Romeo Void

Romeo Void
Romeo Void (left to right): Frank Zincavage, Aaron Smith, Debora Iyall, Peter Woods, Benjamin Bossi
Background information
Origin	San Francisco, CA
Genres	New wave, post-punk
Years active	1979–1985 (Reunions: 1993, 2004)
Labels	415, Columbia
Website	www.romeovoid.net
Past members	Debora Iyall Peter Woods Frank Zincavage Jay Derrah Benjamin Bossi John "Stench" Haines Larry Carter Aaron Smith

Romeo Void was an American new wave/post punk band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. The band primarily consisted of saxophonist Benjamin Bossi, vocalist Debora Iyall, guitarist Peter Woods, and bassist Frank Zincavage. The band went through four drummers, starting with Jay Derrah and ending with Aaron Smith. The band released three albums, It's a Condition, Benefactor and Instincts, along with one EP. They are best known for the songs "Never Say Never" and "A Girl in Trouble (Is a Temporary Thing)"; the latter became a Top 40 pop single.

The band was started at the San Francisco Art Institute by Iyall and Zincavage. They released a single on the recently formed 415 Records before recording their debut album, which has been deemed a "masterpiece of American post-punk". The success of their second release, a 4-song EP, Never Say Never resulted in a distribution deal with Columbia Records. The band continued to release music and tour until they broke up in 1985. The members have reunited briefly over the years. Iyall has continued to pursue music as a side project. Iyall garnered acclaim as a skilled lyricist who explored themes like sexuality and alienation from a female perspective with "searing imagery".

Romeo Void formed at the San Francisco Art Institute in February 1979. Vocalist Debora Iyall occasionally visited the Bay Area to see Patti Smith perform. She decided to pursue an art education after reading a fortune cookie. "It was in the late '70s at the Indochina Friendship Booth at the annual Fourth of July streetfair in Eureka, California," she said. "I got a fortune cookie that said 'Art is your fate, don't debate.' That next January, I was enrolled in an art school in San Francisco." She began frequenting the Mabuhay Gardens, a popular nightclub, to see local alternative rock groups like The Nuns, the Mutants, Crime, and the Avengers. She also formed the Mummers and Poppers, a punk parody band that covered 1960s tunes with guitarist Peter Woods, Charles Hagan and drummer Jay Derrah, . Iyall was originally hesitant to perform because she was overweight: "After seeing Patti Smith, I still had it in my mind that you had to be skinny to be up there [on stage], but after going to the Mabuhay [...] you just do whatever you want, be whoever you want, just make it happen."