The Next
Record Label: Die Laughing
Hail from San Francisco, CA
The Band is:
Mike Tringali - Vocals, Guitar
Jimmy Crucifix - Guitar
Naomi Stine - Bass, Vocals
Greg Langston - Drums
THE NEXT
The Next was formed by Mike Tringali and Brittley Black (Crime and The Readymades). Their first live performance was Halloween night in 1978 at the Mabuhay Gardens, with Crime headlining and the first performances of both Pearl Harbor and The Explosions and a then unknown band called The Dead Kennedys.
The band was fashioned with the concept known as “Dixie Mod,” a nod to The Who and Colonel Sanders. They were also substantially influenced by the evil God PoPo and Mai Tai cocktails. The band’s fashion sense required dressing sharp with Cuban heels, 10-gallon hats and the colors pink and black.
The original line up included Mike (guitar/ vocals) Brittley (drums), John San Filippo (bass) and Jimmy Crucifix (guitar). The band played regularly at The Mabuhay Gardens and the greater San Francisco Bay Area. Various spectacles have included impromptu musical instrument destruction, a New Year’s party on April Fool’s Day, chickens dressed in top hats, bow ties and walking canes, and inciting a small riot necessitating the appearance of the sheriff’s department outside a bar in Santa Cruz.
Jimmy Crucifix eventually left due to dress code issues, and the band continued as a trio. John San Filippo would later depart for a career in the CIA, replaced by Frank Ventura on bass and vocals. Brittley Black would instigate intentional group fun in the form of varied drug/ alcohol abuse, womanizing and laughs. Mr. Black was widely quoted in the East Bay Band Calendar as saying, "This band is a total failure, and that’s a success to me."
After Brittley’s return to Crime in early 1980, the band took a hiatus until October, 2007 when a failed Fab Mab reunion brought The Next back together with the current lineup of Mike, Frank, Jimmy, and drummer Greg Langston.
Personnel:
Mike Tringali: His life in Punk began in 1977 as lead singer for the obscure suburban angst band known as The Dix. A faux tribute of The Dix would be featured in the Sex Pistols cinematic documentary “DOA: The Rite of Passage.” Mike later fronted The Street Punks and The Bomb Squad before forming The Next.
Greg Langston: Drummer for No Alternative, Sea Hags, Fang and practically every band worth its salt in the Bay Area, Greg is also an exceptional graphic artist and expert wood-crafter. The only mystery about Greg is ‘what’s under the hat?’ His drumming style invokes the passion and fury required to drive The Next.
Jimmy Crucifix: Skilled in mash-up kitchen appliance guitar building, custom hair styling and MacGyver repair doctrine, Jimmy was exposed as a minor by Mike to the sins and wonders of night-clubbing, eventually enabling his talents as the guitarist for Crucifix, Proudflesh, and Fang.
Frank Ventura/ Nenzda: A life-long bassist, Frank was associated with New Wave band, The Aurora Pushups, was noted for the single “Angels On Runway One,” and he entered the band with pounding bass lines that separate The Next from all other musical entities.
