ONION FLAVORED RINGS - "One Big Onion" - Tape- 2001

    Before the ONION FLAVORED RINGS, there was THE FUNYUNS, which was just Steve Funyun playing his songs on the streets of Miami with his guitar and battery powered amp for anyone who would listen. Those songs are now classics in my mind...or maybe I've just heard them so many goddamn times. Even though I have heard these self-loathing pop songs more times than I have probably called my mother in my life, I still find myself drawn to them time and time again. I loved "I'm Used To It" when I first heard the FUNYUNS version back in 1995 and I still found myself singing every word to it when I stumbled across Steve playing it on the street two months ago.That's the thing: Steve still plays on the street all the time with little-to-no fanfare. You can find him in the BART station on Powell Street or at the corner of 24th and Mission playing to a small crowd.
   This tape was the first of many recordings by ONION FLAVORED RINGS and contains many of Steve's classic songs, including one of my all-time favorite anti-love songs, "Remarkable". I've seen OFR turn off all the lights in a room and play "Mummy" in the dark countless times, which was always lots of fun. "The Shame of Quantum Physics" hints at the braininess that was to come in the future of this band. Then, of course there is the sad classic "I'm Used To It", but I never understood why Steve didn't finish the final, biting line of the song on this recording....which is "I'm tired of crying for a cold world". Maybe he was tired of it? Who knows? If you live in SF, try and catch Steve playing on the streets sometime. It's always a pleasure.

                       

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 OFR playing to an insanely appreciative crowd in Asheville, NC. 2003. It felt like we were gonna all fall through the floor that night because the wood was bowing so much. Photos by me.

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Link updated 3/2020