Jean Caffeine has lived nine lives, starting out as scenester, zinester and drummer on San Francisco’s first wave punk scene in the late 70’s. These years are chronicled in her 2017 release, “Sadie Saturday Nite”. A companion performance piece was also performed in Austin and the Hamilton Fringe Fest, Buffalo Infringement and in the back room of the legendary Cameron House in TO.
In 1980, Jean migrated to New York, where she worked Danceteria, DJ-ing, and checking coats. While playing in a Velvet Underground cover band at Club 57, on St. Marks Place, she was recruited by Ann Magnuson to drum for Pulsallama, a theatrical percussive buzz band who opened shows for the Clash. In 2016, Pulsallama was sampled by edgy hip hop artist Danny Brown’s on “Dance in the Water”. When Pulsallama disbanded, Jean joined Clambake, featuring writer Holly George-Warren on guitar. Clambake’s unreleased EP was more-than-mixed by Alex Chilton and Jean sublet Alex’s Treme apartment while he was on the road one summer.
With two of the Clambake gals (Cathy Crane, Liz Gall) hailing from Austin, that led Jean to moving there. She also move from behind the drum set to front her ’allternative country band, Jean Caffeine’s All-Nite Truckstop.
These days Jean endures, playing shows and storytelling with a duo or band, sometimes traveling solo in a 2009 Blue Honda Fit.
Jean is also a mixed media artist and art educator. She’s just come back from a visual arts residency in Mexico City. In the 2000’s she contributed animation for Rick Linklator’s ‘Waking Life” and If you look carefully you can spot her cameo in the movie ‘Slacker’.
