After leaving The Motels in 1976 bassist Richard D'Andrea was in a band called "The Pits" and in 1978 joined Gary Valentine (ex-Blondie bassist) in forming the the group "The Know." Despite much touring & good reviews, they never got signed. One song, "I Like Girls", was released on a New Wave sampler from Planet Records. They disbanded in 1980 and Valentine became guitarist in Iggy Pop's touring band for a couple of tours in the early 80s. "The Know" christened the LA New Wave scene by being the first band to play Madame Wong's, Chinatown. Esther and George Wong had been looking for something to attract people to their restaurant and bar and the new wave scene was looking to conceive itself in some new incongrous way: a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown was exactly it. The Know was a three-piece built around intellectual art/pop songs taking from the legacy of Lou Reed, early Modern Lovers, early Kinks, and early Who. Bassist Richard D'Andrea, guitarist Gary Valentine and drummer Joel Torissio dressed in black straight-legged pants with black blazers with, often as not, a shirt and tie. And often as not, with black high-top converse sneakers. |