Fellini was the restaurant and bar attached to Satyricon that George added after someone mysteriously blew up half the block on Couch St. taking out Seatramp Tattoo and the little market next door to Satyricon. As far as I know, that whole incident is still a “mystery.” Someone said it was an inside job by the cops or the city. Who knows? Naturally, that part of town was sketchy. That’s always where the best clubs are, the seedy parts of town with dark bars and cheap booze. One of the best of such bars was located a block away from Satyricon called Hung Far Low, It was notorious for its heavy pour and salty bartenders. It was fantastically dark and dank and had a suicide staircase to get up to it that people still talk about today. People would just go from Satyricon to Hung Far Low all night. It was a great setup…… Portland Lore, I could go on forever with this.
Punk Globe: I loved Hung Far Low !!! I was always looking for that guy who was hung far low … I remember sitting in Fellinis with Tom Pig until closing time.. You were close to Pig Champion and Darla (Dave) in that nurse uniform when they lived in a studio in Suburbia.
Elizabeth: I vaguely remember Dave’s nurse uniform but I do remember Suburbia. I believe it was the first practice studio space of the underground ilk. Rachelle conceived and made the whole thing happen. It was a monumental task and she got it done. Tom Roberts was a really good friend and a brilliant guitar player. He was mad at me for a couple of years after The Slayer Hippy, Poison Idea tour van crashing incident in San Francisco but we made up after I moved back to Portland. I never refer to him as “Pig champion.” I hate that moniker. He was a brilliant, ironic, sometimes surly, always hilarious, kind human. He could converse with you about anything, especially music and writers. The guy was really smart. He left us too soon.
Punk Globe: Are you still in touch with the other women in Candy 500?
Elizabeth: No, but I would always be up for writing again with Ursula.
Punk Globe: Tell us about your time at Courtney Love’s place in Seattle.
Elizabeth: Who?
Punk Globe: Did you play with any other bands prior to or after Candy 500?
Elizabeth: Prior to Candy 500 there was 69 ways. A band I started with was the LEGEND Margaret “Magpie” Loy on drums, Cindy Williams on guitar, and me on bass. We were all learning to play our instruments and didn’t have a singer yet. Jerry A came over and sang with us at our practice space in our basement at the 15th and Belmont house which was really sweet and inspiring because we looked up to Poison Idea. Portland was a very small scene. We were all like family albeit a very dysfunctional one. Kim “Miss Kimi” Oruda became our singer shortly thereafter and when she left, Ursula Wehr stepped in.
I joined Candy 500 around 93 and we recorded “The Loretta Hog Story,” on the Sympathy For The Record Industry label. It was produced by the legendary Steven J. Hanford, aka, “Thee Slayer Hippy.” May his sweet soul rest in peace. There were also the shows in 94 opening for Hole and Veruca Salt. After that, I was unceremoniously replaced for having the audacity to suggest a 2nd guitar player or even a 2nd bass player. I was looking for a thicker sound. I wanted to experiment. The whole cutesy, “chick band” thing was really dull AND as it turned out was really a good thing because after Candy 500, I played bass in Lavamatic. It was a three-piece band with Mondo from Poison Idea on vocals and guitar and a guy named Jeff, who had previously played drums for Completely Grocery. Both really great musicians. This was by far my favorite musical collaboration as besides being a hilarious and wonderful human, Mondo was, needless to say, a phenomenal guitar player and a ball-busting taskmaster, always challenging me musically. Suffice it to say, I learned a lot from him. Those were great memories.
Punk Globe: Fuck yes, a more gutsy sound would have been great…. You are now married and a homeowner. Tell us what made you want to settle down.
Elizabeth: I met the right person. If you can wander across the world and back with someone and still be friends you’re golden.
Punk Globe: Tell us how you met your husband.
Elizabeth: The old-fashioned way, online. My co-worker picked him out for me. I messaged him, we went bowling and we’ve been together ever since. The best leap of faith I ever took. He’s a great human, feet always planted firmly on the ground, a great counterbalance to my life in the clouds.
Punk Globe: You also have an interesting day job a bit different from The Satyricon.
Elizabeth: I no longer work at the acupuncture clinic. I am currently caring for my mum full time making sure the time she has left here is comfortable and worry-free. It’s fascinating the journeys we take. The many lives we live all in one go.
Punk Globe: Taking care of your mom after she took care of you. Beautiful… Are you in touch with Ben and is George still with us? He was such a cool guy.
Elizabeth: I’m guessing you are talking about Ben Munat. I do see him around at shows and an occasional party now and then. He and his lovely partner Jen still organize events around Portland. George Touhouliotis is indeed still with us. The last time I saw him was at the Premier of Satyricon: Madness and Glory. A Documentary of the Club by Mike Lastra. George, such a legend, our godfather. It’s been a minute but I’m certain he’s living his best life. He always did.
Punk Globe: I loved George; he was the best… I also had a little crush on Ben 30 years ago. You and your husband like to take long vacations in a certain country. Tell us what made you love the country. Do you have plans to move there?
Elizabeth: We decided to go to Transylvania on a whim actually. It’s a long story but we basically went for the history as well as the fact that it wasn’t Western Europe. We fell in love with Romania. They have a reverence for their history and they preserve it. Also, gun violence is exceptionally rare as Romania has some of the strictest gun laws in the world. The antithesis of America. I like that very much. Romania is where I go to decompress. America has just become too intense, nonstop insanity. Life is much slower and I find peace there. If you are ever in Timisoara, check out “Viniloteca.” A great record store with coffee and craft beer. The goal is to buy an apartment there in the next year or so for longer stays but we need to agree on the city which hasn’t happened yet. Clearly, a bit more negotiating is in store.
Punk Globe: Do you have any Internet addresses that you would like to share with the readers?
Elizabeth: violet1313@gmail.com
Punk Globe: Describe yourself in 3 words.
Elizabeth: Introverted Extrovert, Idealist
Punk Globe: This year Punk Globe is 46 years old. I remember when I told Alex Cheney, my Weatherman boyfriend, that Punk Globe was 45 years old. He replied “Wow you are old” He was 28. He thought I was born and then started Punk Globe just out of the womb. And I was 45 years old. He never asked about my age before. Do you have any last words for Punk Globe readers?
Elizabeth: I will leave you with a quote by Roald Dahl.
“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.”
PS ~ Love you Ginger
Punk Globe: Love you Kitten we have had a life many only dream of.
Elizabeth: And lived to tell the tale.