The Paladins: Decades of Delivering the Goods from San Diego to the World

Photo by Dave Van Hout.

Once upon a time, two young men were playing music with their friends in their respective garages, 135 miles apart, in Southern California. They were playing a lot. Hey, the parents didn’t mind, and it was super fun! When both sets of those supportive parents decided to move to Encinitas in 1978, the two teens were both enrolled as seniors at San Dieguito High School. It was only a matter of days before a government class’ educational film about musicians (“Hey my band back home is way better than that band!” “Mine too!”) sparked their first of many days and nights making music together.

The guys in this tale are guitarist-singer Dave Gonzalez and bassist-singer Thomas Yearsley of the Paladins, who along with Brian Fahey on drums, are still GOING FOR IT on stage. As Thomas says, “In concert we want to give ‘em something to take home.” The band intends to do this yet again on May 10 at the Casbah when they return to where it all began (at their first manager’s club!). This concert will continue to bear witness to the Paladins’ lure of tribal roots rock.

Another story of the power of a Paladins show came from drummer Brad Karow. He was talking with Little Charlie backstage at the Filmore West, when a musician walked up to them. Little Charlie said “Are you going on after the Paladins?” The fella said, “Yes.” And Little Charlie replied “Man, I feel sorry for YOU.” Legends.

Delving into the secrets of providing that reliable Paladins’ punch and hearing the testimony of loyal, loving fans and collaborators is music journalist catnip. Warning: This band and its story may cause elevated levels of joy and rolling on the carpet begging for treats (or beer).

The Paladins, ca. 1981.

In the beginning, Dave and Thomas started loads of bands with oodles of band names and backyards all around Encinitas that were familiar with their developing style. They graduated from high school. They got jobs. Thomas borrowed a guitar from Dave to take to Europe on a two-week trip that lasted three months. When Thomas returned, Dave asked him where the guitar was and Thomas said, “I have no idea.” (Dave shakes head…) Thomas’ Euro-adventures informed him of how beloved American music is to European audiences and how many beautiful women there are in the world. Also on his mind was that that they should go to college and learn some skills. Dave agreed and they both enrolled at Palomar College (and DID graduate!).

Video directed by Thomas, starring Dave and Whit as part of their video production class.

Dave and Thomas had been playing as the Top Cats, with Gus Griffin on drums. They played Bob Bennett’s wedding to Kristine Anderson in Balboa Park and Tim Mays (owner of the Casbah, Pink Panther) was in the audience. Tim was booking shows at the Spirit Club and managing the Unknowns (YES! A great band) at this time and he liked them. He asked the Top Cats if he could also be their manager. They were soon playing in L.A. as well as San Diego, Tijuana, and Orange County. Tim Mays involvement was key, according to Thomas and Dave. The man likes what he likes, and he fights for it. Thank you, Tim (x 1,000,000) for so many killer shows/bands/venues—LIVE music!

Early Paladins with first manager Tim Mays.

At the same time, Solana Lumber provided a steady day job for Thomas and Dave. There they met fellow lumber lad Whitney Broadly, a shockingly handsome man with an enormous blonde pompadour hair style, who sang, played guitar, and was passionate about rockabilly music. On breaks Whit would play cassettes on his boombox for them by the likes of Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent, Buck Owens, and more. After a bit they asked Whit to join the band and after he agreed, he suggested the band shrug off the “Cats” identity (so many, many cats: the Stray Cats, the Polecats, etc.). He thought they should be called the Paladins. Everyone loved it. It was 1981.

At that time, the Paladins called their musical style Western Bop. Gus modified his floor Tom with a saddle. Bolo ties were not discouraged, and things were starting to cook. Jonny Viau (sax player for King Biscuit, 5 Careless Lovers, the Pleasure Barons, Sue Palmer and Her Motel Swing Orchestra, the Tighten Ups, and so many more bands) said he saw them at a club called My Rich Uncle’s and that “Dave was the reincarnation of Eddie Cochran. Thomas came out playing upright bass in his stocking feet, smoking a cigar, slidin’ across their spring-loaded dance floor, ridin’ the drum saddle and he never stopped moving—like a young Elvis! I immediately wanted to join the band. That didn’t happen but, luckily, I’ve been asked to be a guest artist many times through the years.”

In 1982, a Paladins’ live song (“Lonesome Train,” recorded at the Spirit Club) was released on a compilation record of SD artists called Who’s Listening from Goverment Records. Iconic San Diego bands the Penetrators, the Puppies, and DFX2 were also featured on this rare collectable red vinyl. Around this time, Matt Yearsley, Thomas’ younger brother, was attending school with Dave’s little sister, Nancy (Gonzalez) Ludwick in Encinitas. Nancy remembers seeing the Paladins for the first time at Fiesta Del Sol and thinking they sounded really good. Matt remembers being snuck into their 18 and up shows inside drum cases on numerous occasions with great fondness. Classic.

San Diego Blues guitarist-singer Eric Lieberman (Rhum Boogies, Blue Largo) remembers “seeing the Paladins throughout the ’80s at the Belly Up, at first opening for the James Harman Band (with Hollywood Fats and Kid Ramos) and then headlining their own sold-out shows there. Imagine seeing Fats, Kid, and Dave Gonzalez all at the same show! Every single time I’ve seen them over 40 years, their passion and intensity has been second to none, always playing every note like it was gonna be their last!”

This work ethic and musical vision provided an opportunity for the guys to travel to Austin, Texas. The band Rank and File had made the transition from San Diego to Austin already, and Alejandro Escovido urged the Paladins to come play for the Austin audience, which was known for their appreciation of the blues, rockabilly and ALL Americana music. On the brink of an arranged tour to Texas, Gus dropped out of the Paladins to realize his big dream of entering medical school and becoming a Doctor. (A noble cause and thank you, Dr Griffin!) Tom Lewis (OMG—he’s a master—Google him now—Heybale, Wagoneers, Junior Brown), a Texas high school student and gifted drummer was then called and ultimately employed to play drums for the Texas dates. Everything was WOW and the whole scene was GOOD. The Paladins were ready to start TOURING. The band returned young Tom to his parents, and it was time to choose a new drummer.

Art Fein presents L.A. Rockabilly.

Art Fein had a weekly Wednesday Rockabilly Night at Club Lingerie in Los Angeles that really fueled the scene. The Paladins played often and Art got the notion that a showcase LP would be just the ticket to hip a wider audience to the new LA take on the 1950s genre. He released Art Fein Presents LA Rockabilly in 1983. Everyone on this album was fantastic. The Paladins’ original song “Double Datin’” joined songs by Los Lobos, Billy Zoom, the Red Devils, and more. It was also time to decide to move forward as a TRIO, because Whit had determined that he wanted to stay closer to home. By then, Thomas and Dave wanted to travel and seek out new and plentiful Pals’ shows, across the planet and the blues universe. Thomas also had a goal of “walking into ANY bar in ANY town and being offered a free beer from a fan.” Cheers, man! (this writer has witnessed the achievement of this goal multiple times in multiple cities.)

The Red Devil’s eager beast of a drummer, Scott Campbell, was brought into the fold in 1983 and stayed at the kit until 1990. Scott remembers his time in the band with profound love and says he introduced the “blues feel to the band. We were opening shows for Stevie Ray Vaughan, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Los Lobos, and festivals like the San Francisco Blues Festival and other festivals in Western Europe, playing bigger venues due to our records that were out at the time. I really enjoyed working with Kim Wilson and Steve Berlin on the first album. I can’t imagine a better way to spend my twenties than with Dave and Thomas, traveling and spending time putting music together and performing for the people.”

Around 1983 Kevin Morrow (House of Blues, Falk and Morrow, LiveNation) began managing the band after Tom Moore recommended that he go hear them. Anson Funderburgh shared his contacts for a circuit of blues venues with Thomas/Kevin and the United States of America and the country’s roadways became increasingly known to them. (SO many thrift stores!) Steve Dean turned them on to the Continental Club and became their Godfather of Texas. Steve often hosted the band in his party garage as they played Austin, Houston, etc. The Paladins signed with Alligator Records, and their records Years Since Yesterday and Let’s Buzz created a sensation. A sponsorship from Miller Genuine Draft had the band drinking MGD exclusively (in public). They went to Europe, to Australia, and a lot of shit went down.

Paladins promo pic with Scott.

Life brought the Paladins many gifts and “lucky breaks.” There were so many tours that they racked up over One Million Miles by the mid ’90s, they married beloved wives, brought beautiful children into the world, moved from here to there, so many cars and vans, big highs, big lows, broken arms, broken wrists, broken legs, broken hearts, surfing mishaps, TV appearances, music videos, an extensive merchandising operation, missed flights, a myriad of crisis of many types, including the time Thomas got hit by A TRAIN, AN ACTUAL FREIGHT TRAIN. (Google THAT!)

When Scott Campbell decided to quit the band, Brian Fahey accepted the offer to join as drummer. Brian remembers playing “so many great shows, but the ones in Holland and Belgium were amazing! We are so lucky to have so many great fans that always came out to see us!!” When asked, “What’s it like to drive the Paladins?” he shared “Well, I always felt that it was my job to put the groove in a good place, keep things together, and let Dave and Thomas do what they do best. I feel fortunate that I got to play with such great musicians.”

When Brian was on hiatus from the band for a few years, Jeff Donovan took a break from Dwight Yoakum’s band to cover on the drums. Brian then returned to the Paladins in 1998 and is still playing with them today.

Ricky Intveld, Thomas Yearsley, James Intveld, & Dave Gonzalez. Photo by Joe Aparicio.

Bass Player Joey Jazdzewski took over on upright when Thomas became a full-time dad, as his wife (the late, great) Candye Kane’s singing career was taking off. He also started his own analog recording studios in Oceanside (Elector Analog Recording and later Thunderbird Analog Recording Studio) and has recorded many great artists over the past 27 years. Dave and Chris Gaffney formed the Hacienda Brothers. Brian played with EVERYONE in Phoenix and around the world. Thomas started an Exotica band, playing pedal steel guitar, called Exo-Tiki. Busy. Busy. Busy.

In the early 2000s, the Paladins toured a bit, and it was determined that they still had more songs to write and record. Thomas started Lux Records USA as a home for this new batch of Paladins’ songs. Jeb Schoonover eventually took over as manager. Dave knew Jeb as a friend and had managed the Hacienda Brothers. (Find their music at www.LuxRecordsUSA.com)

It got around that a new album by the Paladins was in the works and the fans went bananas.

The Paladins have the most loyal fans. You simply cannot help yourself. If you see one show, you want more, more, MORE! You will drive hundreds of miles to catch a show. You will plan your vacation around their concert schedule. You will wear your Paladins jackets, shirts, patches, hats, and pins with pride and then you will be stopped on the street by other fans to talk about your mutual love of the band.

One such fan is former Colorado resident Jesus Vasquez, who shared that “Whenever they came to town, I was there. Three very cool cats. There was one night at the Grizzly Rose when Dave played the most scorching and soulful blues solo; I’ll never forget it. I lived the dream in Colorado, and the Paladins are interwoven into all those memories. Ups and downs. Bliss and beauty. Campfires and clubs. Wild nights. Soundtrack by the Paladins.”

Becoming a fan can change things for a person. It can lead to sex, marriage, and a vinyl record collection. It can inspire you to start a Paladins cover band at 15 years old, like Justice Guevera, Noah Kapchinske, and Boyce Hartsell did in Oceanside. Their parents were fans and musicians and they nailed it! (Power Shake! Do you know there are bands named Power Shake all over the world? Yep.)

Shaun Bindley, host of the excellent Melbourne, Australia-based podcast “Blues with a Feeling” (links at the end of this article), told me his tale of becoming a fan. “I discovered the Paladins by good fortune more than once but there was plenty of luck involved. I first saw the band at the First East Coast Blues Festival at Byron Bay here in Australia, in 1990. I was totally lost at the time; many aspects of my life were coming to a conclusion and I was struggling with anxiety and depression as to what my future might be. And then the Paladins walked onto that Bluesfest stage for the first of four shows, and my life gained meaning, purpose, and ambition. I’d been a blues fan for a few years but was merely scraping the surface of what lay beneath. But seeing the band that night lit a fuse under me that’s never gone out. I’d never seen a band that, looked like that, played instruments that sounded like that, played songs that spoke directly to me of the fears and dormant ambitions I yearned to acknowledge. And, over the course of those four 75-minute sets, I developed a number of ambitions that, to be frank, seemed quite ludicrous to the washed up footballer that I saw myself as. “I want to have my own radio show that plays this band’s music, I want to sing in my own band, I want to sing these songs in that band, I want to own one of those big blonde Guild archtops. I want to interview the members of the band on that radio show. I want to open for the band in front of a huge sell-out crowd and I want to help people to feel this good, while listening to the band” Over the course of the next 30 years, I did all those things and more. And more important, I’m still presenting my radio show Blues with a Feeling after 31 years, still playing the music of the Paladins on the program. Its only very recently that I’ve become aware of the implications of such a massive life-changing event happening over Easter. And there’s no better way to describe what happened to me that weekend than as a rebirth.” Halleluiah!

More journalistic fandom from the local perspective: “The Paladins were—and still are—on their rare San Diego reunion shows, one of the greatest rock bands to ever come out of Southern California. Their raw, pumped-up rockabilly calls to mind Elvis before he got fat, Johnny Cash before he went country, and the raw rebelliousness of American youth as they turned their backs on Patti Page and their parents’ music and came up with a primitive, gutsy, heart-felt, and passionate sound of their own.” The blazing guitar, thudding bass and relentless drumbeat seemed to scream, “I am fucking young and I don’t care about your green suburban lawns and your pearls and your tea parties—there’s a beast inside me and it’s clawing its way out NOW.”—Thomas K. Arnold, veteran journalist and former rock critic for the Los Angeles Times, Billboard, and San Diego Magazine.

Promo pic with Brian.

Kevin Williams said, “Some people have been to more than 100 Grateful Dead shows. I’ve been to over 100 Paladins shows.”

These days the three Pals are doing a lot of cool stuff outside of the few and precious Paladins gigs they accept. Dave started his own analog recording studio (RattleShack Analog Studios) just outside of Austin, Texas, recording and writing records with his super star wife Susanna Van Tassel, producing Chicago bluesman Mondo Cortez and many other artists. He’ll occasionally be featured as a special guest artist at a festival or show if it calls to him. They have a pet rabbit named Ernesto. He works on old cars. Brian is still in high demand as the tastiest drummer out there. He plays often in Phoenix as well as with multiple touring bands. He’s still raising his youngest son with his beautiful wife and is also a grandpa. Brian still practices every single day, has more vintage drum kits than anyone you’ve ever known, and he works on old cars. Thomas plays Fender bass with the Reagan “Guitar” Williams band, pedal steel guitar with the Small Town Heroes and Exo-Tiki, records artists like the Chimpos and Sue Palmer, manages the Lux label, runs sound for live shows, writes music and plays Wordle with his wife, surfs, enjoys being a grandfather, and works on old cars.

Kevin Morrow said his “biggest regret was not taking the Paladins to the next level” of fame and fortune. As it turns out, we can all still easily afford a ticket to the greatest show of our life, so we got that going for us.

Paladins FOREVER!

See you at the Casbah Saturday, May 10^th.