WET NURSE
Explaining Wet Nurse by Describing Their Supporters
​The kids who were raised in Marin County and who supported Wet Nurse grew up anti-establishment. Their generation recognized the socio-political issues that defined our culture ( racism, misogyny, homophobia, war, gender issues, etc. ). They generally choose a bohemian lifestyle defying the conventional norms of college, marriage and kids. The concept of punk which emerged in the late 1970’s was a natural fit to the already rebellious lifestyle of this generation of Marin kids.
Wet Nurse and the band’s satire spoke to their imagination. Watching musicians get serious about music and turning rock and roll into business, observing the first stirrings of the “me” generation, cocaine over psychedelics, fast cars over cool old clunkers, acquiring stuff, disco and all the transitions that occurred as non-materialism and sharing gave way to acquisition and ownership; Wet Nurse chronicled these times and rather than whine about it, had big fun describing and refuting this sociological transitioning phenomena.
HEIDI
Heidi met Rouleau or Rouleau met Heidi at a party in funky old Pt. Richmond (before Pt. Richmond became the bourgeois enclave it is today) in a rambling old house overlooking the San Francisco Bay. The Wet Nurse boys were downstairs jamming. The women were gathered around a table in the kitchen. Heidi suggested that they write a song together and make the guys play it. What came out of that creative session was a song about female orgasms, “I’m There!” (“You really got me hummin’, I feel the waves “a’comin’, OOH WEE BABY! I’M THERE!”)
Heidi hasn’t stopped writing, recording or performing since this auspicious beginning. Heidi is an icon for strong women. Her songs embody female empowerment. She writes about women unafraid to be vulnerable, to take a chance on love, and damn the consequences. She has worked with many producers and musicians over the decades. She is currently woodshedding new material with her current reiteration of The Pets.
MUD FROM MARZ
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If the music of Mud From Marz were a painting, it would be a 1950s abstract in which the artist used a trowel to form waves of expression, movements that could be captured only once. Mud From Marz formed in the early 1980s in Sausalito California, the brainchild of Marcelo Pradas. Marcelo’s musical vision was delivered by the synergy created among the band members - a blend of bohemian philosophy, spontaneous creativity and altered states of consciousness.
When MFM achieved the sound they were searching for and felt ready to commit, they booked a single session at Marin Recorders. The power of MFM and the left field originality of the band doesn’t define, it manifests; the musicians lose themselves into their combined effort. The blend of art, music and sonic joy, without regard for conventional production values, offers the listener a dynamic, fearless and inspired aural experience.
WILD LIFE
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After a successful career in Florida and the South east, singer/composer Pat Maffei returned to the Bay Area and formed the band Wild Life.
Pat wanted to revisit a Rouleau catalog song, “China Girl.”
Rouleau organized a session at Marin Recorders where Pat and the members of Wild Life recorded a revised version of “China Girl” and Pat’s original song, "Dangerous Curves.”
Huey Lewis added hand claps and backup vocals and worked with Pat on the final mix of “Dangerous Curves.”
BIG FRANK HAWKINS
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The 2 Jimmies production team found a drum track they really admired and decided to build a song around the track. Frank was recruited to sing the lyrics to “Justine,” which were inspired by the rough and tumble Canal district of San Rafael CA in the late 70s- early 80s. The B-side, “Just Dreams” is a dub version of “Justine.”
BARBARA SNOW
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The Two Jimmies wanted to record a New Orleans-style retake of Heidi’s “Sorry and Sad.”
They completed the basic tracks in the studio and then looked for a singer to do a reference vocal track. The track drummer recommended his wife. When Jim Jacobs listened to her lay down the track, he knew he’d found the right singer for the final version.
Barbara also provided her golden voice for the next Rouleau project, “The Car Song.”
The Downtown Orchestra is made up of local musicians who are available and want to participate in the various Rouleau undertakings.
FLOKKEN DU
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"Everybody Lies" recorded live in Norway.
All other Flokken Du recordings include Joey on vocals and drums, Rhody on vocals and drums, and of course, Wilhelm on drums.
SWEET JIMMY
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Sweet Jimmy is an amalgamation of musicians, new and long time friends (including Downtown Orchestra alumni) who have fun collaborating on various Rouleau music projects. The name is in tribute to a long gone, totally cool and elegant, old school Oakland CA nightclub, Sweet Jimmie’s.
HAWK HIGH
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Hawk High formed and performed way before punk and the creation of Rouleau.
Hawk High is the music of Big Frank Hawkins. The four songs were recorded in a single session with his band in the early 1970s.
