Share you favor concerts, pictures or stories and reconnect with old friends. Music magic poured out of Campbell's Bodega By Cathy Weselby
There was a time when Campbell rocked nearly every night with big name bands such as Boz Scaggs, the Doobie Brothers, the Greg Kihn Band and Johnny Winter. The club was the Bodega, located in what is now the Water Tower II Plaza. Bodega co-owner Steve Thomas
recalls Smokey Mountain was next door (now the King's Head Pub) and Khartoum was across the street in what was then called The Factory. "We referred to that area as the Bermuda Triangle because a lot of people got lost there and were never seen again," Thomas says. The club closed 25 years ago, but while it was around the music shook the rafters. The magic of the Bodega was that it served as a roadhouse for touring bands, a place where they could jam between large venue concerts. Joe Cocker, Eddie Money, Pat Benatar, the Tubes, the Ohio Players, Elvin Bishop, Iron Butterfly, Jesse Colin Young, Bo Diddley and Commander Cody all played in the club that was once a prune processing plant. "It was a different time then," Thomas says. "The music industry wasn't as corporate and rock 'n' roll had a different audience." Thomas says Dave Mason was scheduled for a Day on the Green concert in Oakland and Mason also agreed to play the Bodega. The band's 40-foot semi truck pulled up along the railroad tracks, and Thomas says Mason's manager got out, shook his head and said that there was no way the band would play there. The building had a small stage with low ceilings and thick wooden pillars holding up the ceiling. Thomas quickly directed some carpenters to remove one of the pillars and expand the stage. And Dave Mason played that night. Ken Rominger started the Bodega in 1970 as a steakhouse with nightly entertainment. In 1979, Thomas, along with Michael Kilkenney and Jerome Stringer, bought the Bodega and turned it into a nightclub. Thomas says that Johnny Winter "killed" when he played there to sold-out crowds. Winter has impaired vision because he was an albino, and so they tied a rope from the stage to the back of the club so Winter could find the stage. The setting was unlike any other club in the South Bay. "The place had vibes," Kihn says. "It had a low ceiling for a nightclub and the sound was really intense." Kihn remembers the black-metal pole in the middle of the stage, probably because he "bumped into it about 20 times a night." KFOX-FM program director and on-air personality Laurie Roberts remembers seeing numerous bands at the Bodega, including the Greg Kihn Band. "It was always a big deal to get a seat where you could see around the many pillars holding the place up," Roberts says. Gene Perrault, bass player for Hush, says he enjoyed playing at the Bodega because the wood ceilings and walls provided a warm sound. "You could feel the bass rumble," Perrault says. It was also a place where bands and fans could get up close and personal. "It was an intimate setting," Perrault says. "You could tell right away whether a song was working or not by the crowd's response." Perrault remembers that the crowd was very mixed. "You might see Hell Angels next to attorneys," Perrault says. "What they had in common was that they all loved music." Thomas says that the club had very little trouble for the mix of people that would come there. Former Hush performer Robert Berry remembers the crowd at the Bodega as different from other clubs. "These were true music lovers," says Berry, who now operates Soundtek Studios just blocks away from where he use to perform. "You could count on a good, honest opinion from the crowd as to how your music sounded." Campbell City Councilman Don Burr, who was the Campbell police chief at the time, has a less rosy view of the scene. "Knifings, shootings, brawls--you name it, we had it," Burr says. People came from all over the Bay Area to see the big name acts. He says the crowd was quite a mix, and as a result, fights broke out. "A lot of people were out to raise hell," Burr says. Last call
Twenty-five years ago, the music stopped. The Bodega transformed into Gilbert Zapp's World Tour, a game arcade for adults. Thomas says the music business was changing and it was becoming more difficult to book acts. Hush played on the Bodega's last night: Sept. 25,1982. "Playing at the Bodega was an opportunity for us to develop our sound and it was the springboard to go on and tour the rest of the country," Perrault says. Hush toured with Journey, Rush, UFO and the Greg Kihn Band. Thomas says he's "happy to have survived" his days as a nightclub owner. He knew he wouldn't be doing it forever, and he had a good time while it lasted. After the nightclub business, Thomas became a mortgage broker, and now runs Capitola Freight and Salvage, a building supply company. He and his wife, Maureen Romac, have vacation homes in the Sierra and in Tuscany. Thomas still has his pop-up metal phone directory with the names and phone numbers of rock 'n' roll greats. He dials up guitarist Les Dudek for an opportunity to reminisce about the old days. When asked why he enjoyed playing at the Bodega, Dudek replies, "Because of the babes."
