By Jackie Wanders
Get Your Tickets for Debauch-A-Reno Part 2 HERE
On July 14th you can catch hugely prolific British musician, painter, poet, author, and godfather of the Medway punk scene, Billy Childish, as his latest band headlines the second installment of Debauch-A-Reno in Virginia City, NV, the cutest little town you’ve probably never heard of but should definitely visit, so there’s two potential things right there to cross off your bucket list. Count that as three things if you’re driving from So Cal or eastern Oregon/Washington and have never traversed the 395. Arguably one of the most gorgeous US highways in the country, this ultra-scenic route will get you most of the way there.
Since 1977 Childish has made noise with The Pop Rivets, Thee Milkshakes, Thee Mighty Caesars, Thee Headcoats, The Buff Medways, and CTMF, shorthand for Chatham Forts, a name he came up with while working as an apprentice stonemason at the Chatham dockyard in ’76/’77. Childish has had his hands in countless other acts, perhaps the most well-known being the Holly Golightly-fronted Thee Headcoatees and Delmonas, two all-girl backing bands for Thee Headcoats and Thee Milkshakes, respectively. Childish has been involved with 150+ recordings in the Rock ‘N’ Roll canon, and is easily one of the greatest living rock musicians.
It’s been almost 20 years since Billy Childish & Co. toured the west coast and in celebration of Pete Menchetti’s 30th anniversary as The Sticker Guy, Billy is giving us an exclusive US appearance at Debauch-A-Reno. As Pete put it, “Slovenly Recordings put out a single for Billy Childish & The Music of the British Empire back in 2007 or so, and we lost touch for a while. It seems he took a bit of a break from live music, but after noticing them playing out a bit, we started talking about having him play various events we were putting together… and this one is absolutely most definitely the most perfect fit!”
Also on the bill is Atlanta’s Subsonics and Sacramento’s th ’Losin Streaks, who, to be honest would be reason enough for me to want to drive to Virginia City from the Bay Area. They are just the icing on this 30th anniversary cake. (P.S. If you can’t make it to Virginia City and are in the Bay Area, catch the Subsonics on July 15th at Thee Stork Club or July 16th at Bottom Of The Hill.)
Get Your Tickets for Debauch-A-Reno Part 2 HERE