In its 6 year span Playground Slap concocted a strange groove, a Jamulian brew of peculiar funk. Rock with many nods to psychedelia, rap and jazz, with sprinkles of country and latin sway, brooding songs with catchy sounds aloft a swingingly stiff, often atonal mess of introspection and parody. The Sartre-riddled kids played some arty shit, and possessed an uncanny ability to drop their pants in unison at the flick of a light switch.
Forged and sloppily polished in a secretive compound in Jamul (the DeZonia bunker, a.k.a. Jamul A-Go-Go), these intrepid self-taught new funking wave brothers, delivered a unique version of romanticismic bounce to eager, strained ears in the San Diego area. During their tenure, 1982 to 1988, they shared the stage with bands like Midnight Oil, Fishbone, Ministry, Camper Van Beethoven, Adrian Belew's The Bears and many others. Feeling the need to pursue other interests the Slap boys parted ways in 1988.
Moving ahead to late 2005, feeling like there was unfinished business, Marcelo Radulovich invited old playground chum David Ybarra to come up to his new studio to experiment and record some of the Slap tunes. The session yielded interestingly funky interpretations infused with some 20 years of living. More sessions were arranged, which included Ray DeZonia back s, plus various characters, old and new: Mike Keneally (friend from the Slap's heyday) on piano and keys; the kicking style of drummer Bill Ray; + a visit from original drummer Mike Addis. Inspired by the recordings and the talents of the new blood coming into play, this new version of The Playground Slap began rehearsing and is once again, out and about playing live and peddling their unique art.
If you'd like to get in touch or keep informed by joining the mailing list, contact:
info at playgroundslap dot com.
