OLD TRICKS, NEW TREATS is book three of the BAG OF TRICKS trilogy: a compilation of short stories about San Francisco punks in the early 80’s.
- How did class and gentrification affect punks back then?
There was certainly unrest amongst lower income and middle class youth. We strove to find something different than what was being presented to us as our options in life, and we found each other and a raucous, different type of voice in punk. Most of my friends from the time came from broken homes, or families that couldn’t see that they wanted something else. So they broke away and found each other.
- Was there a defining moment when you felt the old San Francisco begin to disappear?
Honestly, I fell so hard into my drug addiction, that that is what really made San Francisco change for me. What had been a land of possibilities because a prison, so I had to leave. I’m not sure if it was like that for many others, but certainly for me and some of my friends.
- How do you think readers who live there now will view your depiction of the city?
If they lived there at the time, hopefully they will catch a glimpse of memories from those years. If they never experienced any of what I wrote about though, it might not resonate for them. For instance, I love ’Tales of the City’ by Armistead Maupin. I was talking about them a while ago with someone who expressed surprise that there was that much gay nightlife in the stories! And this is someone who lived there at the time!
- What was your relationship to the art and performance communities that intersected with punk?
When I was 14 and 15, I lived in San Diego, which had a thriving, enthusiastic, experimental, edgy artistic punk scene. I went to events as a spectator, but they taught me to open my eyes and look around, and that I could do and be anything, and not worry so much about what other people thought or said about it. It took me years to fully incorporate those lessons, but still- the message was given and received. While in San Francisco, I tried to sing in a band, but at our first rehearsal, my guitar player’s guitar broke, and we never got together again.
Still, what I came away with as an artist from my punk years was to go with what I know, not what someone else says is true.
- Did you ever imagine the city’s counterculture would one day become a brand?
Or punk as a whole? Nope, never saw that coming.
- If you could take readers on a walking tour of “your” San Francisco, what five stops would you choose?
North Beach for the cafes
Haight for the sidewalks and humanity
Chinatown for the same
Mabuhay Gardens, the Tool and Die, The I-Beam, the Deaf Club- clubs we used to see the best shows at
Hamburger Mary’s late night
About:
OLD TRICKS, NEW TREATS is book three of the BAG OF TRICKS trilogy: a compilation of short stories about San Francisco punks in the early 80’s.
Follow the adventures of The Shits, Val, Sophie, Babs, Carla, Red, Marco, Bags and all the rest of the rag-tag gang of street punks that populate these stories. Ride with them as they hit new highs and lows, make mostly bad and occasionally good choices, and aim for uncharted lives in the end.
Link – https://amzn.to/4oFYSzL
About the Author
Ruby grew up in the foothills of Northern CA and the West Texas flatlands, riding horses in the back woods near Folsom Prison, and singing with family on the back porch. She attended SDSU at fifteen- studying electrical engineering and drama- then stumbled into life on the streets of San Francisco, enchanted by all the grime and glitz, the drugs and wild nights, even the discordance and insanity of life as a punk in those early days. Moving on, Ruby co-founded the North Coast California Earth First! in Arcata, CA while attending Humboldt State, and fished across Alaskan waters. Eventually, she moved to Seattle, WA where she opened a series of restaurants, then transitioned from restaurateur to singer/songwriter when she started the roots-rockabilly band Ruby Dee and the Snakehandlers in 2002. Thrice Grammy-considered, they tour the world and produce award-winning records. In 2023, Ruby wrote Bag of Tricks after reconnecting with old punk friends and reminiscing about those lost years. Most of what she wrote came from events that really occurred, though Ruby took liberties and changed some details because she could. Find more at https://www.rubydeephilippa.com/
Find Part Nine HERE