Romeo Void

1979: Formation Romeo Void formed at the San Francisco Art Institute in February 1979. Vocalist Debora Iyall occasionally visited the Bay Area to see Patti Smith perform. She decided to pursue an art education after reading a fortune cookie. "It was in the late '70s at the Indochina Friendship Booth at the annual Fourth of July streetfair in Eureka, California," she said. "I got a fortune cookie that said 'Art is your fate, don't debate.' That next January, I was enrolled in an art school in San Francisco." She began frequenting the Mabuhay Gardens, a popular nightclub, to see local alternative rock groups like The Nuns, the Mutants, Crime, and the Avengers. Iyall was originally hesitant to perform because she was overweight: "After seeing Patti Smith, I still had it in my mind that you had to be skinny to be up there [on stage], but after going to the Mabuhay [...] you just do whatever you want, be whoever you want, just make it happen." The band practiced in Iyall's flat in the Mission District. AllMusic writer Stewart Mason later heralded it as one of the "masterpieces of American post-punk". Eventually Hanes left the band, leaving Larry Carter to fill the drummer position. The sudden surge in popularity was disorienting to Iyall. "It was frightening: we played a college in Santa Barbara, and there were all these blond people crowding the stage, and I thought 'These are the people who hated me in high school!' When you grow up being 'outside' – because I wasn't white, and I was fat, and always a bit of a free thinker – it was strange. It was like, 'uh-oh, I must be doing something wrong – they like me!'" The album appeared at No. 119 on the Billboard 200. Benefactor was noticeably more commercial sounding than previous endeavors; the music was made more danceable and swearing was removed on the song "Never Say Never". By this time, Carter had been replaced by veteran session drummer Aaron Smith. Despite being the band's most successful effort to date, Columbia pulled the band's promotional support while on a nationwide tour. "The very next town we got to after they made that decision, there wasn't an A&R person there," said Iyall. "[There] was no local person there, there were no interviews and in-stores arranged as they had been. All that just ground to a halt." The band returned to San Francisco and soon broke up. Constant touring has been cited by Iyall as the primary reason for the break-up. "You get tired of each other, and you get intolerant of being uncomfortable and away from your family and your friends." In 2010, Iyall declined to discuss the issue, but added that she may not be taking full responsibility in the matter. Afterward she pursued a career as an art teacher. Iyall has continued to dabble in music related projects and events. "I still like to sing and I still like to perform," she said. and performed at a concert honoring 415 Records later that September. They released an album entitled Stay Strong in 2010. Saxophonist Benjamin Bossi died of complications from Alzheimer's disease on December 13, 2022, at the age of 69. ==Music==

Romeo Void has generally been classified as a new wave or post-punk band. Some critics have noted dance elements in the music. According to Stewart Mason, writing for AllMusic, "[The] band's muscular blend of Joy Division's atmospherics and the Gang of Four's rattling momentum, with Benjamin Bossi's splattering free jazz saxophone coloring everything, made Romeo Void one of the strongest of the American post-punk bands. Saxophone player Benjamin Bossi has been observed as the ingredient that "set the band apart" and showed a "talent for both improvisation and arrangement." Alan Niester, writing for The Globe and Mail, said that he weaved "in and out [...] like a snake charmer" and reminded him of Andy Mackay, a saxophonist who played with Roxy Music. while Mason called it "powerful". Iyall used to find the comparison annoying, but eventually warmed to it: "When people said I sounded like her, I'd say, 'Oh yeah, thanks a lot.' But this year, I've fallen in love with Learning To Crawl so now I don't care if people want to make comparisons." After a live show in 1982, Niester contended that she was the weakest part of the group and had the "vocal range of an automobile horn". Billboard writer Kathy Gillis wrote after a concert two years later that Iyall exhibited a "dramatic range that, while not extreme in either direction, was touching." Patti Smith had a great influence on Iyall. "[She was] someone who was both a rock singer and a poet," she said. "She combined things I was interested in. Plus, she wasn't a trumped-up sex symbol. She was herself on stage. That appealed to me. It looked like something I could do. You didn't have to look like all the other singers." Iyall was highly critical of the music of the day and found inspiration in other mediums. "I hate rock and roll right now. It's turned into some new kind of stupid religion... I'd rather listen to Billie Holiday, maybe Tom Waits. Actually, I'll admit I like The Bangles – they have a great sound. But I'd just as soon read novels or paint pictures as listen to music. I love language – plain speech, used in an enigmatic, subliminal way; I'm not much tied to the literal." ==Lyrics==

Iyall was observed by Mother Jones to be among a new group of female-fronted rock bands that displayed a "tough, wry, street-wise, [and] cynical" attitude and sought to redefine the role of women in rock music. She developed a sizable following for her writing that covered topics like "frustrated desire [and] sexually motivated rage" from a female perspective. The song has been covered by many artists, The song "A Girl in Trouble (Is a Temporary Thing)", their highest-charting single, Iyall also wrote songs that touched on themes like social alienation ("Undercover Kept") and generation gaps ("Chinatown"). ==Band members==

;Classic line-up • Debora Iyall – vocals (1979–1985, 1993, 2004) • Peter Woods – guitar (1979–1985, 1993, 2004) • Frank Zincavage – bass (1979–1985, 1993, 2004) • Benjamin Bossi – saxophone (1980–1985, 1993; died 2022) • Aaron Smith – drums, percussion (1984–1985, 1993, 2004) ;Previous members • Jay Derrah – drums, percussion (1979–1981) • John "Stench" Hanes – drums, percussion (1981) • Larry Carter – drums, percussion (1981–1984; died 2021) ;Live musician • Sheldon Brown – saxophone (2004) ==Discography==

Albums Studio albums Compilation albums EPs Singles ==Notes==