Winter 1980 / 1981: The Units tour Texas and the Southeast.


Zeros, Ft. Worth, TX (Dec 25 80)
Scott: "People were shooting pistols in the bathroom and the owner refused to pay us until we threatened him with physical violence."





Hot Club, Dallas, TX (Dec 26 80)

Club Foot, Austin, TX (Dec 27 80)
Scott: "Rachel and I went to the hospital after the show with pnemonia."

Island, Houston, TX (Dec 28 80)

Jed's, New Orleans, LA (Dec 30 80)

Island, Houston, TX (Dec 30 80)
Scott: "...and back to the hospital, Rachel had a broken rib from coughing."

Phoenix, AZ (Jan 4 81)

Spring 1981: The Units tour the East.

I-Beam, SF (March 31 81): The Units play a benefit for the Labat/Chapman boxing match in June.

Omni's, Philadephia (Apr 16 81)

Underground, Boston (Apr 17(?)/18 81)

Blitz, N.Y. (Apr 21 81)

Peppermint Lounge, N.Y. (Apr 22 81)

Maxwell's, N.J. (Apr 23 81)

Hurrah's, N.Y. (Apr 24 81)

City Gardens, N.J. (Apr 25 81)

Summer 1981: The Units play the National Anthem for the Tony Labat/Tom Chapman fight at Kezar Pavilion.

They meet Bill Nelson. Bill Nelson had embarked on his "Practical Dreamers" tour in May after the long-delayed release of his "Quit Dreaming And Get On The Beam" LP.

He meets the Units when the tour passes through San Francisco. They agree that he will produce their second album. In exchange for his service, Bill Nelson's label, Cocteau Records, will have the distribution rights for the new album in Britian.

Tony Labat / Tom Chapman fight, Kezar Pavilion, SF (June 4 81) Flyer: "Arch Avant Gard Synthesizer Band The Units Will Perform the National Anthem."
Scott: "For (this) event we wore disco suits, platform shoes, fake macho-mustaches, and fake chest hair topped off with big gold chains. We started the National Anthem with an intro we lifted from the song "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," and eased into the regular Anthem with our synthesizers also churning out helicopter noise, police whistles, and sirens. We topped it off by firing cap pistols in the air."
Read "Ring Cycle" by Bill Mandel.

Fall 1981: The Units tour the East Coast.

Coming back, Brad Saunders leaves the Units.
Scott: "We all had full time day jobs, Units rehearsals three nights a week or more, and played gigs on weekends. He was probably tired of being broke and exhausted and wanted to move on and do other things. We always seemed to lose someone after a tour.

 I hated to see him go. Brad, Tim and I all grew up together in the same little one stoplight Shittown. Brad lived a few houses down from me. I was always in awe of his artwork. He was doing Rauschenberg-like photo transfer collages before I got my drivers license. When Brad took up drumming it was with a passion. He had gone to Africa to study drumming before he played with us. He was friends with a lot of percussionists in the S. F. Symphony and theater scene and we tapped into his connections to get those guys (Jim Reynolds, Raymond) to sit in and play vibes, timpani, and various percussion for us. He was the most creative drummer we ever had."