Rich Hopkins and David Slutes are getting the band back together.
On Friday, Nov. 5, the two founding members of Sidewinders, with Hopkins’ wife Lisa Novack on guitar and vocals and Ernie Mendoza on drums, will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the band’s 1990 album “Auntie Ramos’ Pool Hall” by performing the album cover-to-cover.
“Looking back, I think those songs were great songs,” said Hopkins, who went on to form Rich Hopkins & Luminarios after Sidewinders broke up in 1993. “I would put that up against any band at any time. We just finally figured out how to do it.”
“Auntie Ramos” 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 1990’s “Auntie Ramos” record.
“Dave was really writing some good lyrics. Dave was really coming into his own and I think a song like ‘We Don’t Do That Anymore’ — anybody can relate to growing up and having to get serious about their life. It’s about growing up and not being able to party all the time and getting a job. The music still sounds really relevant.”
The Sidewinders recorded “Auntie Ramos” 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 album’s 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.
“It’s just a way to put the record back out there better,” Hopkins said. “We gave it a facelift. Yes, it is a bootleg, unofficially. But if they come after us for 300 records, I don’t care.”
In addition to “Auntie Ramos” cuts, Sidewinders will perform six or seven songs off their earlier albums including their debut “Witchdoctor.”
