In 1989 the Los Angeles quartet Rebel Pebbles came together after singer Rachel Murray answered a newspaper advertisement placed by ex-Pandoras guitarist Karen Blankfield. Drummer Cheryl Bullock and bassist Robin Barnetti completed the original roster, and the group began playing local shows while issuing its own three-song EP, Party Time. Barnetti soon departed in favor of Robin Fox, after which the band signed with Miles Copeland and joined IRS labelmates Dread Zeppelin and Stan Ridgway on tour. Late in 1990 the musicians entered the studio to cut their debut album; Girls Talk appeared the following spring and yielded the single “Dream Lover,” which climbed to number 42 without reaching the Top 40. Follow-up releases “How Do You Feel” and “Anthony’s Attic” made no chart impression. Persistent road work and further personnel shifts bred friction that ultimately prompted the group to dissolve before a second album could be recorded. At the close of 2000 Blankfield and Bullock contributed to Murray’s self-titled solo album, leading to a handful of reunion concerts the next year.
