stories

The Orthotonics (first and briefly known as the Orthotones) were a notable art-rock/jazz-fusion band based in the Fan District in the early-to-mid-1980s. Oddly, their recordings were probably more popular in Eastern Europe than here. Phil Trumbo, mentioned in the post below, was one of the originals and the group’s handbill artist for the first couple of years.
The Orthotonics were key players in Richmond’s then-peak of a certain culture that had the Fan’s music scene closely connected to the coolest of such scenes on the East Coast and beyond. In those days a band’s handbills/graphics were a big part of its image. That was just as true in New York as Richmond. Also in the original group were Pippin Barnett, Danny Finney, Rebby Sharp and Paul Watson. They were funny, they took chances and they could play. The Orthotonics practiced in the empty Biograph, after the place was cleaned up in the wee hours. It was convenient because half of them worked as the theater's janitors at the time. Today Trumbo lives on the Left Coast. Always a snappy dresser, he is shown above with his daughter Leela, 10, in October of 2005.
And, above is a shot of Phil talking with one of the original cashiers, Susan Eskey, at the Biograph's first reunion party on Feb. 11, 1975, the theater's third anniversary.