Ozzie

Ozzie is a Northern California punk band from the Sacramento area. It forms in 1971, when three friends from Sacramento, after hearing Captain Beefheart’s Strictly Personal and playing harmonica and guitar on a beach near Santa Cruz, begin an early blues-based jam that develops into the group.

History and activity

The band starts with a Beefheart-influenced blues sound and later moves towards art rock and new wave. It builds followings in Sacramento, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, and becomes a regular act at Mabuhay Gardens. In Sacramento, it shares bills with artists including the Rutabaga Boogie Band, Talking Heads, the Nerves, and the Fleshtones, as well as with the Weirdos, the Sleepers, VOM, and the Nuns.

Recordings and style

During its lifetime, Ozzie releases only three 7-inch singles, which contributes to its relative obscurity. Its 1977 debut single, “Android Love”, is especially noted. The band’s music includes proto-punk, glam, hard rock, power pop, new wave, and underground rock influences, with production on “Android Love” by David Houston. William Fuller is identified as one of the band’s main members, and S.S. later helps uncover archive recordings and printed material from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s.

Later interest

Interest in the band grows again after S.S. finds “Android Love” in the early 1990s and makes contact with Fuller. This leads to a long reissue project and a broader look through the group’s archive material.