Twinkeyz
American proto-punk bad
The Twinkeyz were a punk rock band formed in 1977 in Sacramento, California. They are credited as Sacramento's first punk band, and as one of the first bands to create a "small but thriving new wave scene" in Sacramento.
History
The band's leader and songwriter, Don Marquez, took the stage name Donnie Jupiter upon forming the Twinkeyz in 1977. The name "Twinkeyz" was chosen as a tribute to Twink, drummer for the British group Pink Fairies, rather than as a reference to Twinkies, a snack cake. Jupiter also cited groups such as the Ramones, Television and Blondie as early inspirations for the band.
The group began in Davis, California, as a recording project between guitarists Jupiter and Walter Smith, joined by Keith McKee, a professional touring drummer. David Houston, a Sacramento-based producer, also played synthesizer and recorded the band at his Moon Studios.
In 1977, the band self-released "Aliens in Our Midst", their first single, on a record label they called Twirp. Interest in the single prompted the formation of a live band, which included guitarist Tom Darling, drummer Marc Bonilla, and backup vocalist Wit Witkowski. After the first performance at a house show in San Francisco, Smith left the band.
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This entry incorporates text from “Twinkeyz” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.