Inflatable Boy Clams - Artifacts from San Francisco's 80s' Music Underground

I've been so lax about posting while I work on other projects ("My kingdom for a standing desk!" cried the would-be writer). Posting here takes a bit of research and time and I only have a limited amount per day to do a somewhat decent job of it. So why haven't I just posted my Inflatable Boy Clams video and their pre-IBC Pink Section video as well? These videos have just been SITTING AROUND on my YouTube with hardly any fanfare from me whatsoever. 

If you're wondering what I'm talking about, you're not alone. Inflatable Boy Clams may be the most obscure band ever to exist (next to my band, She Mob). But people who lived in San Francisco in the early 80s may recall their inspired take on everything from skeletons to frenemies.

They had gone their separate ways by the time I realized they had been part of "the scene." But I used to play them on my radio show at KSFS and they got some air-time on KUSF as well—a college-radio staple in my mind. Band-member Carol played doggy ball with my pickup league (named after the rubber practice ball we used) on several occasions. Those were heady musical times, my friends. Musicians, writers and artists playing ball on some of the finest city-park fields imaginable—appreciating Inflatable Boy Clams all the while.

Inflatable Boy Clams, I'm Sorry - my favorite IBC song. It still brings up memories of former roommates I wish I could forget. A visceral experience for me.




Pink Section, Francine's List - Carol and Judy's 1981 band before forming IBC with JoJo and Genvieve.


All visuals are courtesy of the Prelinger Archive.

Weirdly, there's been a bit of IBC activity on the Internets this week. I posted about them a couple days ago on my Tumblr, in response to a This is Hanging Rock Comic that paid them tribute. Then the next day Dangerous Minds featured them. Serendipity! It's an Inflatable Boy Clams universe—we just live in it.