Reesa And The Rooters

In response to the tape and press clippings I sent her, LesLee Anderson booked us for a Marble Bar show on May 31, 1980. So we jammed our equipment into my old Chevy wagon and drove the two hours down I-95. When we arrived at 306 W. Franklin St., Roger, LesLee’s husband and co-owner of the Marble, led us down the short flight of stairs to the basement of the Congress Hotel. My brother and I toked regularly then, so when people began filling the hall and blowing quantities of cigarette and marijuana smoke, I felt like I had stepped into a comfortable shoe.

I still have a Rooters calendar listing eight Marble Bar appearances in 1980, several of them two-night, weekend bookings. (After a while, LesLee, as did most club owners, switched to booking bands for one-nighters only.) LesLee worked hard to match the Rooters with local acts that would improve our draw. Her choices usually succeeded: At most shows, we were greeted by fervent crowds storming the dance floor as soon as we played the first notes of our “wild, dirty, and fun” music.

At every show, I would see at least one guy in the crowd who resembled the punk-cartoon Ultraman drawn on the record sleeve by our friend, Debbie. In Baltimore, a young man who identified himself as Adolf Kowalski fit the bill. He attended all our Marble shows, and at one, his group, Thee Katatonix, also performed.

I met Edith Massey at the Marble on Oct. 25, 1980, and wrote in my record-sales journal that I sold “Edith the Egg Lady” a copy of our single wholesale ($1.25) for her store in Baltimore. Chick of Chick’s Legendary Records also bought some that night. At another show, he acquired a few of the more popular, red-vinyl versions.

My 1981 calendar is lost, but from the journal and from mailing list postcards, I see the Rooters played the Marble four times that year. Our May 23 show also featured TruFax & The Insaniacs from D.C.

Realizing that most people either couldn’t hear or didn’t care about our lyrics, Larry wrote “The Wolf (in Pop Song Clothing).” This became a crowd favorite at the Marble, as I encouraged the audience to howl along.

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