Dandy Boy Celebrates Five Years With Three-Day Fest At Spats
The ascendancy of Bobby Martinez into the inner echelons of the local music scene seems like it was ripped right from the punk rock playbook.
A local kid, Martinez grew up going to all-ages shows at venues like 924 Gilman. He started writing for zines, among them the venerable punk bible Maximum Rocknroll, while receiving mentorship of sorts from scenesters like Allan McNaughton, of the post-punk band The Neutrals. After championing DIY bands for years, he began playing in some of his own, among them the 1981, and eventually he launched his own label, Dandy Boy Records, a beloved institution specializing in beautifully damaged pop music.
And while it might seem like the most natural trajectory imaginable, Martinez said the journey from enthusiastic teen to respected music veteran was anything but smooth.
“I learned a lot from that Gen X group—like how to be ethical and build a community in the DIY network, but there can be a lot of gate keeping in this space,” said Martinez. “There is a tendency in the alt world to take niche media and completely make it your personality. When I was growing up, if you liked anything remotely pop, you were basically laughed at. But, among the other things I learned from growing up in that atmosphere, is that if you want to create something that you truly love, you have to make it happen on your own. You can’t wait around for it to arrive.”
Martinez, a seemingly omnipresent force now, certainly doesn’t wait around for things to happen now. Dandy Boy has been prolifically releasing albums this year, and from September 11 – 13, the label will celebrate its five-year anniversary with Dandy Fest, a three-day gathering at Spats in Berkeley jam packed with some of the Bay Area’ s best local acts.
The lineup is a classic look into the Dandy Boy oeuvre, where none of the bands can easily be defined by a specific label. The opening night headliner, Joel Cusumano, is an erudite, incredibly literate lyricist who bashes out his verses to Cheap Trick licks. Saturday’s top billing, Yea-Ming and the Rumours channels punk energy and aesthetics through forlorn and melancholy American musings, and Sunday lead James Wavey is a psychedelic garage soul act.
There is a distinct outsider edge to the Dandy Boy lineup—each one seems to reside in the Twilight Zone of FM radio, a sound you would love to hear while driving your car, but can never quite find the frequency. That energy is propelled by Martinez, who is a fierce advocate for all his acts, always encouraging them to follow their own unique beat.
While a longtime booker at local venues like the Golden Bull and the Night Light, it wasn’t until the pandemic that Martinez started to conceive of the idea of Dandy Boy Records.
“Everyone was going crazy during that time—just feeling so stifled creatively,” said Martinez. “No one’s band could get together, but I wanted to do something that felt connective. So I had this idea to do a Television Personalities compilation tape. I got a bunch of local bands to play their favorite TVPs songs, and I already knew about how to make a cassette from playing in the 1981. That project ended up being way more complicated than I anticipated, but it really inspired me to move forward with Dandy Boy Records as a full-time project.”
Through that compilation tape, Martinez learned more about mastering records and he already had inroads into pressing plants and vinyl production through his longtime industry relationships. While his first foray into the distribution experience was a tape compilation, Martinez was set on making his record label a full-service shop.
“There is nothing wrong with being a tape label, but for me, I really wanted to legitimize myself by putting out some vinyl,” said Martinez. “That was important to me.”
Dandy Boy—whose signature gentleman fop logo was designed by Martinez’s longtime pal McNaughton—launched in earnest in 2021, with seven releases, mostly on cassette. The production has steadily increased over the years, and in 2026, Dandy Boy is set to issue 18 releases through various different formats—a prodigious output for an independent, one-man shop.
Nearly every band playing at the three-day Dandy Fest has something coming out via the label this year, and Martinez is effusive in his praise for all those efforts. In addition to the headliners, other acts include SF lo-fi rock maestros, Whitney’s Playland, power-pop purveyors The Goods and analog synth specialists Rhymies. Other acts include Motorcycle, a Sacramento group specializing in wayward bubblegum pop, Smile Too Much, a sad grrl slacker rock group from Oakland, Twin Bloom, an indie rock quartet and Above Me, a San Francisco dreampop band.
Reflecting his longstanding DIY beliefs, Martinez will charge just $10 cover for each night, with a portion of the proceeds benefitting La Raza Centro Legal. He’s partnering with BFF.fm and White Crate—two independent media outlets with a uniquely firm commitment to local music—to stage the event, which truly has a homegrown feel.
“These bands are really like family to me,” said Martinez. “I’ve been friends with some of them going back to the time when I was a teenager. It just feels so special to be doing this thing with people who I respect and admire so much.”
Show Details:
Dandy Fest
Where: Spats in Berkeley
When: 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday, September 11 and 12; 7 p.m., Sunday, September 13
Tickets: $10 at the door