San Mateo Superstar: David Nudelman

"David Nudelman No. 1"

In honor of the 7th annual Rotfest I thought I would run an interview I recently did with the Superstar of San Mateo, the one and only Mr. David Nudelman. David took Hawaiian time out of his day to provide us with the history of his musical evolution, his philosophy on marijuana and tales of debauchery in his hometown of San Mateo, CA.

Taking place tonight in San Francisco at the Hemlock Tavern, Rotfest will be feautuing a who's who of the San Mateo Sound from the legendary Phantom Surfers, 3 Stoned Men, and Smile God Loves You to San Francisco's own Midnite Snaxxx, The Peddlers and Beth Allen's tribute band 3 Stoned Women!

I'm proud to present to you images I took of Dave back in 1994, shots of San Mateo's most notorious rock n' roller!

Julie Green
June 4, 2016

"David Nudelman No. 2

Julie Green: How was it growing up in San Mateo?

David Nudelman: San Mateo was a fun place to grow up. It did have it's ups and downs. My family was nuts as anybody else's. My parents wren't always thrilled that we were playing loud music when we lived in the Hillsborough House. Mike Lucas and other members of MAL and Wig Torture were over quite a bit, setting up instruments in our backyard. One time even a sea lion was buried in our yard.  

After moving out of the Hillsborough house I moved into my Dad's house in Burlingame. That is when we first started to name the house the Rot. Living in a small area up stairs I didn't have much space. That's when I jammed with Mike Buzzo for the first time. I think he was only about 16 or 17 years old. We smoked a lot of weed. That was around the time my Dad coined the phrase "Smells like the big time". After the Burlingame house Aaron, Benn and John and me moved into The Rot. That was in downtown San Mateo. 

Six days a week of bands playing in my garage! During the 1989 earth quake I thought it was my roommates playing a joke on me by jumping on the roof! That's around the time 3 Stoned Men and The Wild Breed could squeeze in a night or two as long as Wig Torture wasn't playing. I lived at The Rot for about 3 years. Then I eventually went away to college in Santa Rosa. 

JG: When did you first pick up the guitar?

DN: I first picked up the guitar at the age of 17. My brother Aaron and I started taking guitar lessons together. Aaron and I started writing music and recording together in 1983 or 84. He's still my favorite guitar player!
 JG: What was the first song you ever wrote?

DN: The first song I ever wrote was "Everybody's Equal". I thought it was easy to play and sing at the same time. Aaron started playing lead guitar with me. That's when we formed The Wild Breed with Mike Lucas and Keith. 

That was my first baby. We smoked a lot of pot until Lucas showed up. He was kind of the non-stoner of the group. He could drink a hell of a lot of soda water though! The Wild breed started out in the early 80's when I was still living in Hillsborough. Mike had the idea of forming a band where I was the lead singer.

JG: Tell us a story about you that nobody knows!

DN: Some friends of mine brought back a dead seal from the beach and buried it in my parents back yard. It stunk so bad... I am surprised they never found out about it until I told my dad about that story 5 years ago! He was actually shocked even though this happened back in the early 80's.

"David Nudelman No. 3"

JG: "David Nudelman Lays an Egg" is a classic 45 on Planet Pimp Records! Tell us about the making of this record. What came first? The outfit or the egg?

DN: It was actually not my idea. The idea was invented by Sven Eric (Geddes) who made the egg suit and he thought it would be funny if I would put it  on. He wanted to use it as an album cover. It actually turned out to be funny later on even though at the time I didn't care for the idea.

JG: What year did you start 3 Stoned Men?

DN: The 3 Stoned Men started out I believe at The Rot in 1987. We recorded our first record there and that came out in 1990. We called it "Higher Than God"! 

JG: Would you say that band was the pinnacle of your career?

DN: I would actually say yes, The 3 stoned men even though we don't play that much anymore, mostly at Rotfest, has been my longest lasting band. We have managed to keep the same lineup for almost 30 years.

"David Nudelman No. 4"

JG: You have always been a staunch supporter of marijuana. From song titles "That's Why They Call It Dope" and "Cotton Mouth Blues", to your band names (3 Stoned Men and The Resineators). How did this herb change your life?

DN: Have I always been a supporter of Marijuana, yes. I like smoking and eating Marijuana. Most of my albums are about pot. That's why they call it dope pretty much says it all. Most of the songs we wrote back then had something to do with Marijuana, like cotton mouth blues. The Resineators were my most traveled band. Anthony and I went up and down touring from LA to Seattle. We played Space Land a couple of times. We even made 2 trips out to the East Coast.

JG: When did you move to the Big Island of Hawaii?

DN: I moved out to Hawaii in 2004 with my wife Luz. We bought a house in a area called Hawaiian Acres. It's basically a rain forest. When I first moved to HI I joined the first rock band I could find. We were called Hi 50. That's when I was bored and started to play ukulele. I took leasons from Brittni Paiva, one of the best players in the world and a very nice lady. I've recently been playing guitar again and writing a lot of songs on uke and guitar. I have made 2 records in the past 3 years. "Dave's Island Life" and "David Nudelman's Mixed Plate".

JG: How is the pot there different from what we have here in California?

DN: The pot in Hawaii is very strong. I believe it is as good as the pot in CA. Not really sure. I actually do still have a very good memory.

"David Nudelman No. 5"

JG: You're now playing ukelele! How has the transition from 6 strings to 4 strings affected your song writing?

DN: Growing up I never really could figure out the ukulele. When I started taking lessons it all started making sense to me. Now I love the ukulele! I write most of my songs on the guitar and transfer some of them over to the ukulele.

JG: You produce a festival called Rotfest for the past 7 years. Tell us how it came about and what's in store for the kiddies this year?

DN: I started Rotfest to bring back the "San Mateo Sound" back  in '99. We had a lot of so called Rotfest's before that. That's when we started calling it Rotfest. Everybody played that year. David Nudelman and The Wild Breed, Men's Club, The Pirate Band, Smile God Loves You and even The Clap band. 

Rotfest Seven is going to be my last for awhile. I am passing the torch to somebody else on the planning of the show. Living in Hawaii has been making it tougher to fly out each year. I wanted this one to be one of the best. Bringing it back to San Mateo. Everybody who has played Rotfest has done a great job. A big thanks to everybody. It has been a wonderful experience planning Rotfest!