Nerves fray on reunion tour, Peter Case continues minus Paul Collins
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File this under “It Was Fun While It Lasted” -- maybe: The reunion tour featuring former Nerves members Peter Case and Paul Collins has fallen apart just three weeks in, according to a statement issued Thursday by Case.
“Due to unforeseen circumstances, Paul Collins will not be performing any of the remaining shows with his former bandmate from The Nerves and The Breakaways, Peter Case,” the statement said. “Case cites ‘the usual musical differences’ as the reason for the departure of Collins.”
They had been performing power-pop songs from the Nerves’ repertoire as well as material from the Plimsouls, which Case formed after the Nerves disbanded. Collins went on to form the Paul Collins Beat.
Neither Case nor Collins could be reached immediately for comment, but on Facebook, Case wrote Thursday that Collins ‘was continually abusive to the band and others supporting the tour, and when I stuck up for them, he repeatedly showered me with loud abuse. That road doesn’t go through anymore. This is a problem that went back to Day 1 of the tour and never improved for long but got worse. It’s amazing that we were able to get through as many shows as we did....The Nerves didn’t work out in the seventies and they couldn’t now. I wish him well in all things, but we have to be on separate paths.’
The press release said Case would continue the tour with band members Timm Buechler on bass and drummer Amos Pitsch, focusing on the Plimsouls’ songboook.
The Case-Collins tour opened March 1 in Vancouver, Canada, and included a March 7 show at the Echo in Los Angeles as well as several performances last week at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas. They were due to return to the Southland for a June 2 performance at McCabe’s in Santa Monica, which Case, who underwent double bypass heart surgery nearly three years ago, will now handle on his own.
Update on March 26 at 11:35 a.m.: For the Record: An earlier version of this post said the Case-Collins tour was due to play June 2 at McCabe’s in Santa Monica. That show had always been planned as a solo appearance by Case.
The Plimsouls’ legacy among the vibrant Southern California music scene of the 1980s was recently spotlighted in the live album “Beach Town Confidential,” recorded at the Golden Bear in Huntington Beach, one of the area clubs the quartet played frequently.
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--Randy Lewis
