Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Melvin Knurbein's last recordings

Dying drummer needs your help

Resevior Tips’ Melvin Knurbein, a funny guy who would bend over backwards for people, is in his last days.
Resevior Tips’ Melvin Knurbein, a funny guy who would bend over backwards for people, is in his last days.

“They just put him in hospice yesterday,” says bassist Mike Woods about Resevior Tips drummer Melvin Knurbein, a longtime member of the San Diego punk community also known from bands like Woodshed, the Untold, and Storm Section. “I just spoke with him. He is coherent and aware, but he goes in and out. He has diffused gastric cancer, which is a rare form of cancer.”

Woods says he is resigned to the fate of the bandmate he has played with since 2003. They shared a mutual appreciation that rock bands could goof on modern day bullshit when they launched Resevior Tips.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Woods says there is no room for the Resevior Tips in the modern era wherein Disneyland has just forbidden its Pirates of the Caribbean figures from selling wenches.

“The world is too serious and politically correct for a band like us now,” says Woods, who happily works for a mortuary. “Resevior Tips started as a side project to do funny songs. We had songs like ‘Bumfuck Egypt’ about a show in the desert, and ‘Lesbos’ about two of our girlfriends who moved out here from Florida.”

Woods says the Resevior Tips members, which also included guitarist Rowland Bluntz (Ramblin’ Outlaws, FuckLordz), came from metal and punk bands who wanted a fun side project. “The first Resevior Tips show was in 2003 at a hall in El Cajon. We opened for Agent Orange.”

Woods, who attended Hilltop High School in Chula Vista, says he then went to Southwestern College to study sound recording. “I ended up changing gears when I got a part time job at a funeral home.”

Now he is faced with playing shows for his bandmate who is facing his own mortality. “Melvin was one of those guys who would do anything for you. Who would bend over backwards to help people out. He would work on your car.”

But Woods, said Melvin, now in his 40s, was hit with an unlikely onslaught of medical woes. “Ten years ago he had to get a kidney and pancreas transplant.”

Woods makes it clear Melvin was not a partier. “People may say ‘Oh, he was a punk rock animal.’ Not true. He had terrible health that had nothing to do with anything that was self-inflicted.”

Woods says the immediate Resevior Tips community has been tapped, but more support is needed. “We did a benefit show for Melvin in December at the Til Two Club. We made $1500…. He went downhill really quickly after that. All I know is the insurance does not cover the medical bills when you include all the treatments and the transplants.”

A Gofundme account has been set up for Knurbein, and Woods hopes those who know and don’t know Melvin will contribute. “When we were rehearsing for the benefit we were lucky to do a few new songs with Melvin, which are turning out to be his last recordings,” says Woods.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Victorian Christmas Tours, Jingle Bell Cruises

Events December 22-December 25, 2024
Resevior Tips’ Melvin Knurbein, a funny guy who would bend over backwards for people, is in his last days.
Resevior Tips’ Melvin Knurbein, a funny guy who would bend over backwards for people, is in his last days.

“They just put him in hospice yesterday,” says bassist Mike Woods about Resevior Tips drummer Melvin Knurbein, a longtime member of the San Diego punk community also known from bands like Woodshed, the Untold, and Storm Section. “I just spoke with him. He is coherent and aware, but he goes in and out. He has diffused gastric cancer, which is a rare form of cancer.”

Woods says he is resigned to the fate of the bandmate he has played with since 2003. They shared a mutual appreciation that rock bands could goof on modern day bullshit when they launched Resevior Tips.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Woods says there is no room for the Resevior Tips in the modern era wherein Disneyland has just forbidden its Pirates of the Caribbean figures from selling wenches.

“The world is too serious and politically correct for a band like us now,” says Woods, who happily works for a mortuary. “Resevior Tips started as a side project to do funny songs. We had songs like ‘Bumfuck Egypt’ about a show in the desert, and ‘Lesbos’ about two of our girlfriends who moved out here from Florida.”

Woods says the Resevior Tips members, which also included guitarist Rowland Bluntz (Ramblin’ Outlaws, FuckLordz), came from metal and punk bands who wanted a fun side project. “The first Resevior Tips show was in 2003 at a hall in El Cajon. We opened for Agent Orange.”

Woods, who attended Hilltop High School in Chula Vista, says he then went to Southwestern College to study sound recording. “I ended up changing gears when I got a part time job at a funeral home.”

Now he is faced with playing shows for his bandmate who is facing his own mortality. “Melvin was one of those guys who would do anything for you. Who would bend over backwards to help people out. He would work on your car.”

But Woods, said Melvin, now in his 40s, was hit with an unlikely onslaught of medical woes. “Ten years ago he had to get a kidney and pancreas transplant.”

Woods makes it clear Melvin was not a partier. “People may say ‘Oh, he was a punk rock animal.’ Not true. He had terrible health that had nothing to do with anything that was self-inflicted.”

Woods says the immediate Resevior Tips community has been tapped, but more support is needed. “We did a benefit show for Melvin in December at the Til Two Club. We made $1500…. He went downhill really quickly after that. All I know is the insurance does not cover the medical bills when you include all the treatments and the transplants.”

A Gofundme account has been set up for Knurbein, and Woods hopes those who know and don’t know Melvin will contribute. “When we were rehearsing for the benefit we were lucky to do a few new songs with Melvin, which are turning out to be his last recordings,” says Woods.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Big kited bluefin on the Red Rooster III

Lake fishing heating up as the weather cools
Next Article

Aaron Stewart trades Christmas wonders for his first new music in 15 years

“Just because the job part was done, didn’t mean the passion had to die”
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader