Savage Republic Brings New Tunes, 40-Year-Old Catalog To Bottom Of The Hill

CBS San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Savage Republic, the experimental post-punk band that entranced audiences in the '80s with a stage show that felt more like a tribal ceremony than a rock show, is bringing back their steel-barrel drum beats and Middle Eastern-tinged guitars to San Francisco's Bottom of the Hill this Friday.

The band, originally called Africa Crops, started in 1982 by UCLA students Bruce Licher and Mark Erskine. The band became Savage Republic before expanding into a five-piece and releasing their first EP, Tragic Figures, which contains an early hit for the group, "Real Men."

Savage Republic developed a reputation for their do-not-miss shows, which included members seemingly exchanging instruments constantly and at least one member always beating some kind of drum. While some of their best known songs had vocals, most of their tracks were instrumentals, making their albums more like soundtracks for movies that didn't exist. "I always hear our music as guided imagery," Savage Republic's Ethan Port once told author Richie Unterberger. "It's like a psycho-sonic slideshow in your brain."

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