Friends’ diverse sounds
quips.
Berg — former lead singer of the Like, JJAMZ and Phases — is one of the linchpins of the evening; along with her solo work, she’s a member of Palm Springsteen, and she has recorded with Ross. She created the show’s general idea with her Z Berg and Friends shows in Los Angeles, where her friends would play in different lineups. Some nights that would include the artists on this current tour and outside talent like Jackson Browne and Wendy & Lisa, with the roster of performers backing Berg during her showclosing set.
“I’m just trying to force people to be my friend, basically,” she says, laughing. “Now I’ve moved on from the musicians to the fans, too, where now I’m just trying to expand my friend group to make up for my childhood. I’m totally fine and I’m normal. Everything’s fine.”
That devoted fan base/ group of potential Berg friends, who post the “mom” and “queen” comments on Berg’s Instagram feed and often adhere to each show’s optional dress code, also make sure that the shows feel like a community. Then there are those “very online” supporters who make the effort to follow the artists of the Dead End Kids Club from town to town in real life.
“There was a group of fans who came to the Dallas show that follow all the projects and us, and then we had Palm Springsteen play the Austin City Limits … and I was like, ‘We have five general admission passes, do you guys want to come see us play Austin?’ So they drove to Austin, came to the ACL show,” Hinman recalls. “And when we showed up in Kansas City, they all had Dead
End Kids Club tattoos on their arms.”
San Francisco will be the last stop on the itinerary of both the tour and its fans, and it will stand out in two ways: First, this will be the first Palm Springsteen show in the city for Hinman since he moved out of the Bay Area. Second, it takes place days before Halloween, so Berg wants to switch up the dress code.
“I would like to request as many dead people as possible,” Berg says. “It’s really my dream.”
“Wow, that’s a hell of a quote,” Hinman says. “We should play at a graveyard. What are we doing?”
“You are on to something,” Berg says. “Afterparty in the graveyard.”