Rich Hopkins and David Slutes are getting the band back together.
On Friday, Nov. 5, the two founding members of Sidewinders, with Hopkinsโ wife Lisa Novack on guitar and vocals and Ernie Mendoza on drums, will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the bandโs 1990 album โAuntie Ramosโ Pool Hallโ by performing the album cover-to-cover.
โLooking back, I think those songs were great songs,โ said Hopkins, who went on to form Rich Hopkins & Luminarios after Sidewinders broke up in 1993. โI would put that up against any band at any time. We just finally figured out how to do it.โ
โAuntie Ramosโ was a pivotal record for the Tucson band, which had toured nationally and scored Top 5 hits on the North American College & Community Radio Charts with their three RCA releases in the mid-1980s through 1990โs โAuntie Ramosโ record.
โDave was really writing some good lyrics. Dave was really coming into his own and I think a song like โWe Donโt Do That Anymoreโ โ anybody can relate to growing up and having to get serious about their life. Itโs about growing up and not being able to party all the time and getting a job. The music still sounds really relevant.โ
The Sidewinders recorded โAuntie Ramosโ in Los Angeles for $10,000 and then let the record label put it out. Hopkins said that the label fell down on the job after a lawsuit forced the band to change its name to Sand Rubies in 1993.
To celebrate the albumโs 30th year, Hopkins said he remastered it and completely redid the artwork. He had 300 records pressed to sell at Sidewinders shows, including one they did in Phoenix in September.
โItโs just a way to put the record back out there better,โ Hopkins said. โWe gave it a facelift. Yes, it is a bootleg, unofficially. But if they come after us for 300 records, I donโt care.โ
In addition to โAuntie Ramosโ cuts, Sidewinders will perform six or seven songs off their earlier albums including their debut โWitchdoctor.โ
