Art, music, culture, books, coffee, BEER, wine, foxy people, yummy food, good times, Macs, wit, intelligence, radiance, YOU! Our regulars were like the "Cheers" of the indie art and music world. We had fun here and sometimes, we baked brownies.
Music
Many talented local and national bands played at the first Bombshell Gallery location during its debut year including: Giddy-Up, Helicopter!; the Unrequited Loves; the Peabodies; Kevin K; Hugh T. Williams; Nessie; Zillionaire; the Lake Audition; Lorna Bracewell; Jeremy Gloff; Ricky Wilcox (solo acoustic); Adrianne (from California); Richard Cortez (from Ft. Lauderdale); Cuban Sandwich Crisis; Crippled Masters; The Voyeurs; Ship Shape; The Armchair Romantics; Everything! Now! (from Indiana); Cat Cheshire; Curtis Ross; Mike O' Neill; Vera Violets; Rebekah Pulley & the Reluctant Prophets; Sparky's Nightmare; Ronny Elliott & the Nationals; Pirate Prude; Mouse Fire; Auto! Automatic!!; The Sugar Oaks (from Orlando); Candy Bars; Les Chimiques; Dead Horse Detective Agency; Incredible Crisis; The Satsukos; Trans-Mission; The Nines, Mants; Disco Nap; 1987MF?; Brigid Oschorn (of Dead Horse Detective Agency); Infinite Skillz and Rich James; The Hero Dies; The Chase Theory; King Earth; Marlee (of Some Dancing Skeleton); Gleaming Amoebas; The Four Shames (from Orlando); hookeR; Kara Wilson; Some Dancing Skeleton; The Seahorse Orchestra; The Villanz; Breakdown & DJ Ranmecca; eFFex; Mark X; Jukebox Graduate; Mark X; Edo McGrady; Geri X; Shawn Kyle (of The Beauvilles); aaronzarzutzki; Uh-Oh Spades!!; New Lands; Space Program; James McFarland; Have Gun, Will Travel; So (from Mobile, AL); John McNicholas (from Atlanta, GA); ; Gruppo 99; The Same; The No Loves; Bear Hug; Inertia!; Joran Slane (of Auditorium); Red Room Cinema; Drawing Maps (from Ft. Myers); Dream Window; Aficionado (from Albany, NY); Search the City (from Detroit, MI); Monument Monument (from Detroit, MI); Palomino; Anodyne Project; Awesome Cool Dudes (from Austin, TX); Skylab Hoax; John Crayon; Ken Spivey; Remedy Lane (from Ft. Myers); O! Pioneers (from Houston, TX); The Judy Garland Death Squad (from Mobile, AL); Anthony (of Steady State); The Viirus (from Gainesville); Johann Ess (from Gainesville); Worldwide Zoo; Zanesville; Boney Fiend; Deviated Youth; The Redliners; The Diviners; The Heathens (from Orlando); Dean J (of the Human Condition); Andros Rex; Carson (of Dry County); Brian Merrill and Ted Lukas (The Threads acoustic); Ricky Wilcox and the Moonsnakes; Crash Mitchell; Johnny Zoom Cheerlead Squad; Microwave Windows; Blast; Ironing (from Gainesvile); Hal McGee (from Gainesville); The Uh; Variety Workshop; Homehunters (various members of Home from New York, Baltimore, Tampa) Go Jenny! (from New York); Kids Fly Free; Errant Strike (from Baltimore); Monarch (from Baltimore); Tongues of the Heartworm; The Silent Jones
Movies
Our Bombshell Gallery Cinema Enthusiasts Group watched it all:"9 to 5," Alfred Hitchcock, old B movies, "The Corporation" and other documentaries, "Roman Holiday," "Ghost World," "My Life With Morrissey," "The Nomi Song," and lots of cool punk rock stuff. We met every Sunay night for flicks and free popcorn.
Television
It was a large 55'' high definitition Mitsubishi.
Books
We had a library filled with books about music, art, culture, politics, humor - everything from Andy Warhol to Fran Lebowitz to Clement Greenberg, Brian Eno and Zippy the Pinhead.
Heroes
A lot of people are really nice. But who belongs on a postage stamp? Now, there's an interesting question. Mister Rogers. Richard Pryor. Ernie from Sesame Street. People who have made contributions. People you would name your children after...R2D2.
About me: MUDD CLUB, FUN GALLERY, CBGB, MAX'S KANSAS CITY: BOMBSHELL GALLERY. The Bombshell was an underground art and music venue that rocked the Tampa Bay area scene for one glorious year. We hosted great art and photgraphy exhibits, local and national bands and other nutty events including the Dirty Dishers readng from celebrity autobiographies, poetry slams, artist panels, and our famous Bring Your Own Talent nights of bellydancing, banjo playing and spoken word. Don't forget the Arty Farty Flea Markets and Zsa Zsa's Celebrity Bingo. We also hosted the terrific "Homo Alone" night of solo queer singers and the amazing "Fag Fiesta." Bombshell Gallery was a "rock 'n' roll gallery" - a music and cultural nightspot located at 2534 Central Avenue in the Grand Central District of St. Petersburg. We had shelves of books and vintage knick knacks. Our movies nights screened everything from Hitchcock's "Notorious" to "Jesse James Meets the Bride Of Frankenstein" (during our "50-Foot Film Fest" of classic B-movies). We had an amazing staff: head honcho writer/musican and local cultural superstar Gina Vivinetto and her trusty bar staff Cathy Wos, Carrie Waite, Micheal Holmes, and Lea Iadarola. Bombshell proudly displayed work by artists from the bustling Tampa Bay scene as well as international notables (such as Jon Langford of the Mekons). For a list of the great bands who played at the gallery, see the Music section on this page. Bombshell Gallery, R.I.P., for now.
Who I'd like to meet: Artists, musicians, writers, looky-loos, people who are interested in culture, and "Strangers With Candy," Oh! and, old sitcoms from the 1970s like "Good Times." We would like to meet Richard Pryor (God rest his soul) . ALL funny people for that matter. (Of course, we want to meet great, important, profound people like the Dalai Lama, and Mother Teresa ----that goes without saying, but wouldn't it be more fun to eat lunch with, say, Dorothy Parker?) How about: Basquiat? Raschenberg? OOH! JOHN CAGE! Brian Eno. Stimulatin' people.
What a fantastic page. So many names I recognize and great memories. All the best in 07'. K.
The Most Wonderfully Creepy and Enthralling release of the Year: K. Ross' "That Dirty Clown." A captivating and unsettling "micro-cult classic" that employs analog tape manipulation and no-fi atmospherics to craft a narrative of disturbing fluidity. You've never heard anything like this before."
M Lupica
WFMU
Happy New Year! Home from Oz and need 2 be reintroduced to the very different St. Pete scene. Many changes in the last year. good changes. Want to come by and say hi!
