The Nuns were a punk rock/new wave band in San Francisco in the late 1970s. The band has periodically reformed and played to the present day. The band formed in 1975, and were the among the first punk bands in California. In January 1978, together with The Avengers they opened for the Sex Pistols at their final concert at San Francisco's Winterland.

Personnel

The original band included Jennifer Miro (nee Jennifer Anderson) (vocals and Piano), Alejandro Escovedo (guitar), Jeff Olener (vocals), Richie Detrick (vocals), Jeff Raphael (drums), and Leslie Q (bass), who was replaced by Mike Varney in early 1978. Escovedo and Olener were the main songwriters, with some material written and sung by Miro.

Their music included many different elements, from the dark, Germanic cabaret inspired "Lazy", sung by Miro, to the cynically comical "Decadent Jew" and "Suicide Child", sung by Olener and Detrick.

The Nuns original manager was Edwin Heaven, a San Francisco advertising executive who had previously worked with The Tubes. He discovered them when they opened at The Mabuhay Gardens for The Ramones. Within half a year, he had created a worldwide buzz for the band, designed most of their now-classic posters and, basically, took them from playing at San Francisco's Mabuhay to playing such larger venues as (Bill Graham's) Winterland, LA's The Whisky.

In 1979, Varney was replaced on bass by Pat Ryan. Escovedo departed in 1980. Delphine Neid (also known as Delphine Volino) was their bassist during their late 1980s lineup. Delphine died of a drug overdose in 1990. For a period in the late 1990s Baron Rubenbauer, now a classical guitarist, played guitar in their line up. Ritchie Detrick died of cancer in 1995.

Recordings

In 1977, The Nuns released the first punk rock EP from California, the eponymous record The Nuns, produced by Howie Kline (who would go on to become the president of Reprise Records) and Joey D'Kaye (synthesist and producer for fellow San Francisco punk band Crime.)

The Nuns have recorded at least four LP albums, the first posthumous eponymous one released in 1980 on Bomp/Posh Boy when Escovedo had already left the band, followed by Rumania on PVC. Posh Boy released Desperate Children featuring Delphine Volino in the late 1980s and a fourth album 4 Days In A Motel Room : Their Greatest Sins in the early 1990s. The latter album contained in part re-recordings of songs contained on the out of print Rumania album. Their current album as of 2006 is New York Vampires.

Reformation

The Nuns have now reinvented themselves and are more gothic than punk, with strong themes of fetishism and domination running through their live shows and music, as well as Vampirism. They are now signed to London based Triple Silence, an offshoot of Salvation Group.

Video

Jennifer Miro had a small role in the 1989 Stephen Sayadian film Dr. Caligari, The Video Dead and has also appeared as an extra in a number of films, as well as starring in the off Broadway play, "Satan's Mistress" and Harold Pinter's "Partytime". As of 2008, she is still involved in music and fashion.

The Nuns DVD, "New York Vampires," was released on November 18, 2008 and is available at Amazon dot com. The DVD features the two TV show pilots, "New York Vampires", live concert footage, backstage interviews, a short film noir, the music video shot in London, plus photos taken by the finest fashion photographers in the world.

To view the trailer for The Nuns, "New York Vampires", (which also appears on the DVD) go to YouTube and type in, "The Nuns, New York Vampires".

External links

• The Nuns Gallery
• The Nuns official website
• The Nuns' record label reports the murder of Mistress Kris
• Allmusic: The Nuns
• "The Nuns", Rockin Rina's Women of 1970s Punk, October 4, 2004.
• Alejandro Escovedo's website
• Posh Boy Records
• Jennifer Miro at the Internet Movie Database
• Photos of the Nuns