San Jose Alternative Music Fliers and Clippings

Title: San Jose Alternative Music Fliers and Clippings

Dates: 1986-1989

Collection Number: 2021-25

Creator/Collector:

Extent: .25 linear feet

Repository: History San Jose Research Library

Abstract: Small collection of ephemera and clippings about the burgeoning music scene in San Jose from 1986-1989 including news articles from Metro, Mercury News, and BAM; and fliers from WORKS San Jose, One Step Beyond, and Club X.

Language of Material: English

Open to the public for research by appointment. The collection is also available online at the Internet Archive.

Please contact the Research Library & Archive regarding publication or reproduction.

San Jose Alternative Music Fliers and Clippings. History San Jose Research Library

Donated in 2021

Small collection of club handbills, band newsletters, and clippings about the burgeoning music scene in San Jose from 1986-1989 including news articles from Metro, Mercury News, and BAM; and fliers from WORKS San Jose, One Step Beyond, Laundry Works, and Club X. The collection documents the efforts of a small collective in San Jose to create an alternative music scene in downtown, beginning with the opening of One Step Beyond in 1985; the release of "San Jose is Ground Zero," a compilation album of local music by A Cruel Hoax, the Social Club, the Kingpins and Big Hair; and in 1986, the establishment of the First Strike Collective, an umbrella organization for local bands that lasted until 1989. This period in the late 1980s was a heyday for local clubs and bands, with venues including the Laundry Works, Muzzie's, and the Cactus Club hosting alternative music nights and bands. Although they released independent records, most of the bands featured on the fliers were never signed to labels despite their South Bay popularity.