The orchestra is the official band of the Exotic World Pageant in Helendale, and regularly features in the Tease-O-Rama burlesque conventions, as well as at local shows, weddings, and taquerias.

       The orchestra covers a wide array of musical styles including jazz, rock, pop, samba, traditional Americana, and many genres beyond description!

Current band leader-caretaker Paul Bergmann (bass guitar) has been making largely unheralded contributions to the performing arts scene ever since he was in the 3rd Grade, which was a long, long time ago. A failed actor, Paul turned to musical performance to abuse the public. He has grappled with the guitar, piano, organ, drums, trumpet, accordion, and bass guitar over the years, and has mastered none of them. Recorded evidence of his misadventures can be found on releases by Mingo 2000, Thinking Fellers Union Local 282, Barbara Manning's SF Seals, and others.

(Photo by Don Spiro)

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Token Canadian Paul Scriver, on tenor and soprano saxophones, has been greasing the ears of Burlesque fans for over three years. The quiet presence behind the growl of the surly tenor, Paul's music career spans back a couple of decades, most of which he spent playing for disinterested jazz audiences and lovers of alcohol. It wasn't until Paul's conversion to the church of burlesque that he was able to discover the joys of playing for an enthusiastic audience. Since then he has resorted to all manner of unseemly tactics to try to woo attention away from the dancers and towards the horn section ...with little success. He fondly recalls playing in dust storms in the Mojave Desert for the Miss Exotic World pageants, and having been an Acid Jazz star for a minute back in '95, as well as his many years as the personal saxophonist for the Queen Mum (God rest her soul).

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Trompetista Andy DeGiovanni has performed in many local musical groups over the years and finds the burlesque troupe an effective vehicle to express his creativity. Providing a brassy punch for the orchestra and comedic sound effects for MC Mad V. Dog while sporting some of his mother’s stylishly outdated wardrobe is a dream come true.

Andy enjoys working with San Francisco’s Famous Burlesque Revue because “Even though the pay isn’t much, the view can’t beat! It is a real honor to perform with a group so well endowed (with talent).”

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Guitar god Bill Spooner was the lead guitarist for The Tubes, and has starred in feature films such as Xanadu and the sequel to Behind the Green Door.
His constant rehearsal performances of Miserlou are legendary!

 

 

 

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On the drums: Dana "Boom Boom" Burt— the man, the musician, the enigma. As a youth in upstate New York, Dana was within weeks of earning a pre-teen degree in quantum physics when a wayfaring tribe of Voodoo practitioners kidnapped him. After somehow making his way from the dank swamps of the South all the way to California, Dana put his new found magic to work. Over the past few years, Dana has traveled with SF's Famous Burlesque Orchestra to Helendale and back, with stops such as LA's Palace Theatre along the way.
 

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The ineffable Cyrus (bongos and other percussion, hamming it up here with the lovely Pontani Sisters) has only recently been introduced into society, after being raised by tattooed warthogs. He adds crucial rhythmic cadence to the blissful chaos of the band. His motto is: "I will beat on anything!"

View his other musical depravities at
Bongomania.com and The Everywhere Button

 

 

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Organ grinder Mike "Cuffy" Burns is a very busy man. His facial expressions during performance have brought tears of laughter to many unfortunate orphans and burlesque dancers. The impeccable nattiness of his clothes and hair only serves to highlight the lowdown dirtyness of his barrelhouse rolls.

Sorry ladies, he's married!

 
 

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Who could forget our M.C.?!?

 

Mad V. Dog is San Francisco's favorite emcee. His snappy patter has had them rolling in the aisles at shows by Fisherman's Famous San Francisco Burlesque, San Francisco's Famous Burlesque Revue, and The Cantankerous Lollies (Best Group of Exotic World 2002) since 1997. He has knocked 'em dead in such places as The Hi-Ball Lounge and The Make Out Room in San Francisco; the Derby in Hollywood; Teaseorama in New Orleans, San Francisco, and Los Angeles; the Crucible in Berkeley; Exotic World in Helendale; and Sideshows by the Seashore in Coney Island... leaving a trail of smiles everywhere he goes. "I have great respect for old jokes," quips the brown-eyed punster, "Old jokes are not to be laughed at!"

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San Francisco's Famous Burlesque Revue also includes a wide variety of guest performers, with no two shows ever the same. Other performers have included:

 

San Francisco's very own bouncing menace Roky Roulette is always a crowd-pleaser. Born to wild wolves in the deserts of Arizona, he could howl before he could speak. Rescued by strange dancers when he drifted into Helendale CA, Roky was struck by lightning and was inspired to create one of the most unique acts anyone has ever dared to perform.

 

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The incredible Gorilla X, Gorilla to the Stars™, got his start in 2001 as a young gorilla, initially getting his large furry feet wet at the Tease-o-Rama burlesque convention in New Orleans. Fueled by bananas and Red Bull, along with a desire to become the premier simian entertainer in the country and to be a good role model to young gorillas everywhere, he has gone on to take the world by storm. The consummate entertainer, Gorilla X has appeared in venues both highbrow and lower-than-lowbrow. His popularity has even extended to the entertainment world at large, where Gwen Stefani and No Doubt recently invited him to appear onstage with them. Recently seen hobnobbing with the likes of Maury Povich and Marilyn Manson (not at the same time, however)— and with mentions in the SF Weekly, the SF Bay Guardian, and the San Jose Mercury News— Gorilla X's world domination is well underway. See more of him at: www.gorilla-x.com

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Baritone saxophonist, flautist, vocalist, and arranger
Ward Abronski is one of our favorite guest performers because he was a pivotal member of our troupe from the beginning! He is a founding member of Polkacide, and has performed with Kitten on the Keys, Flipper, and other wholesome entertainments since the early '70s. We look forward to any chance we have to work with this lovable maniac!

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Roxy Shocks, the San Franpsycho Treat! Kitty Diggins: Portland, Oregon's burlesque sensation Harlem Shake: Oakland's pinnacle of entertainment, the only African-American burlesque troupe! Go to top of page