Add some Phantoms to your day

Victor Penalosa has played multiple instruments in a number of area bands, with a partial list including the Burrito Brothers, the Melanies, Sidewalk Scene, Riot Act, Unruly Bangs, Baja Bugs, Got it Covered, ADD/C, the Zeros, Action Andy & the Hi-Tones, and the Shambles. Since 2013, he’s been a member of Bay Area–based favorites the Flamin’ Groovies, whose ’60s/’70s tunes such as “Shake Some Action” and “Jumpin’ in the Night” are now considered garage-rock classics.

Perhaps his most high-profile gig, with the Groovies constantly touring the world, he admits that it’s not hard to have fun with the retro-rock mainstays. “There are no difficult Groovies songs,” he says. “All pretty straight-ahead rock-and-roll numbers.”

Penalosa’s newest project, the Phantoms, play punked-up ’70s-inspired FM glam rock, pounded out by Penalosa alongside Xavier Anaya (the Trebles, the Hoods), Chris Iandolo (Dizzy), and Ed Masi (Ghosts of California, Sleeping Cranes).

The self-titled debut Phantoms album was released in June via Rum Bar Records. A video for “Stab Me (In My Broken Heart),” featuring clips from the 1979 drive-in feature Driller Killer, is streaming on their Reader band page.

The Phantoms play the Casbah with Dirty Pennies and Mittens on Monday, October 10.

WHAT’S IN YOUR CD PLAYER?

Penalosa: “Roky Erickson and the Aliens, Creature with the Atom Brain. Best songs ever written.”

Iandolo: “David Bowie, Low. Great, fairly overlooked album, this, but so good.”

Anaya: “Johnny Kidd and the Pirates.”

Masi: “I don’t own a CD player.”

WHERE DO YOU TAKE OUT-OF-TOWN GUESTS?

Penalosa: “The Whistle Stop.”

Masi: “Controversial Bookstore.”

IF YOU COULD READ OUR MINDS?

Penalosa: “I’d blow my brains out.”

BEST ADVICE YOU EVER GOT?

Masi: “A professor from one of my grad-school courses told me, ‘Think before you speak.’”

MOST VISITED WEBSITES?

Penalosa: “KissFaq.com has all things Kiss, Beatles.com has all things Beatles, and True Crime Garage is the best podcast in the universe.”

Masi: “CaliforniaRocker.com, founded by Donna Balancia, has music reviews, interviews, news, and shows, and SpeakersInCode.com is a St. Louis–based music blog founded by Jason Gonulsen.”

FAVORITE QUOTE FROM SPINAL TAP?

Iandolo: “Can I raise a practical question at this point? Are we gonna do ‘Stonehenge’ tomorrow?”

Anaya: “Sounds like barbershop raga, a new hybrid.”

YOUR DRINK OF CHOICE?

Penalosa: “Gin and tonic.”

Iandolo: “Manhattan, preferably ‘up’ and light on the vermouth. Or, as my mother says, quoting her father, ‘Open the vermouth bottle and turn to the west.’”

Anaya: “Milk.”

Masi: “A Roy Rogers.”

FIRST BOOK YOU REMEMBER READING?

Anaya: “Go, Dog, Go! by P.D. Eastman.”

Masi: “The Truth About Fonzie, by Peggy Herz.”

WHAT SHOULDN’T PEOPLE DISCUSS AT YOUR FUNERAL?

Anaya: “Nothing. I’m dead already.”

Masi: “My penis reduction surgery at the tender age of six.”

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME SOMEONE YELLED AT YOU?

Masi: “Two weeks ago, by a man from Romania, I believe, in a van, for parking in his parking space. Sulo King at Iacon Sound can provide better details about the incident.”

YOUR TASTIEST DISH (AND WHAT’S YOUR SECRET)?

Anaya: “French toast. Instead of syrup, use honey and lemon, and now it’s Spanish toast.”

Masi: “Quesadilla with ranchero cheese, corn tortillas, and pan fried in olive oil.”

CRAZIEST WAY YOU EVER MADE MONEY?

Penalosa: “Selling Xerox copies of Monkees 8-by-10s.”

Masi: “Selling what I believe were rodent bones that I passed off as prehistoric fossils. I was seven.”

WHAT REMAINS ON YOUR BUCKET LIST?

Masi: “Climb Everest before my dad dies. He says he named me after [New Zealand explorer] Sir Edmund Hillary, so, wow, I can’t let him down. I grew up Catholic, so I’ll try to finally convince him that he named me after Saint Edmund [the martyr king of East Anglia circa 855 AD] and get away with proving to him that I provided adequate protection for kings, pandemics, torture victims, and wolves.”

BEST THING YOU HAD TO LET GO?

Penalosa: “My dignity.”

WHAT WOULD YOUR GRADE SCHOOL TEACHER SAY ABOUT YOU?

Masi: “‘He was kind, but bubbling with evil thoughts.’ Remember, I went to Catholic school.”

SONG THAT BEST DESCRIBES YOUR LIFE?

Penalosa: “‘Add Some Music to Your Day,’ by the Beach Boys: ‘When you’re alone (add some music, add some music) is like a companion (add some music, add some music) for your lonely soul.’”

Masi: “‘Main Street’ by Deer Tick: ‘Of goodbye times, you ain’t on my side, satisfaction, too much of mine, song goes here, never let me down, oh the main street seems so lonely now.’”