THE SAXOPHONIST, THE MENTOR, AND THE McDONALD’S METAL HEADS

On this episode, you’ll meet the person responsible for giving the SF-based band Uncle Chris its sultry saxophone vibes, next a musician who has been gigging around the Bay and building community since the bicentennial, and finally, Mac Sabbath, the Black Sabbath cover band that dresses up as McDonald’s characters. Each has a surprising story to tell.

 

 

A transcript for this episode is located below.

Holly Burns: (Lively rag time piano music plays) Hello and welcome to Northgate Radio, I’m Holly Burns.

Bella Arnold: And I’m Bella Arnold. We’ve got a lot of fun, heartwarming, and quirky stories for you today.

Holly Burns: First, we’ll hear about a musician who found her voice through the saxophone.

Seref Ha’Qol: I, I was really nervous. I, uh, I was wearing this like purple turtleneck. That was like Valentine’s Day colors. It was really f – ing hot. A little moist in the palms.

Bella Arnold: Then, we’ll meet someone who’s made a career by building community through music for half a century.

David Sturdevent: The fact that, you know, now I’m at 76 and still rolling is a pretty good feeling.

Holly Burns: Finally, we’ll stage dive into an audience filled with people dressed as McDonald’s characters. A. K. A. the Max Sabbath fandom.

Kadence Long: Yeah, and he, he snorts, uh, snorts a line of these giant fake ants. And, you know, he comes out with, like, ketchup and mustard bottles full of water and sprays the crowd and, you know, tons of fun things like that. (Piano music fades out)

Bella Arnold: Holly, do you know where I can find some sultry jams in the Bay Area?

Holly Burns: Actually, Bella, today is your lucky day. There’s this band called Uncle Chris. They’re an alternative indie jazz band, and they play some of the Bay Area’s sexiest music, thanks to their saxophonist, Seref Ha’Qol. (Saxophone plays)

The San Francisco based band has amassed 47, 000 listeners on Spotify and has a new EP coming out soon. For Northgate Radio, reporter Mel Velasquez spent some time with Seref in the mission.

Seref Ha’Qol: I feel really authentic when I play. I don’t know, I’ve always like, said and thought this for a long time that like, that’s like, my voice. (Indie jazz music plays)

Mel Velasquez: Seref Ha’Qol has played the saxophone since elementary school, and when she moved to San Francisco in 2018 from Pasadena, she started playing with the band Uncle Chris. They got their start their first year at the University of San Francisco, but Seref wasn’t initially a part of the band.

Seref Ha’Qol: And like, a lot of people knew I played saxophone because I couldn’t practice in the dorms, it was too loud.

So at night, after all the classes, I would go into the classrooms and practice. And sometimes people would be like, trying to like, study in the classroom next door, there’d be like a window, and people would be like, what the f (BEEP!) there’s just like, someone playing saxophone, rad.

Mel Velasquez: And the lead singer of the band, Sue Ling, happened to be one of those people.

And she told the rest of her bandmates about Seref.

Seref Ha’Qol: And they were like, oh, like how cool would it be if we had like a sax solo on this one song? And so I showed up to practice and they’re like, teach me the song. And I’m just there for the rest of practice and kind of playing along by myself. And they’re like, you know what?

You sound really good on all these other songs. Why don’t you play on like four songs?

Mel Velasquez: And with no meeting to officially induct Sara, she just became a part of the band. Her first show with Uncle Chris happened a month later at Café du Nord in San Francisco in early 2019. (The concert audience shout and cheer. Concert sound begins to fade underneath the voice over)

Seref Ha’Qol: I was really nervous. I, uh, I was wearing this, like, purple turtleneck that was, like, Valentine’s Day colors. It was really f ing hot. A little moist in the palms.

Mel Velasquez: Small shows in San Francisco are packed like sardines. Sometimes the crowds are centimeters from the band playing. And at this point in time, Seref wasn’t on every song, so she didn’t play for every song.

Seref Ha’Qol: Just like sat down on the stage, and like took it all in. Cause there were like hella people, and I was like, Oh my god, like I feel so cool. And then, we finished the set with like this really like, high energy song that I was playing on. (Energetic music from the stage comes to an end. Crowd cheers.)

And then we were like, thank you Uncle Chris. And like, I came off the stage and hella people were like, Whoa, like, saxophone, that’s so unique.

Mel Velasquez: Later that year, the band went to record their first single, Green Eyes, at Hyde Street Studios in the Tenderloin.

Seref Ha’Qol: Where Santana,

(‘Black Magic Woman’ plays) and Herbie Hancock, (Funky jazz music plays) and f-ing Digital Underground (‘Freaks of the Industry’ fades in and out) , hella people recorded. Every time I go in there still I’m just like, oh my god, it’s such a big dog.

Mel Velasquez: Green Eyes was the lead single off their first self titled album that came out in 2020 and it’s still their most listened to song on Spotify with 3. 3 million streams. (‘Green Eyes’ plays. A saxophone accompanied by a mellow bass and keyboard followed by a soft vocal with gentle drums and electric guitar)

Seref Ha’Qol: But sometimes I get anxious and I’m like, Oh my God, I’m going to die. That’s going to be like the greatest achievement I’ll ever have is like recording this one song when I’m 19 years old. (“Will it even matter anywaaa-ay? Cause I…I…I’ve been waiting for far too long now. And I…” musics fades out)(‘Green Eyes’ continues)

Mel Velasquez: An album and a hiatus later, it’s 2020. COVID hit everyone like a truck. Remember that video compilation of celebrities singing Imagine? (Second sond bite “Living for todayyyy oooOhh”…)(First sound bite- “imagine all the people”…)

yeah, it was rough. But we also had some extra time for introspection during the 2020 lockdown.

Seref Ha’Qol: You know, I realized I was a girl and I, I would, I had just turned 21.

Mel Velasquez: And in a weird way, Seref was grateful for the pandemic and isolating.

Seref Ha’Qol: I, I felt it was like, kind of a cocoon for me to like, try new things with my expression, (Jazzy indie music plays underneath) and my name, and my voice, and my music.

Um, and I wrote a lot of music that’s like, you know, floating around somewhere on my laptop.

Mel Velasquez: The saxophone became her voice, and Uncle Chris served as a support system to feel the most herself. As glittery and simultaneously eye rolling as the saying is, the power of friendship unifies the band.

Seref Ha’Qol: I have a lot of like raw ideas. That’s really what I love with a group like Uncle Chris is I feel like I can come with like kind of a half baked idea. And everybody else can come and fill it in.

(after the concert the band packing up. Microphone picks up their chat)

Seref Ha’Qol: Guys, I love playing shows with you. You’re my best friend. (a rustling microphone thuds)

Band member: (Laughing) Seref!

Seref Ha’Qol: I love you so much.

Mel Velasquez: Seref was especially grateful for Sue Ling, the lead singer who made her feel so cared for.

Seref Ha’Qol: When I started, like, transitioning and, like, doing my makeup and hair, like, Sue Ling was giving me pointers. Usually, like, a lot of trans women, I think, I know, have experienced this. Where you come out and all your Friends who are girls are like, Oh my God, like let me give you my old makeup and hair stuff, blah, blah, blah.

And it’s all like expired or like old or like used or it’s like broken. And she was the one person who like. Followed up with that, and like, will always. Sue Ling gives such good gifts. I’m so happy to be her friend. (Uncle Chris music plays)

Mel Velasquez: Seref says playing sax became a coping mechanism to distract herself from gender dysphoria, before she even knew it was dysphoria. There’s this fear that once they start transitioning, trans folks won’t be able to continue doing the things they love, like singing or acting.

Seref Ha’Qol: And when I first transitioned, I was almost scared. That like, that would be the case for me in music or me in playing the saxophone because I loved it so much. And it just, it kept feeling good. It didn’t feel like anything that was tied to, you know, something, something that’s not me.

(Music ramps up and continues)

Seref Ha’Qol: What I thought my gender was for 20 years wasn’t me. But like, playing saxophone is me. When I speak, I’m like, that’s me. That’s my voice. Like, that’s how I feel when I listen back. I’m like, that’s me. Not like that’s me playing the sax song. That’s just me.

(indie jazz continues to play louder)

Mel Velasquez: Anything else you wanna say to the people?

Seref Ha’Qol: Listen, Uncle Chris.

(Music begins to fade and the audience cheers slowly comes to an end)

Bella Arnold: (Transitional piano music beings to play) Now, let’s head over the Bay Bridge to Oakland, where reporter Holly Burns introduces us to a musician you’ve probably seen perform all over the Bay, but never heard of. His name is David Sturdevent, and he’s entertained crowds here for over 50 years.

Holly Burns: (Live jazz music begins to play) The first time I met David, I spent the entire day with him as he hopped from his gig to a friend’s gig to an after party get together. He wears a blue diamond crowned fedora hat with very chic athletic wear.

David Sturdevent: I’m somebody who’s very fortunate to be able to make my living playing music, and where I live, because there’s so many great musicians around here.

Holly Burns: David grew up in upstate New York. He served in the Vietnam War, and afterwards, found himself in San Francisco.

David Sturdevent: It was just the tail end of, like, the summer of love. People were just so open minded and everything, and not so concerned about money. (energetic banjo music plays)

Holly Burns: before leaving the military, A soldier buddy of his gave him a guitar.

David Sturdevent: So I just took that as sort of an omen and, you know, I bought a chord book and learned the basic chords.

Holly Burns: He met a four string banjo player willing to play with an inexperienced musician. (Music contiues and volume ramps up)

David Sturdevent: I mean, to this day, I’ve never heard anybody really better than him on that type of banjo. So we played in some little clubs and cafes and then started playing on the street at Union Square in downtown San Francisco, and that changed everything. Back then, nobody played on the streets, you know. It’s hard to believe now, but it was like everywhere you go.

Holly Burns: They had success playing around San Francisco, and David named the band the Medicine Ball.

David Sturdevent: Music is medicine, and music is healing.

Holly Burns: The Medicine Ball got written up a couple dozen times by Herb Cain, a beloved San Francisco columnist and humorist. Dave says it was the best publicity you could get back then.

And the band eventually made an album and took their shot.

David Sturdevent: We did a version of, um, America the Beautiful.

(‘America the Beautiful’ plays ) And, uh, we turned it into a disco.

We thought, well, this would be perfect for Washington. You know, so there was definitely hopes of something big coming out of that.

Holly Burns: It was 1976. The Bicentennial was a big deal. And so was disco. (‘America the Beautiful’ continues to play)

There were a few disco covers that became big back then. Thelma Houston, Don’t Leave Me This Way, and Amy Stewart, Knock on Wood.

(‘Knock on Wood’ plays)

Holly Burns: But nothing ever came of the Medicine Ball’s version of America the Beautiful. And that’s when David decided, eh. I don’t need fame, and neither does the Medicine Ball.

David Sturdevent: I’m happy to just stay home and like, you know, and just have fun here and just, you know, make a decent living.

Holly Burns: That’s what he’s been doing for 47 years, along with some international tours, he’s been gigging around town.

(Live music with David’s vocals -“I’m crazy. Craaazy for feeling… so lonely…”) He plays at Cheeseboard in Berkeley and Caffe Trieste in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood. He plays at senior living facilities.

(Audience member during David’s performance speaks up)

Audience Member: How about a few words of eplanation.

(David on the microphone)

David Sturdevent: It’s all about electronics.

Audience Member: No, I mean about you.

David Sturdevent: Oh, we started playing on the streets of San Francisco. I was already playing out there back before most of you were born.

Audience Member: I don’t think that applies to this audience.

Holly Burns: And he puts on a live event at the Plymouth Church of Jazz and Justice in Oakland, where he brings together amateurs with renowned jazz musicians. (At the church, jazzy bass plays along with finger snaps – “can y’all listen to that?”)

Janette Morris: I think the concept is really Um, good music. Good musicians and bringing them together.

Holly Burns: That’s Janette Morris, a member of the church and one of David’s longest friends.

Janette Morris: He works at a lot of young people, a lot. And he’s really good at, you know, supporting. I mean, of course, there are seasoned musicians out there like the ones that are playing right now. He can hear somebody on the street.

And, you know, and he’ll invite them to come to our church and do a solo, you know, or invite them to come to Monday Night Jazz, you know, he, he, he’s done that many times. So yeah, he’s very supportive.

Holly Burns: David has mentored young musicians in the Bay for several decades. I spoke with Kazeem Elebute. He’s 18 years old and flew up from Los Angeles to play at David’s 76th birthday on a tilted boat in Sausalito. (“Happy Birthday” by the chuch band plays )

(Interview audio between Holly and Kazeem)

Holly Burns: Why are you playing at David’s birthday?

Kazeem Elebute: Part of me is like, I have to, in terms of like paying homage. It’s kind of like part of my roots as I’m a growing musician. I mean, he’s been calling me for gigs since, you know, eighth grade. (laughing) It’s just crazy.

Holly Burns: David heard Kazeem at a jam session and arranged for him to play with the world famous trombonist Steve Turre.

But when Kazeem showed up, heee.. was empty handed.

Kazeem Elebute: I had a horn stolen out of my car.

David Sturdevent: His instrument was, and I said, Kazeem, where’s your axe? He said, could I play euphonium? I said, yeah, why not? And so they played a song together, and it was like magical. To make a long story short, Steve Turre went back to New York and mailed him the blue trombone that he played on Saturday Night Live.

Holly Burns: Since the 70s, when he became the bandleader of the medicine ball, He’s been bringing together musicians from the Bay and beyond.

(Live harmonica and drums plays in the back ground while Holly interviews David)

Holly Burns: What do you think the legacy of the Medicine Ball Band is?

David Sturdevent: Oh, well, it was fun while it lasted. But it lasted longer than almost any band that I know of. I mean, even the Grateful Dead. The fact that, you know, now I’m at 76 and still rolling is a pretty good feeling. (From the live stage an MC on the mic)

MC: Bringing sexy to the stage. (Audience cheers) Y’all give it up for Mr. David Sturdevent! (Applause continues) And if you observe carefully, you can see him blush. I love to do that.

Holly Burns: For Northgate Radio, I’m Holly Burns.

Now we’re coming up on our last story, and… it’s a weird one.

Thomas Sawano: Uh, there’s this, uh, Black Sabbath cover band called Mac Sabbath that I saw on Santa Cruz one time. Oh, cool.

Bella Arnold: Holly, that’s Thomas Sawano, one of our classmates at the J School.

Thomas Sawano: Basically their whole shtick is that they all dress up as McDonald’s characters, so their lead singer Hamburglar.

Bella Arnold: He told me all about this cover band from California. That blends Mickey D’s with Black Sabbath. (rock music plays)

Some sources say Mac Sabbath is from Los Angeles. Others say they’re from the bowels of outer space, Chatsworth, California, Birminghamburger. And their manager has even said in interviews that they’re from an enchanted forest where burgers grow on trees.

(Rock music plays)

Bella Arnold: The band consists of four people, or creatures, I guess is what they call themselves. Each is a mix of McDonald’s mascots and iconic musicians from rock and metal bands. On bass is Grim Alice, a big, purple monster inspired by rock legend Alice Cooper. Slayer McCheese plays guitar, and Cat Burglar is on the drums.

He’s a mix of The Hamburglar and Peter Criss from Kiss aka Peter criss cut fires. The final band member and frontman of Mac Sabbath is Ronald Osborne. He’s a mix between Ronald McDonald Good Morning Class and Black Sabbath’s lead Singer Ozzy Osborne. (Ozzy Osborne – “I am Ozzy Osborne, the Prince of Darkness….”)

Every song the band plays is a parody based off of Black Sabbath songs. They’ve turned Sweet Leaf into Sweet Beef. Paranoid is para buns, and Iron Man is now Frying Pan. (Rock music fades out)

Marshall Winters: As a kid, I loved the vintage McDonald’s stuff, just like regular McDonald’s, like the fast food company.

Bella Arnold: That’s Marshall Winters, a diehard Mac Sabbath fan and self proclaimed stalker of the cat burglar.

Marshall Winters: Yeah, when I figured out that I love metal and I love just music, I saw these Mac Sabbath people and I was like, what the heck is this? Pretty cool. And then I fell in love.

Bella Arnold: If, like me, you’re still perplexed and think this is extremely weird, just wait until you hear about their live shows.

Kadence Long: He will, almost between every single song, he does, you know, this banter.

Bella Arnold: Kadence Long is another Mac Sabbath superfan. Here she is talking about Ronald Osborne’s concert shenanigans, like bringing out a freaking grill on stage.

Kadence Long: He also has a bit where he, you know, bites the head off the bat in a burger bun, like Ozzy Osbourne did. So in the movie The Dirt, Ozzy Osbourne snorts a line of ants. Yeah, and he, he snorts, uh, snorts a line of these giant fake ants. And, you know, he comes out with, like, ketchup and mustard bottles full of water and sprays the crowd and, you know, tons of fun things like that.

(Live music from Mac Sabbath performance plays)

Bella Arnold: this wasn’t making sense. I needed to go to the source —- Mike Odd, the manager of Mac Sabbath.

Bella – diary: Okay, so I am on the Mac Sabbath, um, Wikipedia page prepping for my interview. Yes, Wikipedia. What? I don’t care. Um, and I’m seeing that it is like a constant thing that like, since their infancy, and since the band began, like Mac Sabbath, (Bella’s diary recoridng fades out)

Bella Arnold: For weeks, I was begging Mike Odd to give me even a crumb of his time. I emailed his team a bunch, he stood me up once. And finally, FINALLY, I’ve reached him… over Zoom.

Mike Odd: Hit me with it.

Bella Arnold: He was backstage at a Mac Sabbath show.

Mike Odd: My name? That is intense. It’s, wait for it, it’s Mike Odd.

Bella Arnold: Before we get into the meat of the conversation, I asked him about this fan theory that he was actually the frontman of Mac Sabbath, not the manager. After all, he was the lead singer for a punk band from SoCal called Rosemary’s Billy Goat. Listen closely. Here’s Mike. (rock music with upfront vocals plays) And this is Ronald Osborne. (music plays “I am frying pan! Ha ha ha ha….”) Was Mike the clown man himself?

Mike Odd: I think that is hilarious. I have heard that one before, but why wouldn’t I take the credit?

Bella Arnold: Anyways, when I pressed Mike on the Mac Sabbath mission, its purpose, he kept describing it as a drive thru metal band.

Mike Odd: The whole idea, the whole idea is, is, uh, of drive thru metal is to investigate your drive thru lifestyle and rethink it. And slow down.

Bella Arnold: So, what I was starting to gather is that the band was anti fast life, perhaps. Which includes fast food. They’re all about stopping to smell the yellow and red striped roses. I mean, you can’t even listen to their music outside of concerts unless you buy their records. On vinyl. It’s also a play on Black Sabbath, who is anti establishment.

But. I had to wonder, does the band’s message to SLOOOW DOOWWWN even land with fans?

Kevin Earl McClary: Yeah, I mean, I totally respect, like, their stance on being anti fast food, if that’s what they believe and that’s what they’re into, and that’s what they are mixing into the lyrics. That’s awesome.

Bella Arnold: Kevin Earl McCleary, or @KevinEarl93 to his 88,000 TikTok followers, makes videos about TV, nostalgia, and commercial jingles. He also made a TikTok about the time he saw a little band called Mac Sabbath in concert.

Kevin Earl McClary: I, I feel like the message though from a band like that may not land the way, um, that maybe another artist might because you are dressing up in all of the Iconography and all of the, the marketing characters, um, from this large corporation.

(music plays “on that web I’ve got your minnnd. OH lord yessss!” )

Bella Arnold: Oookay. Shocker. I’m confused. Mac Sabbath concerts are basically fast food fests, with burgers being thrown into the audience with reckless abandon. And their lyrics don’t seem to say much about hating fast food. I was getting nowhere. But as I dug deeper and deeper down this fry oil infested hole, I started to wonder why should I care?

Do I care? Or more importantly, do other people care?

Head Ned: Uh, so I go by the name head, Ned. Uh, I’m the lead singer, the lead Ned quote, compiler. Um, and frontman of the heavy metal band Oakley Doakley. (Ned Flanders – “Ha! Oakley Doakley Do!”) this whole idea of rock and metal bands taking on alter egos and dressing up is not unique to Mac Sabbath.

There’s Cybertronic Spree, a rock band that dresses as Transformers. Galactic Empire, a Star Wars metal band. And there’s even Oakley Doakley. Devoted to Ned Flanders from the Simpsons.

So it’s like any band where you can find and create a mosh pit where people are smiling in it, that energy is good and it works.

And so that’s what I love about Mac Sabbath, Metalachi, Playboy, Man Baby, these like bands that are heavy and fun at the same time.

Mike Odd: But I think that there’s a certain amount of people who are living this lifestyle who realize that this business. He’s a joke, and they can’t, and they can’t approach it from a serious manner.

Bella Arnold: That’s Mike again.

Mike Odd: So they still feel it in their veins and want to rock, but they’re sort of to the point where if they’ve done it enough, they realize that no matter how serious you are about a certain band or a certain Artists that you think is so Serious and legitimate and pouring their heart out to you personally when they come to your town and stuff Whatever whoever it is, you know, people go.

Oh, that’s sticky and I don’t like sticky novelty, uh Uh bands or whatever. It’s like They’re all sticky

Bella Arnold: So, the whole allure of these vans is their ridiculousness. Not that they’re hiding some deep societal critique behind a quirky facade. Honestly, I still don’t f ing know. Good thing someone asked Ozzy.

(Interview clip with Ozzy Osbrone plays)

Interviewer: Did you like the message in that music?

Ozzy Osborne: To be honest with you, I was just watching the clownery.

Interviewer: I mean, it’s not the most serious of things.

Ozzy Osborne: It’s fun, it’s just spoof. I’m like, if you can’t send the love, don’t f ing do it.

Bella Arnold: For Northgate Radio, I’m Bella Arnold.

That’s it for Northgate Radio. Today’s show was produced and engineered by Mel Velasquez, Holly Burns, and Bella Arnold. Shereen Marisol Meraji and John Facile were our executive producers. And special thanks to Rick Johnson for technical support. Northgate Radio is a production of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.

Holly Burns: I’m Holly Burns.

Bella Arnold: And I’m Bella Arnold. Thanks for listening! (music fades out)