The Placard
The laminated inspection placard from 1992 was taped to the front of Vinh Pham's bass drum at every show from the re-inspection to the end. It reads PASS. It is held by the archive. The tape has been replaced twice.
QuestionableSushi
We can't promise anything.
Food Facility Inspection
Pass
- Facility
- Sushi counter, 9 seats
- Re-inspection
- 1992
- Posted
- Front window
This placard must remain visible to patrons.
Today's Specials
The founding, as written on the board.
Questionable Sushi formed in 1988 among the staff of a nine-seat sushi counter in a strip mall in East San Jose. The counter shared a wall with a laundromat. The laundromat closed at ten. The band rehearsed in the back of it from ten-fifteen until the owner came to lock up.
They played their first show in the parking lot in front of both businesses, under the sodium lights, with the amplifiers plugged into the laundromat through a side door. Danny Hirano, the sushi chef, sang. Rosa Delgado, who ran the register, played guitar. Pete Brandt, who washed dishes, played bass. Vinh Pham, who did prep, played drums. Three of the four did not eat at the counter.
“We can't promise anything.”
— Danny Hirano, from the parking lot, 1989
Staff
Four employees of the counter. Name tags reproduced as issued.
- StaffSushi chef
Danny
Danny Hirano · Vocals · 1988–1995
Sang in his whites. Announced each song as if reading from the specials board. Took the knives seriously. Did not bring them on stage.
“The knives are not part of the show.”
Now. Still a sushi chef. Still sharpens every morning. Has not performed since 1995 and does not consider it a loss to the profession.
- StaffRegister
Rosa Delgado. One amplifier. Louder than the dryers. Rosa
Rosa Delgado · Guitar · 1988–1995
Played fast, downstroked and loud enough to clear the dryers. Broke strings at most shows and did not stop for any of them. Wrote most of the riffs on the register's back counter during slow afternoons.
“Louder than the dryers. That was the whole rule.”
Now. Teaches guitar in Willow Glen. Students are told to play the downstrokes like they mean it. Most of them do.
- StaffDishwasher
Pete
Pete Brandt · Bass · 1988–1995
Held the low end in place while the rest of the band went faster. Washed every plate the counter used for seven years. Did not eat from any of them.
“I washed the plates. I know what came back on them.”
Now. Runs a commercial dishwashing service in Santa Clara. Has never eaten raw fish.
- StaffPrep
Vinh Pham, fourth song. The tempo held. Vinh
Vinh Pham · Drums · 1988–1995
Kept time with no visible effort. Ate noodles at the kit, usually during the fourth song. Did not drop a beat on record or at any documented show.
“I brought noodles. I always brought noodles.”
Now. Lives in Milpitas. Still brings his own lunch.
Menu
Three records on Maybe Don't Records. Numbered as on the takeout menu. Prices replaced by the year of release.
Wash & Fold
The history of the band, posted in the laundromat next door. Read in order. Do not remove.
Notices
- Last wash 9:00 p.m.
- No dyeing in machines
- Attendant not responsible for items left in dryers
- Back room closed to the public after 10
- Machine 1
The Counter
The counter had nine stools, one refrigerated case and a hand-lettered specials board. It sat between a tax preparer and a laundromat in a strip mall in East San Jose. Danny Hirano was the chef. He was twenty-three. He kept his knives on a magnetic strip behind the case and did not allow anyone else to touch them.
Rosa Delgado ran the register. Pete Brandt washed dishes. Vinh Pham came in at two to do prep. All four had played in other bands that had not worked out. In the spring of 1988 they started staying after close.
- Machine 2
After Ten
The laundromat closed at ten. The owner let them use the back room from ten-fifteen on the condition that they wiped down the folding table and left before he came to lock up. The back room held two broken dryers, a mop sink and an outlet that could run one amplifier at a time.
Rosa played through the one amplifier. Everyone else adjusted. The band played its first show in the parking lot in August 1988, with extension cords run through the laundromat's side door. About forty people came. Several had their laundry in.
- Machine 3
Room Temperature
Fresh Catch EP came out on Maybe Don't Records in 1989. It sold out of the counter, the laundromat and two record stores in downtown San Jose. Room Temperature followed in 1991, recorded over two nights in the back room with a borrowed eight-track.
That summer the band took the record on the road in Pete's van: down the valley, over to Reno, up the coast to Portland and home. Danny brought a cooler of fish so he could feed the band on the road. The ice lasted to Fresno. The band ate at gas stations from Fresno on. Danny has described this as the low point of the decade.
- Machine 4
Last Call
Trust the Chef came out in 1993, the same year the band was reviewed in the dining section of a South Bay daily. The lease on the counter ended in the spring of 1995. The landlord did not renew. The band played one last show in the parking lot, in front of the empty counter and the open laundromat.
Danny took his knives home that night. The laundromat is still there.
Inspection Report
Observations entered by the archive. Each item lists the facility, the observation and the corrective action taken.
Official Inspection Report · Observations and Corrective Actions
- Item011991
The Cooler
Location: Highway 99, between Sacramento and Fresno, California
Observation
Danny Hirano packed a cooler of fish for the 1991 tour so the band would not have to eat on the road. The ice ran out outside Fresno. Nobody opened the cooler again.
Full observation
Danny Hirano packed the cooler himself on the morning the tour left San Jose. He packed it correctly. He bought three bags of ice in Sacramento and one more in Modesto. Outside Fresno, Pete Brandt asked how much ice was left. Danny said enough. Rosa Delgado opened the lid at the next stop, closed it, and walked into the gas station. The band ate there. The cooler rode in the back of the van, closed, as far as Eugene. Danny maintains that the fish was fine. Vinh Pham, who had brought noodles, was not asked.
Corrective action
Cooler not reopened. Band ate at gas stations as far as Eugene.
- Item021992
The Re-Inspection
Location: The counter, East San Jose
Observation
A county inspector arrived on a Thursday afternoon for a routine re-inspection. The band was rehearsing next door. The counter passed. Danny Hirano had the placard laminated.
Full observation
The inspector arrived at four-ten on a Thursday. Danny Hirano was behind the counter. The rest of the band was in the laundromat's back room, running Re-Inspection, a song that did not exist yet and was finished that evening. The inspector checked the case temperature, the sanitizer, the dates on the walk-in and the knives. The counter passed. Danny had the placard laminated the following morning and taped it to the bass drum for every show after that. Pete Brandt checked it before every set.
Corrective action
Placard laminated. Taped to the bass drum for every show thereafter.
- Item031993
The Wrong Thursday
Location: The parking lot, East San Jose
Observation
A restaurant critic arrived to review the counter on the night of a parking-lot show. He had misread his calendar. He reviewed the show. It ran in the dining section.
Full observation
The critic had booked the counter for a Thursday in October. He came on the wrong Thursday. The counter was closed for the show, which was taking place in front of it. He stood near the laundromat doors for the whole set, took notes, and left without ordering. The review ran the following Wednesday in the dining section, between a dim-lit steakhouse and a new bakery. It gave the evening two and a half stars. Danny Hirano framed it. Rosa Delgado has said it is the only review of the band that mentions the guitar first.
Corrective action
Review framed. Critic did not return on the correct Thursday.
Inspected and entered
Posted on the walk-in door
The Knife Roll
Danny Hirano brought his knife roll to every rehearsal. It was never opened. He set it on top of the second broken dryer, where he could see it from the microphone. The knives did not go to shows. Danny has said, many times, that the knives are not part of the show.
Vinh's Noodles
Vinh Pham did prep at the counter for seven years and did not eat there once. He brought noodles from home in a lidded bowl and ate them at the kit, usually during the fourth song. He did not drop a beat on any recording or at any documented show. Asked why he did not eat at the counter, he has said only that he did the prep.
The 24-Hour Rule
A hand-lettered sign on the walk-in door read: NOTHING OVER 24 HOURS. The counter followed it. The band named a song after it. The song's title adds that the rule does not apply to the band. The archive notes that this refers to rehearsal hours, which routinely ran past two in the morning.
The Flyer
One tour, 1991. Reproduced from a photocopy of a photocopy.
LiveAll ages
Questionable Sushi
Room Temperature Tour · 1991
- 01San Jose, CAThe parking lot. Send-off.
- 02Sacramento, CAIce purchased.
- 03Fresno, CAIce exhausted.
- 04Bakersfield, CA
- 05Reno, NV
- 06Arcata, CA
- 07Eugene, ORCooler still closed.
- 08Portland, OR
- 09Santa Cruz, CA
- 10San Jose, CAThe parking lot. Home.
Plus: the parking lot, the van, the cooler
Bring quartersMaybe Don't Records · No refunds · We can't promise anything
Reviews
One clipping from the dining section. One from a zine. Three comment cards, from the box by the register.
The dining section of a South Bay daily · October 1993
Strip-Mall Counter Serves a Loud Evening
The fish was not available for comment. The guitar was.
Restaurant critic
I arrived on a Thursday to find the counter dark and a four-piece band set up on the asphalt in front of it. The band is called Questionable Sushi. The chef, I am told, is the singer.
The guitarist played with the urgency of a line cook in the last ten minutes of a dinner rush. The bass was steady. The drummer ate a bowl of noodles during the fourth song and did not lose the tempo. The singer, still in his whites, announced each song as though reading from the specials board.
Ambiance: sodium light, a laundromat, approximately sixty young people standing very close together. Service: none. I did not eat. I am told this is common.
Two and a half stars. I will return on the correct Thursday.
Clipped and framed by Danny Hirano. Hung by the register until 1995.
A photocopied South Bay zine, issue 14 · Spring 1991
Four Questions for the Staff
Room Temperature, the van and the walk-in
Staff
Is the fish fresh? Danny: Yes. Rosa: Ask him. Pete: I wash the plates. Vinh: I bring noodles.
Why the laundromat? Rosa: It closes at ten and the walls are cinder block.
What is the 24-hour rule? Danny: It is a good rule. Pete: It is on the walk-in door. Rosa: It's a song now.
What should people expect from the tour? Danny: We can't promise anything.
How was your visit?
- Food
- Service
- Band
Saw them in the parking lot in 1990 with a load in the dryer. Bought the tape. Did not order.
— M. Reyes, San Jose, CA
How was your visit?
- Food
- Service
- Band
Rosa Delgado broke two strings in Eugene and finished the set on four. She did not slow down. Nobody in that room has forgotten it.
— T. Haskins, Eugene, OR
How was your visit?
- Food
- Service
- Band
The drummer ate an entire bowl of noodles during Room Temperature and stayed in time. I am a drummer. I could not do that. One star off for the cooler, which I could smell from the front.
— D. Kowal, Sacramento, CA
Order at the window
Order no. 0047
Shirts, sleeves and printed matter are packed to order through the Sideband Label stores. Nothing sits out.
- 1Shirt, frontTrust the Chef.
- 1Shirt, backThe 24-hour rule does not apply to us.
- 1AssuranceNone
Packed fresh. We can't promise anything.
