The Bobbyteens – I Wanna Go Home

SinglesGoingSteady#05: The Bobbyteens – I Wanna Go Home [Outer Universe Research Records; 1998]

When the female California-bred updated answer to The Trashmen, The Trashwomen, disbanded in the middle of the 1990’s, Trashwomen Tina Lucchesi and Dannielle Pimm joined forces with Lisa Schenberg (The Spastics), and Russell Quan (The Mummies, and The Phantom Surfers; who succeeded Karen Singletary on drums) to form The Bobbyteens under the auspices of the Supercharger himself Darin Raffaelli.

The Bobbyteens’ record debut in 1996 contained two ultra short lo-fi bursts (Hey Roxy/Firecracker) on Darin Raffaelli’s Super*Teem! label, which corresponded to how The Donnas sounded at the time. (It was no wonder, as Raffaelli also ran the Radio X label and was engaged in launching The Donnas’ career.)

SinglesGoingSteady#05 is a cover of I Wanna Go Home, written by Holly Beth Vincent and recorded by her band Holly And The Italians in 1981 as their sixth and final single (also available on Right To Be Italian). The version by The Bobbyteens is reverent and brazen at the same time, giving I Wanna Go Home a budget twist. It’s noisier, less controlled and smells less studio than the legendary Richard Gottehrer´s rather slick production of the original. Furthermore, the guitar work on Bobbyteens’ version emphasizes the similarity to Teenage Kicks (The Undertones y’know) and manages, in true Ramones-treatment, to cut a minute and a half from the original. Tina Lucchesi tells PopDiggers that Darin Raffaelli recorded it and that:

“he is Dannielle Pimm’s husband… He is always involved in recording us, helping us figure out songs, etc.… He’s a genius and a good friend and an awesome dude and a funny one and Italian like myself. We relate.”

Tina Lucchesi when asked on the reason why The Bobbyteens covered Holly And The Italians:

“I’ve done I Wanna Go Home in multiple bands because I love her. Holly Beth Vincent was a big inspiration for Tina & The Total Babes, etc. that kind of style… 80s rock ‘n’ roll power pop. She has a great voice so I just love her. It’s tough sounding for sure. It’s like the perfect song the lyrics …the Ramones punch…Holly Beth singing… It’s the perfect song for me to sing. I love singing it at every show when I can. I also luv Youth Cup. So tuff!

My new project TINA!!!, which is like a greatest hits band, is doing I Wanna Go Home. I will probably always do that in a live show because it’s such a great song. Also, it’s awesome that the Angry Samoans covered it in the old days.”

The Bobbyteens released three studio albums and six singles (whereof one split with The Bees Knees) between 1996–2004, of which the non-album I Wanna Go Home is the fourth single while the B-side, penned by Lisa Schenberg, Pay The Price only appears on the Japanese CD of their first album Fast Livin’ & Rock’n’Roll from 1998. Later on, both tracks became available in 2001 on the Bobbyteens compilation Young & Dumb released by Screaming Apple on LP in Europe and on a US CD (Just Add Water).

However, the legacy of The Bobbyteens doesn’t end here. Great records were made in new lineups, including members of The Bobbyteens. The most recommended offspring from the early millennium is the album She’s So Tuff by Tina Lucchesi’s Tina & The Total Babes (2001), while Russell Quan played drums on Back To School by The Flakes, released in 2005. Try these too if you have the patience to spin an entire album.

Thanks to Tina Lucchesi for generously sharing information.

Previous posts in this series:

SinglesGoingSteady#01: Randells – Seven Inch
SinglesGoingSteady#02: The Fevers – Don’t Tell Me It’s Wrong
SinglesGoingSteady#03: Thee Cha Cha Chas – Rock’n’Roll Till I’m Dead
SinglesGoingSteady#04: The Gories – Cry Girl