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Last night (Wednesday, July 13), Penetrators guitarist Gery Heffern jammed onstage with Mudhoney during an encore of The MC5's "Kick Out the Jams" at Tavastia, Helsinki, in Finland where Heffern currently lives.
"They were on fire last night," says Heffern. "Packed house. It was like a sauna onstage."
Off the stage, "We were all sitting backstage, and the guys were talking about how some of their fans were saying to them that when they saw them for the first time that they were kids, and obviously now are adults. I looked at them and said 'Well, if this will make you guys feel any better, the last time I saw you I was 52 years old.'"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXs18kpn_kQ
As for why Heffern seems in the video to be leaning down to look at the floor as he plays, "Actually, I had the lyrics printed out, as i was only coming in on a few lines etc, and there are a lot of lyrics in the song!"
Singer-guitarist Gary Heffern made his local mark in the 1970s with Monotone and the Nucleoids. He rose to prominence during his stint with proto-punkers the Penetrators, which included several future Beat Farmers, including drummer Country Dick Montana.
The Penetrators got their first big break opening for the Ramones at SDSU’s Montezuma Hall. “During that period,” says Heffern, “we racked up a number of concert disasters all over San Diego. There was the time we played at the San Dieguito High School gym, and someone in the band got caught either smoking pot or drinking. The principal stopped the show, and the kids went crazy and had a teenage riot. One of those kids reminded me of that show years later; his name was Eddie Vedder.”
The future Pearl Jam vocalist eventually appeared on Heffern’s second solo album Painful Days, as did REM’s Peter Buck. Heffern later moved to Finland, near the Arctic Circle, where he still resides as of early 2009. There, he formed the Beautiful People with guitarist Timo Rautio, aka Luke Whitten.
Heffern’s 2008 solo album Consolation, with guest players Steve Berlin (Los Lobos), Alejandro Escovedo, and Peter Case, includes a cover of the Bruce Springsteen song “Growin’ Up.” Heffern returned to San Diego in January 2009, to do a Penetrators reunion show, during the Casbah’s month-long 20th anniversary celebration.
He visited San Diego again in April 2011, to perform with a Penetrators (and partial-Injections) reunion on the 3rd. The Casbah also hosted his April 6 release party for Gary Heffern and Beautiful People with his backup band including hometown heroes from Tell-Tale Hearts, the Shambles, Mystery Machine, Gravedigger V, Crawdaddys, the Loons, and others.
His 2011 album Gary Heffern and Beautiful People was recorded with his Finnish backing band. A new video for “Hand of the Devil” and related article was posted at http://www.cheunderground.com/blog/?p=7636.
He'll be returning to San Diego for the 2011 San Diego Music Awards, where the Penetrators are getting a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Last night (Wednesday, July 13), Penetrators guitarist Gery Heffern jammed onstage with Mudhoney during an encore of The MC5's "Kick Out the Jams" at Tavastia, Helsinki, in Finland where Heffern currently lives.
"They were on fire last night," says Heffern. "Packed house. It was like a sauna onstage."
Off the stage, "We were all sitting backstage, and the guys were talking about how some of their fans were saying to them that when they saw them for the first time that they were kids, and obviously now are adults. I looked at them and said 'Well, if this will make you guys feel any better, the last time I saw you I was 52 years old.'"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXs18kpn_kQ
As for why Heffern seems in the video to be leaning down to look at the floor as he plays, "Actually, I had the lyrics printed out, as i was only coming in on a few lines etc, and there are a lot of lyrics in the song!"
Singer-guitarist Gary Heffern made his local mark in the 1970s with Monotone and the Nucleoids. He rose to prominence during his stint with proto-punkers the Penetrators, which included several future Beat Farmers, including drummer Country Dick Montana.
The Penetrators got their first big break opening for the Ramones at SDSU’s Montezuma Hall. “During that period,” says Heffern, “we racked up a number of concert disasters all over San Diego. There was the time we played at the San Dieguito High School gym, and someone in the band got caught either smoking pot or drinking. The principal stopped the show, and the kids went crazy and had a teenage riot. One of those kids reminded me of that show years later; his name was Eddie Vedder.”
The future Pearl Jam vocalist eventually appeared on Heffern’s second solo album Painful Days, as did REM’s Peter Buck. Heffern later moved to Finland, near the Arctic Circle, where he still resides as of early 2009. There, he formed the Beautiful People with guitarist Timo Rautio, aka Luke Whitten.
Heffern’s 2008 solo album Consolation, with guest players Steve Berlin (Los Lobos), Alejandro Escovedo, and Peter Case, includes a cover of the Bruce Springsteen song “Growin’ Up.” Heffern returned to San Diego in January 2009, to do a Penetrators reunion show, during the Casbah’s month-long 20th anniversary celebration.
He visited San Diego again in April 2011, to perform with a Penetrators (and partial-Injections) reunion on the 3rd. The Casbah also hosted his April 6 release party for Gary Heffern and Beautiful People with his backup band including hometown heroes from Tell-Tale Hearts, the Shambles, Mystery Machine, Gravedigger V, Crawdaddys, the Loons, and others.
His 2011 album Gary Heffern and Beautiful People was recorded with his Finnish backing band. A new video for “Hand of the Devil” and related article was posted at http://www.cheunderground.com/blog/?p=7636.
He'll be returning to San Diego for the 2011 San Diego Music Awards, where the Penetrators are getting a Lifetime Achievement Award.