Thirty years ago, Tucson rock band Sidewinders released their debut major label album “Witchdoctor.”
The album, on RCA/Mammoth Records, cracked Billboard’s Top 200, inching up to 169. The single “Witchdoctor” reached No. 18 on Billboard’s U.S. Modern Rock charts.
On Friday, Nov. 22, original band members David Slutes and Rich Hopkins team up with Lisa Novak, Ernie Mendoza and Duane Hollis to celebrate the album in a concert at Club Congress. The desert rock band will perform the album cover to cover, with Tucson band Birds and Arrows opening.
“Witchdoctor” came out in 1989 but RCA did little to promote the project.
The band ended up on three other major labels through its roughly five-year run and recorded three albums in all before splitting up in 1993. The breakup came two years after a North Carolina cover band called Sidewinder successfully sued the Tucson band over the name.
The Sidewinders changed its name to the Sand Rubies, but infighting among band members over creative differences eventually took its toll.
Hopkins, the band’s founder and lead guitar/principal songwriter, went on to a successful solo career with his longtime band Rich Hopkins & The Luminarios. Lead singer Slutes is Club Congress’s entertainment and booking director.
Friday’s concert starts at 7:30 p.m. at Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St. It’s a 21-and-older show and tickets are $12 in advance through hotelcongress.com; it’s $15 day of show.
