The Scooters at the Casbah, San Diego, CA



The Scooters are a Welsh quintet who have great harmony-laden songs in a Beatles and Crowded House vein.



I discovered them about 18 months ago at CDBaby. I had done a "sounds like" search for The Beatles and Crowded House and they were one of the results. Their first CD, "Peepshow," includes two hidden tracks; one a cover of "Rocky Racoon" and the other a cover of Neil Finn's "Throw Your Arms Around Me."



I liked these guys so much I signed up for their mailing list.



I received an email notice the other reminding day me of their gig at a hole-in-the-wall club called "The Casbah," a place near the San Diego Airport. It's a typical dive bar, but it's the best dive bar I've ever been in. My friend and lead guitarist Mark and my friend Natacha and I went. We arrived about 9:30 PM and caught the last part of the first of four bands. The Scooters weren't scheduled to play until midnight. Oof.



I had brought my copy of "Peepshow" with me in order to secure autographs, because, well, I just thought it would be fun to get them. I decided to look for the band members, since I figured finding a few pale-faced Welsh lads in the land of surf, sunshine and permanent tans shouldn't be too hard. It wasn't. I saw two likely looking blokes sitting at a corner table outside smoking and drinking beer.



I walked up to them and said, "Hi... are you...?" and whipped out my "Peepshow" CD.



"Wha...!!!" they exclaimed. "Yeah, that's us!" I had found Simon, the keyboardist and Chris, one of the lead singer-guitarists. "Where'd you get that?!?!" they asked excitedly.



"CDBaby. I did a 'sounds like' search for Beatles and Crowded House and you guys popped right up at the top, so I bought it."



"When was that?"



"Oh, I don't know, maybe 18 months ago." They nodded at me and looked at each other. "CDBaby..." Simon said to Chris.



I asked them to autograph it and they were really happy to. We talked about the album (they told me it was just a collection of demos they'd done and finally released as a record), about the tour a little (I mentioned I'd read about their epic snowstorm voyage from Mineapolis to Missoula, MT.) and some other stuff. Simon ran off to get me a copy of their new album, which they also signed. They also found Tim, the drummer. The two other guys were asleep in the van.



Eventually the other two guys woke up and Simon came into the club to get me. I went out and met Tony and Bob and they signed as well. I rehashed the CDBaby story with them. It was fun to see these guys come alive with the idea that there was someone there to see THEM at a show so far from home.



They played a great set - the vocals sounded spot-on and the playing was tight as well. The crowd had shrink in population by the time they got on stage but the folks that were there were definitely impressed, as was Mark and Natacha.



I had told them that I'd hang out as long as I could but I might have to leave before they were finished. I also told them I'd say "Bye" before I left. Towards the end of the show Chris asked on mike, "Is Alan still here?" I responded with a "Yes" and he dedicated two songs to me, which was nice of him. Natacha gave me a hard time about that. "Oh, two songs, eh?"



I thanked them all after they had finished and drove home as fast as I could. I got home at about 2 AM Friday morning, but I was glad I went and super-glad I stayed for the whole set. I hope they are able to break out to some level of recognition and success; I'd like to hear more of their music in the future.



Here are the autographed inserts:



Peepshow

I Can See Your House From Here