Headboard

about

Headboard was formed in December of 1995 in Petaluma, CA. The group originated as a rap duo, consisting of Glenn Rubenstein and Jeff Gerstmann. Rubenstein assumed the rap name "G-man," derived from his early 1990s BBS handle. Gerstmann went by the moniker "US Pipe," after a sign he had passed weekly on the 880 freeway when he worked temporarily transporting reels of film for a Bay Area cinema chain. The two were joined on-stage by Brendan Ducousso, who went by "Gotti," and served as an anti "hype man" who commented on what the duo rapped about. Ducousso also contributed to the between song banter. Headboard's first show was December 19th, 1995 opening a concert at the Phoenix Theatre in Petaluma on a bill consisting of Maroon, 26 Miles Per Hour, and the headliner, Skillit. Headboard formed only two weeks before the date of the show, settling on the name only days before the concert and writing rap lyrics right up until showtime. The duo read many of their lyrics off paper while rapping over a montage of samples crafted into an eclectic mix of beats. Thrown together in the days leading up to the event, the group was selling cassette tapes of their "Zip! Plop! EP" at this first performance, tracked on a 4-track the night before. In July of 1996 the group added a live band and began touring around California with an expanded mix of music stylings. Female vocals were added to the group to compliment Gerstmann and Rubenstein's rapping, and the musical styles mixed elements of ra