Welcome to my blog!
For about a year in 2011/2012, I wrote about various independent rock bands in either Richmond VA or Austin TX. Then I ran out of material. Anyway, I still get a few comments every year on this thing and sometimes if I'm googling some obscure band, this blog pops up. I understand that many of the links are now broken (RIP Fileden), so if something doesn't work, leave a comment here and I'll fix it. Be patient though, because I don't check this very often.
Thanks!
- D
Wednesday, May 29, 2019
Monday, September 17, 2012
Rah Bras
Making music isn't unlike making model airplanes. You can't really expect to sell it/them, you do it because you love it. The only problem is when there are some people that make really crappy model airplanes and get insanely rich so they can flood the world with model airplanes, and others make fantastic model airplanes that don't sell, so they don't make any more model airplanes. What was I talking about again?
The Rah Bras were 1/3 Maximillian Colby, 1/3 Hose Got Cable, and 1/3 Damn Near Red. They didn't have a guitar player! They were fantastic live, and even did a cover of "Pony" by Ginuwine.
Their first two EP's came out in 1998 or so.
Concentrate to Listen to the Rondo That We Christen King Speed
Buy it here.
The second album has a movie on it. Technology!
They put out a couple of other albums that pitchforkmedia.com should have devoured but didn't, and the best music video ever made.
John Skaritza went on to not play drums with Pen Rollings in what would have been the best band of all time.
Dave Nesmith may or may not be a Monkee's nephew, and has gone on to be in Bats and Mice (I think) and Regents.
Marie Bethel went on to be in the extremely photogenic band Daemon Lover. I got her to sing on a couple of cover songs over the years, but this is not my story.
The Rah Bras were 1/3 Maximillian Colby, 1/3 Hose Got Cable, and 1/3 Damn Near Red. They didn't have a guitar player! They were fantastic live, and even did a cover of "Pony" by Ginuwine.
Their first two EP's came out in 1998 or so.
Buy it here.
They put out a couple of other albums that pitchforkmedia.com should have devoured but didn't, and the best music video ever made.
John Skaritza went on to not play drums with Pen Rollings in what would have been the best band of all time.
Dave Nesmith may or may not be a Monkee's nephew, and has gone on to be in Bats and Mice (I think) and Regents.
Marie Bethel went on to be in the extremely photogenic band Daemon Lover. I got her to sing on a couple of cover songs over the years, but this is not my story.
Monday, September 10, 2012
Sliang Laos
In the fall of 1992, my friend Ben was in a band called Whirly*bird. The guitarist was named Pat Snavely, and the drummer's name was (at the time) Greg Poppakostas (but spelled correctly). Whirly*bird was supposed to play a show, but ended up not playing because Greg wanted to go see a band I'd never heard of called Sliang Laos. To me, this was blasphemy of the highest order. But then, I had never heard Sliang Laos.
Later the next summer, I moved in with my band to a house on Floyd Avenue. We thought we were pretty good. But then, I had never heard Sliang Laos. This was soon to change. In that dingy, Rhaphidophoridae-infested basement, my friends and I would hang out and listen to records. Invariably, this masterpiece would come up.
01 Shining Path
02 Alabama Ego
A year or so later, I saw Sliang Laos play a show in someone's basement (is there a theme here?). Their bassist lived in Maryland, so they just played as a 4-piece. I remember at least 3 of them were on the tallish side. Short hair. Relatively clean-cut. Stage right guitarist chain-smoked through the entire set. He had kind of thick glasses and looked as though he hadn't shaved or slept ever in his life. Stage left guitarist had a more youthful demeanor. He almost had kind of a surfer hairstyle, but also seemed very dour. The singer would crouch down sometimes, and his voice sounded like if Ben Kenobi was forced to live in Richmond instead of Tattooine (sorry, but this might not be the last Star Wars analogy in this entry). The drummer had perfect posture, and had this interesting lurching wrist motion.
Their sound was very unique. It definitely borrowed from the unconventional conventions of Richmond math-rock, but it took the genre to a new place. The riffs were catchy, and had a certain kind of... pull to them. The odd meters never sounded forced, or as if they would cut beats just for the hell of it. Everything was very deliberate, almost fascistic in a way. It was not at all "THANK YEW GOOD NIGHT" music. None of their songs had big rock and roll endings, the riffs would just grind to a halt with mechanical precision.
In 1995, their demo started making the rounds, and eventually I got a copy from my friend Eve. To this day I have it, and the actual tape is probably thinner than the master reels to "Bohemian Rhapsody." Apologies for the tape hiss. Here it is:
Sliang Laos demo
Later, they recorded a full-length album, and it was set to be released on CD. Legend has it that something went wrong at the pressing plant and the discs were mis-labeled. Instead of Sliang Laos's info, they were printed with Mao Tse Helen's (another Richmond band). Maybe they took it as a sign, or maybe something else was going on, but the band broke up.
Andrew (vocals) went on to be in a band called Malacoda that I never have heard.
Ron Dimmick (stage right) also played guitar in the band Ladyfinger, so this is his second appearance in this blog. Rumor has it that before one of their shows, he drank 37 beers and still played flawlessly. I don't doubt this one bit. I've met him a few times - the first time he looked at me like he wanted to kill me, and the second time he seemed to forget who I was. The third time he told me that he wrote all of the Sliang Laos riffs, and the fourth time he also seemed to forget who I was.
Scott Hudgens (stage left) did an electronic music project after Sliang Laos whose name I forget. He worked at Plan 9 Records in Richmond. Once I mustered up the courage to talk to him and ask if he had any copies of the Sliang Laos album. He looked at me, kind of looked away, looked back at me, and said, "No." He went on to be in the band Hex Machine, who stays at my house every March.
Mark Smoot (bass) recorded countless bands (at least 2 of mine) and may still live in Maryland. He was also in a band called Farquhar and makes the best non-vegan pancakes in the entire mid-Atlantic region. I've heard a rumor that he set up microphones for Presidential addresses, but who knows. People like to talk.
If you've gotten this far in this entry, we can have some "real talk" about the drummer, Scott Minor. Here, watch this video. If you listen closely, you can hear occasional orchestra hits and various bleeping noises. I don't want to promote any myths here (that is mostly a lie), but it would appear that Minor is playing along to a sequencer. Without headphones. How is he able to play along to a metronome without hearing the click? The closest that a real person has ever come to accomplishing this feat was when Luke Skywalker deflected laser blasts from a training remote with the blast shield down on his helmet. Try it yourself - go to the bottom right hand corner of your screen, open up the clock, and try to count to 30 and have it match up exactly. You can't, and you have been familiar with seconds as an increment of time for your entire life. But then, you're not Scott Minor. Later, he went on to play drums in Sparklehorse, which - no offense to Sparklehorse at all - was the biggest waste of a an amazing drummer in history.
Randy Blythe from Lamb of God said that Sliang Laos were "probably the greatest band to ever come from Richmond". I'm not going to disagree with him, because he killed some guy. KIDDING. Too soon?
Later the next summer, I moved in with my band to a house on Floyd Avenue. We thought we were pretty good. But then, I had never heard Sliang Laos. This was soon to change. In that dingy, Rhaphidophoridae-infested basement, my friends and I would hang out and listen to records. Invariably, this masterpiece would come up.
02 Alabama Ego
A year or so later, I saw Sliang Laos play a show in someone's basement (is there a theme here?). Their bassist lived in Maryland, so they just played as a 4-piece. I remember at least 3 of them were on the tallish side. Short hair. Relatively clean-cut. Stage right guitarist chain-smoked through the entire set. He had kind of thick glasses and looked as though he hadn't shaved or slept ever in his life. Stage left guitarist had a more youthful demeanor. He almost had kind of a surfer hairstyle, but also seemed very dour. The singer would crouch down sometimes, and his voice sounded like if Ben Kenobi was forced to live in Richmond instead of Tattooine (sorry, but this might not be the last Star Wars analogy in this entry). The drummer had perfect posture, and had this interesting lurching wrist motion.
Their sound was very unique. It definitely borrowed from the unconventional conventions of Richmond math-rock, but it took the genre to a new place. The riffs were catchy, and had a certain kind of... pull to them. The odd meters never sounded forced, or as if they would cut beats just for the hell of it. Everything was very deliberate, almost fascistic in a way. It was not at all "THANK YEW GOOD NIGHT" music. None of their songs had big rock and roll endings, the riffs would just grind to a halt with mechanical precision.
In 1995, their demo started making the rounds, and eventually I got a copy from my friend Eve. To this day I have it, and the actual tape is probably thinner than the master reels to "Bohemian Rhapsody." Apologies for the tape hiss. Here it is:
Sliang Laos demo
Later, they recorded a full-length album, and it was set to be released on CD. Legend has it that something went wrong at the pressing plant and the discs were mis-labeled. Instead of Sliang Laos's info, they were printed with Mao Tse Helen's (another Richmond band). Maybe they took it as a sign, or maybe something else was going on, but the band broke up.
Andrew (vocals) went on to be in a band called Malacoda that I never have heard.
Ron Dimmick (stage right) also played guitar in the band Ladyfinger, so this is his second appearance in this blog. Rumor has it that before one of their shows, he drank 37 beers and still played flawlessly. I don't doubt this one bit. I've met him a few times - the first time he looked at me like he wanted to kill me, and the second time he seemed to forget who I was. The third time he told me that he wrote all of the Sliang Laos riffs, and the fourth time he also seemed to forget who I was.
Scott Hudgens (stage left) did an electronic music project after Sliang Laos whose name I forget. He worked at Plan 9 Records in Richmond. Once I mustered up the courage to talk to him and ask if he had any copies of the Sliang Laos album. He looked at me, kind of looked away, looked back at me, and said, "No." He went on to be in the band Hex Machine, who stays at my house every March.
Mark Smoot (bass) recorded countless bands (at least 2 of mine) and may still live in Maryland. He was also in a band called Farquhar and makes the best non-vegan pancakes in the entire mid-Atlantic region. I've heard a rumor that he set up microphones for Presidential addresses, but who knows. People like to talk.
If you've gotten this far in this entry, we can have some "real talk" about the drummer, Scott Minor. Here, watch this video. If you listen closely, you can hear occasional orchestra hits and various bleeping noises. I don't want to promote any myths here (that is mostly a lie), but it would appear that Minor is playing along to a sequencer. Without headphones. How is he able to play along to a metronome without hearing the click? The closest that a real person has ever come to accomplishing this feat was when Luke Skywalker deflected laser blasts from a training remote with the blast shield down on his helmet. Try it yourself - go to the bottom right hand corner of your screen, open up the clock, and try to count to 30 and have it match up exactly. You can't, and you have been familiar with seconds as an increment of time for your entire life. But then, you're not Scott Minor. Later, he went on to play drums in Sparklehorse, which - no offense to Sparklehorse at all - was the biggest waste of a an amazing drummer in history.
Randy Blythe from Lamb of God said that Sliang Laos were "probably the greatest band to ever come from Richmond". I'm not going to disagree with him, because he killed some guy. KIDDING. Too soon?
Monday, September 3, 2012
Last of the Juanitas
Last of the Juanitas were a band from Arizona that sounded like they were from San Diego. Either that, or they were a band from New Mexico that sounded like they were from Arizona. I forget!
Maybe it was a Tuesday night, maybe it was at Hole in the Wall in Richmond VA, maybe it was 1999. My band had a show with a touring band called Last of the Juanitas. I brought my 4-track to the show so I could record my own band, and fortunately had an extra 90 minute Maxell XLII cassette tape. Looking back, it's kind of amusing how there was a kind of hierarchy amongst cassette tapes. Certrons were the lowest. Thin-cased Fuji normal bias. Then the clear normal bias Maxells. TDK D-90's. TDK SA-60. And so on. Recording at a higher speed makes for a better recording. All this stuff was kind of important, because there wasn't much fidelity to cling to. Anyway. Two Shure SM 57 microphones pointed to the heavens and plugged into a Fostex.
I guess the verbosity above is there to make up for how little I remember or know about the actual band. The guitarist was a scruffy looking nerf herder that apparently went on to be in Red Fang, one of the biggest rock bands around (I say this because I have heard of them). The bassist was a girl with an Ozzy/Randy Rhoads Tribute shirt, which instantly made her the coolest girl I had ever seen. The drummer might have had short hair and seemed to be the creative driving force behind the songs. They spent the night at my apartment, I fed them breakfast and coffee, and wished them well on their future adventures.
Last of the Juanitas Playlist
Maybe it was a Tuesday night, maybe it was at Hole in the Wall in Richmond VA, maybe it was 1999. My band had a show with a touring band called Last of the Juanitas. I brought my 4-track to the show so I could record my own band, and fortunately had an extra 90 minute Maxell XLII cassette tape. Looking back, it's kind of amusing how there was a kind of hierarchy amongst cassette tapes. Certrons were the lowest. Thin-cased Fuji normal bias. Then the clear normal bias Maxells. TDK D-90's. TDK SA-60. And so on. Recording at a higher speed makes for a better recording. All this stuff was kind of important, because there wasn't much fidelity to cling to. Anyway. Two Shure SM 57 microphones pointed to the heavens and plugged into a Fostex.
I guess the verbosity above is there to make up for how little I remember or know about the actual band. The guitarist was a scruffy looking nerf herder that apparently went on to be in Red Fang, one of the biggest rock bands around (I say this because I have heard of them). The bassist was a girl with an Ozzy/Randy Rhoads Tribute shirt, which instantly made her the coolest girl I had ever seen. The drummer might have had short hair and seemed to be the creative driving force behind the songs. They spent the night at my apartment, I fed them breakfast and coffee, and wished them well on their future adventures.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Those Peabodys
To someone (that someone being me) living in Richmond at the turn of the millennium, Austin TX seemed like a kind of Fantasy Dream World. Shows every night, t-shirts in the winter, cheap Mexican food, a healthy economy, a progressive political climate, affordable rent, and women! It didn't seem like a real place, but it was. My friends JT, JD, and Ben made the move; and it didn't take much convincing for me to follow suit.
The popular Austin rock and roll band that I was aware of were Those Peabodys. They formed when they were in High School in Temple, TX and were formerly known as something like Professor Peabody and His Wayback Machine. I had given their album a good review in the now-defunct Punchline magazine. What I found (and still find) remarkable about their first record is that the band was a 2-piece.
Adam Hatley played drums and guitar. Some facts about him:
1. Easily one of the top 5 rock drummers I've ever had the honor to share a stage with.
2. Once he dressed up as He-Man from Masters of the Universe for Halloween, and he barely had to do anything to get make the costume.
Clarke Wilson played bass and vocals. Some facts about him:
1. Best afro I've ever seen on a white person.
2. He prefers parties when they're at someone else's house.
By the time I moved to Austin, they had recruited Aaron Franklin to play drums. They'd play house parties, Emo's, wherever. Often places you could walk to, and you'd know everyone there.
The lineup expanded further when JD Cronise was added on second guitar. Around this time, they recorded their second album (in the spirit of not googling, I admit that I forgot what it's called). The label that was supposed to put it out folded, so the album died. Aaron Franklin was replaced by Mike Fonseca... wait, maybe Mike played drums on the album? JD quit to form another band whose name I forget. Look, I was living with my wife and two baby daughters, I had a hard time keeping up (see above about why I wanted to move to Austin). Anyway, Mike quit or something and Erik Conn came in on drums. They recorded again, and I don't think it was released. Then they broke up.
Where are they now?
Adam and Clarke are now in a band called Bangaar. Go see them.
Aaron Franklin started a monstrously successful barbecue company. I think it's called Franklin's Barbecue.
JD went on to worldwide fame, fortune, and hot sauce (which I'm currently out of) in The Sword.
Mike Fonseca is in the band Modok, the best band in Austin currently.
Erik Conn is still in Tia Carrera and Thee Vitamins and at least three other bands.
So, here is the Those Peabodys album. Listen to it while thinking back to days when Lone Star cans were partially blue.
Those Peabodys Youtube Playlist
The popular Austin rock and roll band that I was aware of were Those Peabodys. They formed when they were in High School in Temple, TX and were formerly known as something like Professor Peabody and His Wayback Machine. I had given their album a good review in the now-defunct Punchline magazine. What I found (and still find) remarkable about their first record is that the band was a 2-piece.
Adam Hatley played drums and guitar. Some facts about him:
1. Easily one of the top 5 rock drummers I've ever had the honor to share a stage with.
2. Once he dressed up as He-Man from Masters of the Universe for Halloween, and he barely had to do anything to get make the costume.
Clarke Wilson played bass and vocals. Some facts about him:
1. Best afro I've ever seen on a white person.
2. He prefers parties when they're at someone else's house.
By the time I moved to Austin, they had recruited Aaron Franklin to play drums. They'd play house parties, Emo's, wherever. Often places you could walk to, and you'd know everyone there.
The lineup expanded further when JD Cronise was added on second guitar. Around this time, they recorded their second album (in the spirit of not googling, I admit that I forgot what it's called). The label that was supposed to put it out folded, so the album died. Aaron Franklin was replaced by Mike Fonseca... wait, maybe Mike played drums on the album? JD quit to form another band whose name I forget. Look, I was living with my wife and two baby daughters, I had a hard time keeping up (see above about why I wanted to move to Austin). Anyway, Mike quit or something and Erik Conn came in on drums. They recorded again, and I don't think it was released. Then they broke up.
Where are they now?
Adam and Clarke are now in a band called Bangaar. Go see them.
Aaron Franklin started a monstrously successful barbecue company. I think it's called Franklin's Barbecue.
JD went on to worldwide fame, fortune, and hot sauce (which I'm currently out of) in The Sword.
Mike Fonseca is in the band Modok, the best band in Austin currently.
Erik Conn is still in Tia Carrera and Thee Vitamins and at least three other bands.
So, here is the Those Peabodys album. Listen to it while thinking back to days when Lone Star cans were partially blue.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Human Thurma
This installment of my blog is being written from the road, so forgive me if I'm not as poetic as usual.
I don't remember whether or not the band HRM changed their name to Human Thurma before or after Eve replaced Erik Josephson on drums. The guitarist's name was Sean Sheen, and he was in a bunch of other old math rock bands. I believe he played bass in Butterglove, and was the vocalist in Ladyfinger. Trevor Thomas (bass, vocals) had previously been in the band Adelle's Silk Stalkings. I'm not sure that Human Thurma ever received the accolades given to some of their other bands, but to me they were just as good. They did get it together enough to tour at least a few times; and made some fantastic recordings with Mark Smoot in Maryland, and Tim Green somewhere in California.
Human Thurma playlist
I think Human Thurma might have broken up in the late 90's when Trevor moved to California? He ended up moving back and is now carrying on the tradition in his band Hex Machine. Sean lives in Seattle and might work at or near the Jimi Hendrix museum. Eve is the one that was nice enough to send me those mp3's and might not want me to tell you where he lives or what he is up to.
I don't remember whether or not the band HRM changed their name to Human Thurma before or after Eve replaced Erik Josephson on drums. The guitarist's name was Sean Sheen, and he was in a bunch of other old math rock bands. I believe he played bass in Butterglove, and was the vocalist in Ladyfinger. Trevor Thomas (bass, vocals) had previously been in the band Adelle's Silk Stalkings. I'm not sure that Human Thurma ever received the accolades given to some of their other bands, but to me they were just as good. They did get it together enough to tour at least a few times; and made some fantastic recordings with Mark Smoot in Maryland, and Tim Green somewhere in California.
Human Thurma playlist
I think Human Thurma might have broken up in the late 90's when Trevor moved to California? He ended up moving back and is now carrying on the tradition in his band Hex Machine. Sean lives in Seattle and might work at or near the Jimi Hendrix museum. Eve is the one that was nice enough to send me those mp3's and might not want me to tell you where he lives or what he is up to.
Monday, August 13, 2012
Action Patrol - Work Ethic
When I was 10 or so, I enrolled in a karate class. I don't remember much from it, but one lesson stuck with me. The instructor told us that no matter how good we ever got at martial arts - or anything for that matter - there would ALWAYS be someone out there that was going to be better. I can forgive his mistake in saying this, because it was a good decade before the band Action Patrol formed.
Fast forward to 1993, maybe late summer? My friend Eve played me a practice tape of his new band, tentatively titled "Sleestack". Now, Eve was a bassist first and a guitarist second. I'd never heard him play drums, but they might as well have been his first instrument. The guitarist's name was Chris Taggart, and I think the bassist was Josh Brown (later to be replaced by some girl named either Kelly or Kathy or Tommi) Tom Baisden)? The singer's name was Nappy for some reason that was not known to me at the time. The practice tape couldn't have been higher quality than boombox, but they definitely seemed ready to play shows. They were practicing at least twice a week and Eve said that they had enough songs for a set, but "weren't ready." This was baffling to me.
Legend has it that Action Patrol existed for a full year before ever playing out. This - like most things about the band - was very... thought out. That may have a negative connotation, but I'm not saying that it was contrived. It's just that they seemed to like to plan. Most bands would (and I'm sure still do) get together, write some songs, play some shows, record some demos, put out some records, maybe tour, etc. etc. I remember when they recorded for their album, they didn't let anyone hear the recordings before the official release. Again, baffling (though I get it now).
The music was propelled by Chris Taggart's lightning-fast staccato riffs (which were in MAJOR keys, keeping the sound from veering into heavy metal territory), Eve's almost jazzy drumming, and Nappy's frantic-sounding vocals. Tom held the whole thing together with his melodic basslines - often playing counterpoint to the guitar parts. Their sound was described as "a deep fusion of east coast hardcore and west coast punk rock" in an interview by someone that didn't know what he was talking about (me). Their first show was (I think?) New Years 1994 at a house party, and they played in their screenprinted orange shirts (later to become full jumpsuits). The atmosphere was absolutely electric. I don't know if Nappy had ever been in a band before, but he was easily one of the most energetic frontmen I've ever seen. Totally insane, but also charismatic and non-threatening. Chris Taggart, on the other hand, stayed completely still; somehow giving off the impression that despite his calm demeanor, he was orchestrating the entire event. Overnight, they became one of the most popular punk bands in Richmond.
By June, they had become established enough to put out their first 7" record. EVERYONE had a copy. In fact, somebody stole mine (if you're reading this and it was you, send it back. No questions asked). By winter, they released a full-length album on Whirled Records. Have I ever mentioned that I play it pretty loose regarding dates and other trivia? This stuff was a long time ago. Eventually they toured, and I think Eve either quit or got kicked out soon after that. He was replaced by Rich Green (previously of hardcore band Grip). Rich was a solid drummer, but for me it just wasn't the same, and I only saw them a couple of times after the personnel change. Their popularity only grew though, and they ended up putting out a total of three records. Some time in 1997, they broke up. I don't know why.
One of their shows with Rich on drums was videotaped.
This show was at a house party on Dick Street in Greensboro, NC. Shows there used to be nuts, and this was probably one of the best examples. 50 or so kids crammed into a living room to sing along to one of their favorite bands.
Their discography also can be found here.
In a private conversation with Nappy, he said the following. I am reposting it without permission:
the years we were playing and the experiences we had pretty much made up some of the best moments of my life so far. it was a really special thing to be a part of punk back then. i'm sure all young people feel the same way about their particular scene in each subcultural micro-generation...but i just really had a great time.
Fast forward to 1993, maybe late summer? My friend Eve played me a practice tape of his new band, tentatively titled "Sleestack". Now, Eve was a bassist first and a guitarist second. I'd never heard him play drums, but they might as well have been his first instrument. The guitarist's name was Chris Taggart, and I think the bassist was Josh Brown (later to be replaced by some girl named either Kelly or Kathy or Tommi) Tom Baisden)? The singer's name was Nappy for some reason that was not known to me at the time. The practice tape couldn't have been higher quality than boombox, but they definitely seemed ready to play shows. They were practicing at least twice a week and Eve said that they had enough songs for a set, but "weren't ready." This was baffling to me.
Legend has it that Action Patrol existed for a full year before ever playing out. This - like most things about the band - was very... thought out. That may have a negative connotation, but I'm not saying that it was contrived. It's just that they seemed to like to plan. Most bands would (and I'm sure still do) get together, write some songs, play some shows, record some demos, put out some records, maybe tour, etc. etc. I remember when they recorded for their album, they didn't let anyone hear the recordings before the official release. Again, baffling (though I get it now).
The music was propelled by Chris Taggart's lightning-fast staccato riffs (which were in MAJOR keys, keeping the sound from veering into heavy metal territory), Eve's almost jazzy drumming, and Nappy's frantic-sounding vocals. Tom held the whole thing together with his melodic basslines - often playing counterpoint to the guitar parts. Their sound was described as "a deep fusion of east coast hardcore and west coast punk rock" in an interview by someone that didn't know what he was talking about (me). Their first show was (I think?) New Years 1994 at a house party, and they played in their screenprinted orange shirts (later to become full jumpsuits). The atmosphere was absolutely electric. I don't know if Nappy had ever been in a band before, but he was easily one of the most energetic frontmen I've ever seen. Totally insane, but also charismatic and non-threatening. Chris Taggart, on the other hand, stayed completely still; somehow giving off the impression that despite his calm demeanor, he was orchestrating the entire event. Overnight, they became one of the most popular punk bands in Richmond.
By June, they had become established enough to put out their first 7" record. EVERYONE had a copy. In fact, somebody stole mine (if you're reading this and it was you, send it back. No questions asked). By winter, they released a full-length album on Whirled Records. Have I ever mentioned that I play it pretty loose regarding dates and other trivia? This stuff was a long time ago. Eventually they toured, and I think Eve either quit or got kicked out soon after that. He was replaced by Rich Green (previously of hardcore band Grip). Rich was a solid drummer, but for me it just wasn't the same, and I only saw them a couple of times after the personnel change. Their popularity only grew though, and they ended up putting out a total of three records. Some time in 1997, they broke up. I don't know why.
One of their shows with Rich on drums was videotaped.
This show was at a house party on Dick Street in Greensboro, NC. Shows there used to be nuts, and this was probably one of the best examples. 50 or so kids crammed into a living room to sing along to one of their favorite bands.
Their discography also can be found here.
In a private conversation with Nappy, he said the following. I am reposting it without permission:
the years we were playing and the experiences we had pretty much made up some of the best moments of my life so far. it was a really special thing to be a part of punk back then. i'm sure all young people feel the same way about their particular scene in each subcultural micro-generation...but i just really had a great time.
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