Manual Scan was an American

mod Mod, MOD or mods may refer to: Places * Modesto City–County Airport, Stanislaus County, California, US Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Mods (band), a Norwegian rock band * M.O.D. (Method of Destruction), a band from New York City, US * ...

and

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a subgenre of rock music and form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, ...

group from San Diego, active between 1981 and 1991. Manual Scan released numerous CDs, LPs and

7-inch In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album ( LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standa ...

singles, in England, Spain and the US. They toured in the US, England (including a 1986 appearance at the

100 Club The 100 Club is a music venue located at 100 Oxford Street, London, England, where it has been hosting live music since 24 October 1942. It was originally called the Feldman Swing Club, but changed its name when the father of the current owner ...

in London), and

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. The group's song "Nothing Can Be Everything" was included in the 1990 Columbia Pictures release, ''A Girl To Kill For''.

Members

The founding members of Manual Scan were guitarist / singer Bart Mendoza, guitarist Kevin Ring, bassist David Fleminger and drummer Paul Kaufman, though within a few months of the band's formation Kaufman was replaced by Paul Brewin and singer Yvonne Simon was added on backing vocals and guitar. All except for Fleminger were former students of

La Jolla High School La Jolla High School (LJHS) is a public high school in La Jolla, a community of San Diego, California. Opened in 1922, LJHS is the second-oldest campus in San Diego Unified School District. It is accredited by the Western Association of School ...

. The band's lineup changed frequently during its existence, with Mendoza and Donaker-Ring as the core members. Other notable players included drummer David Anderson and

Tom Ward Tom Ward (born 11 January 1971) is a Welsh-born British film, stage, and television actor. He is best known for playing Dr. Harry Cunningham in the long-running BBC crime drama series, ''Silent Witness'' from 2002 to 2012. Early life Ward was b ...

, both formerly of Voxx Records group Gravedigger Five. Guests of note include Anthony Meynell, frontman for British mod revival trio Squire, who the band backed in 1985 and Jeff Conolly of garage rockers

Lyres Yoke lutes, commonly called lyres, are a class of string instruments, subfamily of lutes, indicated with the codes 321.21 and 321.22 in the Hornbostel–Sachs classification. Description Yoke lutes are defined as instruments with one or more ...

who sat in with Manual Scan for six shows in 1989.

Post-split activities and reunions

Following the demise of the band Donaker-Ring co-founded

group,

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in 1992, with Mendoza joining shortly after. Manual Scan has reunited several times since 2005, recording a live session on 28 January 2010 with producer Alan Sanderson for San Diego-based radio station,

KBZT KBZT (94.9 FM, "Alt 94-9") is a commercial radio station licensed to San Diego, California. Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station broadcasts an alternative rock format. Its studios are located in San Diego's Stonecrest area, and the transmitter ...

(FM94/9). A best of collection, ''All Night Scan'', was released only on vinyl and as a digital download, in September 2013 by Texas-based Cheap Reward Records. Meanwhile, the band, now featuring original members Mendoza, Ring and Fleminger with the addition of bassist Tim Blankenship (formerly of Atlantic Records artists, Rust and indie rock band, Creedle) and drummer Jarrod Lucas (formerly of the Dragons) reunited in late 2014 for a show in San Diego promoting their appearance on the box set, ''Millions Like Us - The Story of the Mod Revival'', released on 6 December by British label, Cherry Red Records. A new album, ''The Pyles Sessions'', composed of radio sessions recorded for Pyles show as well as demos was issued by Spain's SNAP! Records, to coincide with the show. Meanwhile, the bands "Tim Pyles Theme" has been released on a five track 7-inch EP, ''Sounds of the Stratosphere'', issued by Blindspot Records. Manual Scan staged a 40th Anniversary show, celebrating the 1976 meeting of the frontline team of Mendoza and Ring, at the 2016 Adams Avenue Street Fair, with guest performers including Johnny Vernazza (The Elvin Bishop Group), Chris Davies (The Penetrators) and Samuel Martinez (The Bassics).

Partial discography

Albums

*1986 ''One'' (England / Hi-Lo) *1988 ''Down Lights'' (U.S. / Susstones) *1997 ''Plan of Action'' (Spain / Snap!) *1997 ''All Night Stand'' (U.S. / Get Hip Records 1043) *2013 ''All Night Scan'' (U.S. / Cheap Rewards Records CRR-009) vinyl and digital only *2015 ''The Pyles Sessions'' (Spain / Snap!) 10-inch Vinyl and CD *2020 ''San Diego Underground Files Vol. 1'' (Spain / Bickerton)

E.P.'s

* 1982 ''Plan of Action'' (U.S./ Dance & Stance – PS) 7" vinyl. Reissued in 2006 by Munster Records / Spain, 2022 by SNAP! Records / Spain * 1989 ''The Lost Sessions'' (U, S. / Get Hip 116 - PS) 7" vinyl. Commercial copies available on black vinyl. Promo copies are blue vinyl * 1991 ''Days & Maybes'' (U.S. / Susstones IMS 548 - PS) 7" vinyl. Second print with over sleeve. * 2023 ''Shooting Stars'' (U.S. / Pacific Records 129 - PS) CD and Digital

Singles

* 2023 ''David May'' (U.S. / Outro Records - PS) 7" Vinyl

Flexi Discs

* 1986 "And We Still Feel The Same" and "Plan of Action" were included on a cover mounted flexi disc with British modzine, In The Crowd No.18, alongside a track by the Risk.

Compilation appearances

* 1985 ''The Cutting Edge'' (England / Razor S16, LP) – Jungle Beat (remix) * 1986 ''American Heart & Soul'' (England / Hi Lo Records LO-6, LP) – New Song * 1987 ''The Phase III Mod Bands'' (England / Unicorn, 7-inch EP) 31968 * 1997 ''It’s A Mod, Mod World'' (England / Antenna Records, CD) – New Song, Confidence and Love * 1999 ''This Is Mod Volume 6'' (England / Cherry Red, CD) – American Way, Nothing You Can Do, Jungle Beat, Anymore, New Difference * 2014 ''Millions Like Us: The Story of the Mod Revival'' (England / Cherry Red, CD Box Set){{cite web , url=https://www.discogs.com/master/785112-Various-Millions-Like-Us-The-Story-Of-The-Mod-Revival-1977-1989 , title=Various - Millions Like Us (The Story of the Mod Revival 1977-1989) , website=

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

, date=2014 – Nothing You Can Do * 2015 ''Sounds of the Stratosphere'' (U.S. / Blindspot, 7-inch EP) – The Tim Pyles Theme + tracks by Satanic Puppeteer Orchestra, Blaise Guld, Pony Death Ride and Super Buffett * 2017 ''Staring at the Sun XII'' (U.S. / Blindspot, CD) – The Loudspeaker Theme

References

American power pop groups Musical groups established in 1981 Musical groups from San Diego Mod revival groups