White Mule features members of Sirhan Sirhan and the Marsupials, led by Jason “Captain Blackie” Blackmore (Sirhan Sirhan, Rats Eyes, Otro, Molly McGuire) and David Robles (Wha?, the Marsupials).
Kansas City native Blackmore, a future Turf Club doorman, began blowing the roof off of local venues while fronting the band Molly McGuire, a staple of the mid-1990s Kansas City sound.
The band came through San Diego several times, including one lonely night at the Casbah. “It was the night of the [San Diego] Music Awards…we played for the doorman and the bartender. I just remember really digging the vibe and the palm trees. And Off the Record. I remember us going to Off the Record on 5th the first time we toured through San Diego. [We] bought a beer at the Greek place next door, and watched a guy take a piss on the sidewalk in broad daylight, right in front of the window of the restaurant. That, and the fact that Tanner and Pitchfork are from here, that’s why I moved here.”
Molly McGuire disbanded in 1998, not long after the release of their second full-length album Lime (Epic Records, 1996, produced by Failure mastermind Ken Andrews).
In 2012 and into 2013, with Blackmore funneling earnings from his job as doorman at Cheswick’s West, he and Robles produced a documentary called Records Collecting Dust. Local rockers, label heads, and music-store owners sharing prized vinyl in the film include John Reis, Mario Rubalcaba, Craig Oliver, Pall Jenkins, Bob Barley of Vinyl Communications, Cave Punk label honcho Thad Robles, and Matt Anderson of Gravity Records.