Gina Schock, drummer of the Go-Go’s, makes a guest appearance with the Linda Lindas at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s Art Bash in 2022. Schock is set to join Martha Reeves for two nights of music and conversation at Haight Street Art Center in May.
Laura Morton/For the S.F. Chronicle
Two musical greats from different eras will come together for two special nights in San Francisco, and I’m thrilled to be a small part of the epic meeting.
Drummer Gina Schock of the Go-Go’s, 68, and pop-soul singer Martha Reeves, 84, of Martha and the Vandellas are scheduled to appear together at the Haight Street Art Center on May 14-5. On the first night, Schock and Reeves will be in conversation, moderated by yours truly. The following night, they will be in concert at the center.
The events are part of the closing weekend celebrations of “A View From the Throne: Gina Schock — Inside the Go-Go’s,” a retrospective exhibition.
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“For me to play with Martha is one of the biggest things ever in my whole life,” Schock told me ahead of the event. “The songs that she sang are legendary, it is such a thrill for me.”
Martha Reeves, from left, Annette Beard and Rosalind Ashford of Motown girl group Martha and the Vandellas, circa 1962.
Haight Street Art Center
Reeves’ hits “Heat Wave,” “Dancing in the Street” and “Nowhere to Run” are slated for the first half of the program, with Schock on drums and a backing lineup of local musicians. The night’s second set will feature Schock performing Go-Go’s songs with the Bay Area, all-girl punk band For Horses.
Gina Schock and Martha Reeves in conversation with the Chronicle: 6 p.m. May 14. $25. Haight Street Art Center, 215 Haight St., S.F. www.haightstreetart.org
Gina Schock and Martha Reeves in concert: 6. p.m. May 15, $50. Haight Street Art Center, 215 Haight St., S.F. www.haightstreetart.org
“A View From the Throne: Gina Schock — Inside the Go-Go’s”: Photographer, ephemera and archival materials. Noon-6 p.m. Thursday-Sunday. On view through May 15. Free. Haight Street Art Center, 215 Haight St., S.F. www.haightstreetart.org
Just the thought of hearing Schock tear up the killer Motown drum beats on Reeves’ songs “has me amazed / Don’t know what to do, my head’s in a haze.” (Sorry, got caught in a “Heatwave.”)
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Schock met Reeves, a fellow Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, a few years ago when the Vandellas frontwoman was performing at a jazz club at Baltimore, Schock’s hometown. Schock said she immediately knew she wanted to perform with the R&B pop singer, and the closing of “A View From the Throne” presented a perfect opportunity.
Proceeds from ticket sales will go to the Haight Street Art Center.
Martha Reeves of Martha and the Vandellas is scheduled to appear with Go-Go’s drummer Gina Schock for a conversation and concert in San Francisco on May 14-15.
Haight Street Art Center
“These women trailblazers created anthems that still move us today, and we are proud to present programming that inspires the next generation of creative talent,” said Kelly Harris, the center’s executive director.
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For Schock, a two-decade San Franciscan, the idea of bringing four generations of female performers together for the benefit concert was very much in the ethos of the all-girl groups she and Reeves helped make famous.
In addition to For Horses — whose vocalist Claudia Santino, bassist Codi Farmer, drummer LJ Jones, and guitarists Camy Corcoran and Kayla Krueger are in their 20s — Schock will also be joined onstage by 15-year-old Presley Asuncion, the lead singer of San Francisco band Peaboo and the Catz.
“I’m really excited to hang out with the girls and hear what they have to say about the state of music,” said Schock. “And I’m really excited to get to play with them.”
The Go-Go’s in the 1980s. Drummer Gina Schock is set to join Martha Reeves of Martha and the Vandellas for two nights of music and conversation in San Francisco in May.
Courtesy of Gina Schock
For Schock, the intergenerational exchange goes back to her adolescence in Baltimore when she would sneak backstage after concerts to photograph her favorite musicians. Having the camera, she noted, gave her entry into the scene and she still remembers what it felt like meeting her rock ’n’ roll heroes including Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper and the J. Geils Band.
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“They were all great to me,” said Schock.
She added that “the only person that was ever kind of creepy was Ted Nugent.” The guitarist and singer of songs like “Cat Scratch Fever,” “Strangehold” and “Jailbait,” has faced allegations of sexual misconduct with underage girls since the 1970s, including one from Hole frontwoman Courtney Love, a San Francisco native. He has denied the accusations.
“Gina Schock — Inside the Go-Go’’s” comes after a slew of major recognition for the quintet.
The band,known for hits including “We Got the Beat,” “Vacation” and “Head Over Heels,” became the first all-female group to top the Billboard charts. The Go-Go’s, formed in 1978, were later inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2021 and the California Hall of Fame in 2024.
Schock also released her photography book “Made in Hollywood: All Access With the Go-Go’s” in 2021 and had a companion exhibition at the South of Market venue Saint Joseph’s Arts Society.
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Gina Schock of the Go-Go’s plays the drums, circa 1981.
Paul Natkin/WireImage
Her current exhibition at the Haight Street Art Center also features photography by the drummer as well as rare ephemera, posters and archival materials. Other highlights of the show includes materials related to Schock’s first band in Baltimore, Edie and the Eggs. With that first group, she played drums for cult film actor Edith Massey, best known for her roles in John Waters’ movies, including “Pink Flamingos” (1972).
Tickets are on sale now for the conversation and the concert. “A View From the Throne: Gina Schock — Inside the Go-Go’s” is on view through May 16.