{"id":30875,"date":"2025-12-01T00:11:41","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T08:11:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandiegotroubadour.com\/?p=30875"},"modified":"2025-12-02T11:30:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T19:30:07","slug":"the-bastards-dont-let-the-name-fool-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandiegotroubadour.com\/the-bastards-dont-let-the-name-fool-you\/","title":{"rendered":"The Bastards: Don\u2019t Let the Name Fool You"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"

The Bastards in the studio: Patrick McClory, Danny Campbel, Shawn Rohlf, Jeff Berkley, Tim Flannery, Ben Zinn.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

This is a journey, a trek into a parallel universe where I would love to reside always. Well, mostly, kind of. It\u2019s just that I know when I step over the threshold at Satellite Studio, I am entering a place where dreams are developed and manifested.<\/p>\n

Beyond the bright reception area and the heavy inner door, the room is dimly lit. Jeff Berkley sits at the board, the controls shining upward on his face as he makes adjustments, quick, feather-like fine-tuning of the inputs. He is at once the sound engineer and one of the three electric guitarists as well as one of the three vocalists and songwriters on hand.<\/p>\n

Shawn Rohlf is another, and he sits next to me on the couch, with a microphone on a stand positioned in front of him at the ready. Acoustic guitarist and vocalist Tim Flannery is in the isolation booth, seated on a stool warming up to sing his song \u201cAshes to Ashes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The back wall is made almost entirely of glass, and through it I see globes of colored lantern lights hanging from the high ceiling. In the large room, drummer Danny Campbell sits, joined by bassist Patrick McClory and guitarist Ben Zinn.<\/p>\n

There are six of them: three singer-songwriters who play instruments and three instrumentalists who don\u2019t sing; together they are the Bastards. But don\u2019t let the name fool you, they are the nicest group of guys. I\u2019m hanging out with them at the studio as they record what will become their album, Fall Risk<\/em>, which was released this past October.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s always a joy being in the studio with Berkley. It seems that whomever he\u2019s with, there will be an endless string of one-liners and laughter. The Bastards don\u2019t fail to deliver on that front, and I\u2019m having such a good time, I feel like I\u2019m on vacation. But I\u2019m working, trying to pinpoint the angle\u2014there are so many.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"

Tim Flannery & the Lunatic Fringe: Flannery, xxx, Shawn Rohlf, Jeff Berkley<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Their strands of musical DNA have twisted and looped through many of the same people and projects for years\u2014some tighter and some from further afield. Berkley has been playing in Flannery\u2019s band, the Lunatic Fringe, for almost 30 years; Rohlf joined them in the early 2000s. McClory and Campbell have both played with the Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash, which makes them, in a way now, double bastards. The two of them, along with Zinn, are in Zach Barnhorst\u2019s band ZB Savoy, and they have all regularly played with Stacy Antonel. The three of them, plus Berkley, have also played with Sara Petite. To top it off, McClory and Rohlf are the twins in the group, as they share a birthday. It makes my head spin.<\/p>\n

Flannery recalls meeting Berkley in 1996, who was in the Joel Rafael Band at the time. \u201cYeah, I used to follow Joel Rafael. I used to love watching him, and Berk was just a kid in the back playing djembe, you know, but had that incredible magnetic, you know, I don\u2019t have to explain it to you. You guys see it. We\u2019ve seen it and been attracted to it forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

He continues, \u201cDown at Java Joe\u2019s, I spent a lot of years being trained by the best down there as well as watching them and getting an opportunity to do the reps. And then Berk saw the people I was playing with, and he called and said, \u2018Hey, look, you\u2019re playing with all my friends\u2014can I play too?\u2019 I go, \u2018Sure, we\u2019d love it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Berkley remembers even further back to when he was just 12 years old\u2014a Junior Padre and Little Leaguer. His mom, who had a crush on Flannery, took him to a Padres meet-and-greet. \u201cI got to meet him, and I was a huge fan because he was this utility player, and that meant he could play a bunch of positions, and I really thought that was cool. And also, I knew he was a musician, and I loved music and was already dabbling with drums and piano and stuff at that age. So, it just was cool. He was this guy who loved baseball and music, just like I did, you know, so we had common ground. But I was just a fucking little snotty kid when I met him, man; I didn\u2019t know shit. I was just learning about songwriting and how to be in a band and all that. I think he probably was too. So, it worked out really well. We\u2019ve kind of grown up together in a way, even though he\u2019s a little older than me. But that\u2019s really the story.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"

The Joel Rafael Band, 1994: Jamaica Rafael, Joel Rafael, Carl Johnson, Jeff Berkley, Glenn Goodwin.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Fast forward to his time with Joel Rafael, Berkley continues, \u201cWe toured around, and we opened for Joan Baez and Pete Seeger and all these people. I did that as a percussionist. I played with all these people\u2014Jackson Browne and Ben Harper and all that\u2014with that band. That\u2019s where Flan first saw me playing percussion, and he was like, \u2018Oh, man, that guy\u2019s cool.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cLater on, Dennis Caplinger was in the band, and he was like, \u2018You should get that guy Jeff Berkley to play percussion in your band.\u2019 At that time, Flan only played like five or six shows a year because he was in baseball, so we would only play during the off season. We\u2019d play gigs, and it was easy, even though I was busy. It was cool to start playing with him, and, basically, me and him and Dennis Caplinger were his original band.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"

Shawn Rohlf<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

When Rohlf arrived in San Diego in late 1997, he went looking for the folk venues and ended up frequenting Twiggs and Java Joe\u2019s, where he met Berkley. \u201cI ended up on some open mics, on some folk shows with him, and got to know him first, and then, through him, I met Tim. And so, this is early 2000s, I started doing shows with them both and becoming very good friends with them.<\/p>\n

“And then, you know, shortly after that, Flan was like, \u2018You got to be in my band.\u2019 And I was like, \u2018Sure,\u2019 and I joined up. So those guys are like, you know, my brothers. I\u2019ve known them for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zinn and Rohlf met at the Office bar in North Park during a regular event called the Grand Old Office, a country music night with a house band that accompanied different songwriters who would come through and play. Rohlf felt an instant connection with Zinn: \u201cHe\u2019s a Nebraska boy, and I\u2019m a Minnesota boy. We had this Midwestern kind of connection pretty quick.\u201d They played in several bands together\u2014Rohlf’s bands, Jonathan Lee’s band, Sara Petite shows\u2014before joining up with the Bastards.<\/p>\n

Rohlf met Campbell through Petite just a couple of years ago but they quickly started playing a lot together. \u201cDanny\u2019s the guy, you know. He\u2019s such a great drummer and such a great guy, so that\u2019s why everybody wants to play with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s interesting, you know,\u201d Rohlf continues, \u201cyou meet a lot of musicians and play with a lot of people, but there\u2019s some that you just really click with. And that, to me, is like half of it. It doesn\u2019t matter how good they are if you don’t click with them, you know. If there’s no chemistry, it just doesn’t work, really. But these guys, I click with all of them.”<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"

The Bad News Bears<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Rohlf and Petite have a just-for-fun band called the Bad News Bears, and McClory joined them about ten years ago. They don\u2019t rehearse; they simply book gigs, show up with a dozen or so songs each, and play them while the others join in. That project saw Rohlf and McClory bonding right away and becoming good friends. \u201cSo, when Jeff put this band together, he was asking about bass players, and I was like, \u2018I think Patrick would be a great bass player for this band.\u2019 And so, we got him, and, sure enough, he fits in perfectly.\u201d<\/p>\n

The impetus for creating a band in the first place came from the increasing number of band-type gigs Berkley was being offered. Scheduling issues with others made it difficult, but he wanted to be able to accept more of them. Right away, he considered a trio with Rohlf and Flannery because they had such a long history of playing and being on the road together. The three of them knew each other well and presented no learning curve. The idea eventually expanded from just the three of them to include additional players who would round out the band.<\/p>\n

Berkley shares, \u201cWell, Shawn had bragged about Ben being a great player, and I had heard him play with Josh Weinstein one night, and he sounded like Mark Ribot, my favorite guitar player in the world. I\u2019m like, \u2018Oh my god, that guy\u2019s amazing.\u2019 He literally just plugged his guitar straight into the amp, and then turned the reverb on, and he was getting all these fucking weird sounds. It was so cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

After seeing Campbell, McClory, and Zinn backing Petite at a Beat Farmers tribute, he remarked, \u201cThey were just rocking every song.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"

Danny Campbell. Photo by Dennis Andersen.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The wheels started turning then, and after a gig with Campbell, Berkley recalls, \u201cI was out in the car getting stoned and lamenting about the schedule issues, and he walks by my car like the fucking angels dropped him on my porch. And I just said, \u2018Hey, you wanna be in a band?\u2019 He\u2019s like, \u2018Really?\u2019 I go, \u2018Yeah, really.\u2019 He\u2019s like, \u2018Okay. We\u2019re calling ourselves the bastards.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Campbell thought he was joking, but says, \u201cNow I get where he\u2019s coming from, you know? Like, I mean, it\u2019s funny and we\u2019re serious, but we\u2019re not taking ourselves so seriously, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole evolution happened really quick,\u201d Rohlf says. \u201cIt was like Berkley had this idea of doing a kind of an outlaw country sort of vibe. I thought, \u2018That sounds fun.\u2019 And these characters here, too. I mean, when their names are mentioned, it\u2019s like these are the guys that you walk into a party and go immediately to because we\u2019ve known them and had some good times over the last couple decades, playing with them at different shows. It\u2019s a lineup, so we\u2019re all like, \u2018This is awesome.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"

The Bastards first gig at the Grand Ole BBQ. Photo by Dennis Andersen.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

They are all amazed at how easy it all came together. Berkley laughs, \u201cIt\u2019s a good sign when something\u2019s easy like that, when you\u2019re not shoehorning something or pulling teeth to get them all together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe got together for those two or three rehearsals at Flan\u2019s house,\u201d McClory adds, \u201cthat was the first time we played together ahead of our first gig. And it came together, like, really quick. I mean, the vibe was really good. We knew things were happening musically, but it was also a great hang.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the three of us are presenting our songs and you\u2019re hearing a bunch of people play your song for the first time,\u201d Rohlf chimes in, \u201cI\u2019m like, wow. This sounds good already. You know? It was instantly a cool sound.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flannery says, \u201cAnd I think it was surprising to go into the studio so quick. But having a record now, it\u2019s definitely helped me, even after our last show. It gave me a lot more structure once I heard the recordings, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"

The Bastards in the Studio.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

About recording, Berkley adds, \u201cYou know, these guys all showed up prepared. These three, well, they knew our songs better than we did. Really, truly. And we learned 32 for our first Grand Ole BBQ gig, I think we played 17 of them, but we were prepared.\u201d He continues, \u201cWe could have done all sorts of different songs, but I personally was in a really heavy writing season, just writing, writing, writing. And so, I thought, let\u2019s write a record. I was like, each of us will bring four songs. So that\u2019s what we did. And we came in here a couple days, two or three days.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd, like, with these guys,\u201d says Zinn, \u201ceach having distinct different songwriting styles, it\u2019s almost like being in three different bands sometimes, which becomes one band. But each one of these guys has a distinct voice in their songwriting styles. And it\u2019s so cool to play those all separately. But then when it all comes together well, that\u2019s the cool thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Early comments from the audience at their album release party at the Ould Sod noted surprise at how well everything flowed and worked together, that it sounded like one band.<\/p>\n

McClory reflects, \u201cThere\u2019s still a common thread that the three of you share with your writing styles, even though they\u2019re distinct. When you listen to the record, too, it transitions from one person singing lead to the next, but there\u2019s kind of a natural connection point, even though they\u2019re different voices, which is cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think you three,\u201d Berkley says, referring to Campbell, McClory, and Zinn, \u201chave a lot to do with that. You\u2019re the engine behind all the songs, too, so it works out that way. The Beatles, the Band\u2014those are two of my favorite bands\u2014all have three lead singers. When John sang a song, you\u2019d get that punk rock edge, and then Paul would do his pop thing, and every few songs George would break your fucking heart. You know what I mean? So, this has that same thing, and it\u2019s just sort of a secret weapon. Nobody\u2019s ever gonna get tired of the same sound on every song.\u201d<\/p>\n

The instruments-only half of the band don\u2019t write songs, but they are crucial to the outcome of every one of them. McClory says, \u201cWe have input about the vibes of the arrangements and contribute in that way. But these guys, they\u2019re the writers, they have the tune, and then we get together and kind of bring it to life from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"

Ben Zinn<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Zinn agrees, then shares, \u201cI love the opportunity to inject myself into these songs that these three songwriters have crafted. There\u2019s a tremendous level of trust from all three of them for the band to produce their vision of what the song would be. It sort of all came together so quickly that everybody\u2019s first instinct is more or less what you end up hearing on the record. That level of trust is pretty rare when you\u2019re in a sideman role. But with this project, and with the record specifically, it came together in the most pure and natural way of a band putting together a song, which is: here\u2019s the song, let\u2019s play it and make it as cool as we can.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe got all the right people in the room,\u201d Berkley adds. \u201cThere\u2019s never a time when we have to say, \u2018play it differently, \u2019 because I know that\u2019s the person I wanted in this band and that they\u2019re gonna do the right thing. We go one, two, three, four, and they know it better than we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rohlf talks about gratitude, \u201cI think that feeling is why we all want to have bands. Why we wanna be in a band, you know? You give somebody a song, they give it back to you and you\u2019re, like, wow, thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Berkley continues along that vein, \u201cHow many times have you written a song that you thought was blah, but then you brought it to the band and you\u2019re like, well, we\u2019ll try it and then you can\u2019t believe it. It\u2019s like, oh, I didn\u2019t know. But, you know, a picture\u2019s really nice, but when you get a really beautiful frame and put it on the wall with lights and stuff, it becomes a whole other thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The vocalists have begun to explore and discover more about how they sing together. Where once the harmonies were more spur of the moment, they now have more purpose and structure, yet the dynamic is inherently fluid. Each time the lead shifts to someone else, so do the harmonies. They are beginning to slowly but surely find a new pocket.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis band has been together 27 years, Flannery\u2019s band, and there\u2019s a new gear because this<\/em> band sort of gave that spice to it,\u201d Berkley explains. \u201cIt\u2019s been great. This band has an edge to it that none of the other bands we\u2019re in have. There\u2019s a bit of punk to this band, just a little taste of it, you know? And we all sang differently on this record too, with energy, like physically attacking the mic rather than, you know, singing folk songs or whatever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rohlf adds, \u201cThat\u2019s really cool too because it\u2019s fresh. We haven\u2019t even gotten very far with that yet. I mean, we\u2019re just beginning to find all the possibilities because, you know, everything\u2019s moving really fast.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"

Tim Flannery. Photo by Dennis Andersen.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Flannery is enjoying playing music without having to tell stories. He says, \u201cA lot of people do that. But to be able to just go from song to song, and we just bam bam bam with somebody else singing every time, I love it. That\u2019s kind of a weight off,\u201d he reveals. \u201cI learn everything by doing it over and over and over and over again. And you know, there are a lot of songs to learn, but I love that. I love to lock in every day for three hours, you know, because at any moment he could call and say, hey, we got a gig. Somebody\u2019s gonna actually let the Bastards come play!\u201d<\/p>\n

I sat with them while they recorded in the studio, interviewed them together and separately, and I heard the same thing from each of them when I asked what makes them different, Flannery put it this way: \u201cFrom a coach\u2019s standpoint, I\u2019m gonna say team chemistry and the commitment is what these guys have. And we all kinda hold each other responsible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rohlf pipes in, \u201cWell, I think Flan\u2019s point is that he\u2019s coached teams that were different and they end up winning the World Series. Right? Yeah, a rag tag bunch of pirates. It\u2019s the chemistry with this particular group of people.\u201d<\/p>\n

What makes this project different is that they themselves are different now. The years have softened some of their edges, yet honed others razor-sharp, and they find they\u2019re in a position to just go ahead and do and say what they want. They\u2019re singing folk songs that are now edgier with that attitude and permission they\u2019ve given themselves. Yet, Berkley wants to make sure they don\u2019t scare anyone away. \u201cI want the acoustic music and folk music fans to know not to be afraid of this band. It\u2019s not going to hurt you. It\u2019s a little louder, but it\u2019s the same spirit of Woody Guthrie. Believe me, if he were playing now, he would definitely use an electric guitar, and he\u2019d be pissed and he\u2019d be kicking down walls. He was punk rock in his time. He pissed people off in his time the same way the Ramones and the Sex Pistols did in theirs. And so, I love that we kind of brought that anger thing back to it. We\u2019re all kind of pissed off about the way things are. So, the volume of our band gives us the ability to yell about it a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that edge we put on it,\u201d adds McClory, \u201cit\u2019s almost like it was informed by the name of the band before we had developed all this stuff. I think, at least speaking for myself, it\u2019s kind of play with a little bit of that persona, that attitude of how you\u2019re going to treat the songs, you know, treat them like a bastard would.\u201d<\/p>\n

Berkley reiterates, \u201cYeah, like this is called the Bastards. Got it? Like, we know which amps to bring.\u201d<\/p>\n

That being said, as headliners at the San Diego Troubadour<\/em> holiday party this year, they\u2019ve admitted to feeling some trepidation. Berkley shares, \u201cI\u2019m anxious to see how that part of the music scene either accepts us or runs us out the door on a rail. Damn it. I don\u2019t want them to run us out on a rail.\u201d I\u2019m thinking that\u2019s not going to happen.<\/p>\n