DOCUMENTARY UPDATE [plus the latest news from H.Q.]

DOCUMENTARY UPDATE

            It has been a while since I last posted anything column-wise so I figured it was about time to remedy that.  It has been a busy summer full of changes, happenings, and action.  The rock and roll front for me has been altered in quite the dramatic way and it has been a fun ride thus far [more on that after I clue you fine folk in on some other stuff].  However, my long awaited Longview / Kelso music documentary has become quite a journey.  Here I shall share some of my findings with you.

            First off, the initial thrust of the documentary itself was going to focus primarily on the generation of music and musicians I myself have grown up with.  There was going to be some historical background information to sort of set the stage for what it is we have experienced over the last 25-30 years here in our little local enclave of rock.  However, I have begun digging a bit deeper and what was at one point a gathering of information has now become a spirit quest of sorts.  Yes, I have officially become obsessed with this project.  Initially, I was only working on stuff when A.  I felt like it and B.  When someone submitted something or I found stuff myself.  There had been times where the project lay dormant and I really could not bear to deal with it. 

            The biggest thing that has changed for me and my approach to this project is its scope and its focus of study or studies.  First off, it would be silly to believe that there was nothing going on around here before The Jimmies or Marmalade.  So it got me thinking honestly about what it was that I was looking for.  Here are some preliminary questions that one must ask oneself when conducting research such as this:

1.  How far back in time should I go?

2.  What sorts of origins am I looking for?

3.  What resources do I utilize?

4.  How do my findings play into creating a “documentary” in the traditional sense?

5.  Can I even make this into a documentary?

            My traditional approach to all manner of research has been to cast as wide of net as possible.  For me, it is much more preferable to have more information that I could possibly use.  But, since I am attempting to relay a narrative about a shared history, I simply cannot discard information that I feel needs editing out of a final draft.  All information on this topic is of incredible importance.  What I am finding out is that beyond simply looking at the musical aspects, there is a much larger community history involved.  With that being said, I feel very strongly that this is a story about a community that was far more alive than it is now.  Now I shall answer the aforementioned questions:

1.  It was decided that 1965 would be a perfectly acceptable year to start at.  I had a few reasons for picking this particular year.  First, it seemed that while a good deal of the bands that were on the scene at the time were essentially playing all the hits by their favorite artists, were also starting to slip a few of their own compositions into their sets. Many of the acts I have discovered were starting to cut records which featured their original tunes.  Second reason was simply because it was mid-decade, and most of the early rock trappings had kind of started to seem somewhat “old hat” as rock music started getting a bit more interesting.  However, let me be the first to say that I will be going back further in time.  The more questions one answers, the more questions one will have which is always the fun/frustrating part of research.

2.  When it comes to origins, it has always been my wish to examine the point in time when bands stopped aping their heroes and started creating their own stuff.  At what point did these early rockers start saying “Hey man, fuck “Louie Louie” I got this song we should try.” While this is an integral part of the study it is hardly the entirety of what I am finding.  There are cultural issues going on in the larger world of 1965 that were affecting young minds.  Countless examinations of large scale social changes which informed and affected artistic endeavors have been done over the years, mine is no different in that regard.  But what I hope to find in terms of origins come in the form of what our town once was.  I am not talking about Peter Crawford and all those old pioneer assholes, I am talking about the local lodges, the square dances, the movies, the food, the stores, the general atmosphere that was ever present.  We live in a place that at one time was alive and vibrant, full of good stuff.  What the hell happened?

3.  At this point in time I have been utilizing the Longview Public Library.  You will find me at least 2 days a week poring over microfilm, taking notes, making copies etc.  My cohort / wife Hilarie has also suggested looking at building permits as well.  Like all towns do, Longview / Kelso has gone through a tremendous amount of change and by all appearances most of it has been for the worse. As my study continues, there will be new avenues to explore in terms of resources.  I have compiled a list of places, people, and other sources that I will contact in order to glean more information.  As always, this is YOUR project too, your contributions are always needed and always welcomed.

4.  While the initial idea of creating a documentary seemed to be the end goal, this is no longer the case.  A documentary film on the subject matter I am studying is simply too constraining. It is my belief that if I was to do a film of approximately 1-2 hours would require me to gloss over a lot of stuff and not tell as rich of a story as I feel needs to be told.  While the documentary film is something I will strive toward in the future, I will simply allow the study and gathering to inform me as to what should be included.  There is also the possibility of going the Ken Burns route and doing a several hour series of sorts.  Again, I am in the gathering and study stages of this thing, I am in no particular hurry and I have very loose time tables as for when I would like to have stuff done.  In several years time I am confident that I will know what form this massive undertaking will coalesce into.  So yes I know that if my focus is narrowed and my presentation is kept tightly regimented I know I could make a traditional documentary film.

5.  This is sort of answered in question 4 but I will go a bit further.  This film can be made with the proper support and aid from a vast array of people.  While it is true that I am conducting my study alone, Hilarie has been immensely helpful to me as her way of thinking helps jar me out of dead ends and keeps me on track.  I prefer to work on this portion of the study alone as I know what I am looking for and have now developed a system in doing so.  So in terms of making a film, I am at minimum 2-3 years away from even filming a thing; and I am not even particularly interested in doing so.  The study itself does not require it at this time.  When it comes to conducting interviews on camera with the various players I will want to be armed with as much information as possible so that I do not come off like some sort of dummy.  As stated in previous blog postings, this project is not simply mine, it is YOURS as well.  You and your friends and relatives from both near and far all have a role to play, contributions to make, and stuff to say.  The wider I can cast my net, the better this project will be.  This is not just about music. It is about the formulation of ideas, the handing down of traditions, and helping these traditions to survive in the face of an increasingly fragmented and troubled world. 

            I do not know if I answered my own questions as I presented them but I feel that I am definitely onto something.  My research thus far has been so incredibly enlightening and just plain fun.  This project is something so incredibly important to me.  When I read old newspaper articles, see the ads, I feel like I am there.  It is my hope that as this project takes shape and I share things with all of you that it spurs you into action as well.  Go find your treasures and share them and help me bring this history to life.  Seek out your relatives and let them know that I want to hear from them, I am interested, and that I care.  History has powerful properties which can transport you, immerse you, and enable to time travel.  All this discussion of magic and immersion has got me in the mood to share some statistics with you.

              For me, compiling, analyzing, and conducting statistical tests are something I believe to be very illustrative.  It helps to make immense compilations of data easier to understand.  With that being said, here are some stats that should really blow your mind.

SPECIAL NOTE:  I compiled this information from analyzing the Longview Daily News from each day in the year 1965.  I am conducting this study in real time by examining each edition of the paper.  My show list is extensive and far reaching.  However, I will not claim that this list is complete, but I can pretty much guarantee that it is as accurate as anyone is ever willing to go.

1965 THE YEAR IN ROCK:

·         256 shows in total which works out to approximately 21.3 shows per month.

·         129 of those shows were in Longview/Kelso at a rate of approximately 10.75 shows per month.

·         127 of those shows were in towns such as Castle Rock, Woodland, Kalama, Rainier, Clatskanie, Cathlamet, Puget Island, LaCenter, Ridgefield, Centralia, and Winlock at a rate of approximately 10.6 shows per month.

·         Local shows took place at 19 venues such as George’s Broiler, The Smith Center, Triangle Mall, I.O.O.F. Hall, A.W.P.P.W., Three Pigs Tavern, Twin City Tavern, Owl Tavern, Capn’ Yobys, Riverside Park, Bunker Hill Grange, Kelso High School, R.A. Long High School, Mark Morris High School, Lower Columbia College, St. Rose Gym, Y.M.C.A., Commerce Avenue, and Lake Sacajawea.

·         26 venues outside of Longview/Kelso were hosts to shows on a weekly basis such as Gram’s Annex, Sunnyside Grange, Castle Rock Grange, Eagles Hall, Rainier Theater, Rainier High School, Kalama Community Hall, Kalama High School, Norse Hall, Puget Island Grange, Long Beach Pavilion, Woodland Grange, Veterans Hall, Winlock Community Center, Winlock High School, Centralia Rollerdrome, Foodland, Svensen Grange, Clatskanie High School, La Center High School, Ridgefield High School, St. Helens Teen Center, JC Pennys, and St. Helens High School.

OTHER FACTS AND TIDBITS:

·         Located on Commerce Avenue, the Smith Center was the spot to see some of the top local bands as well as touring acts from as far away as Minnesota.  Some notable acts whom appeared there were:  Paul Revere and the Raiders, Don and the Goodtimes, Dick and DeeDee, The Liverpool Five, The Kingsmen, and The Wailers [who came to town a staggering 8 times during the year].

·         The Triangle Mall was another great spot in town which hosted public dances and rock and roll shows.  Many of these events were broadcast live on KEDO. 

·         Quite possibly one of the busiest local bands was the well dressed, hearse driving combo Jerry and the E.T.s who played 38 shows throughout the year all across Cowlitz county.

·         The Daily News was just as dismissive of local music in 1965 as they are today.  Rampant misspellings have made research “interesting” to say the very least.  A few bands who suffered at the hands of local scene reporter Steve Ponder were The Marchands who were also called The Marshans, and The Torques who were labeled as The Torquays and Torque As.  Ponder also liked to make not so witty quips about rock and roll music which has been a long standing Daily News tradition now being studiously upheld by Tom Paulu.

Pretty amazing stuff to say the least and as I begin studying 1966 I am sure that there will be more surprises.  While I am working on all of this I still hope to hear from all of you, both familiar and unfamiliar.  Yes it is true that I am doing the heavy lifting here, this story is going to need contributions from participants and spectators alike.  No piece of memorabilia is too insignificant as each photo, flyer, article, video, and recording has a special place in the grand scheme of things.  I urge all of you to speak to friends, relatives and neighbors who were around during these early years.  So many people are unaware of what I am attempting to do and I hope that with your help; my friends and co-conspirators; I can spread the word far and wide.  As I stated at the beginning of this long manifesto, the most thorough studies are only as effective as the net that one casts.  Contact me by whatever means you choose.  I am available for questions, comments, and discussion most waking hours.  Again, I thank those of you who have contributed items thus far and thank all of you in advance for all your help and support.

MINTY ROSA:   DEAD OR ALIVE?

            In amongst all this research I have been doing, it has been a busy time at Rock Alliance World Headquarters.  As many of you know Minty Rosa bit the dust several months ago.  While the intent was to simply lay the band to rest, I have a strong hunch that this is not to be the case.  Details are sketchy at this time but it is my belief that there is still more work to do.  Our leader and songstress Hilarie Hughes has been making new songs and I feel that both myself and drummer Jeremy Denman need to get back to work.  Whatever form any future outings as Minty Rosa may take are purely speculation at this point and nothing is set in stone.  As the person who gets to hear her recordings first hand, I can safely tell you that Hilarie is going next level with her songs.  The next few months will be interesting to say the least.

BLUES FOR THE DEFORMED SECRETARY

            Your favorite one man lo-fi recording stud CHUCK ROAST spent the entire month of March recording a song a day.  The results came in the form of my 34^th solo outing “Blues For the Deformed Secretary.” You can check out the tunes at my soundcloud page www.soundcloud.com/chuck-roast-1 and hear all 31 songs.  I am very proud of these songs as I feel they capture some of the spontaneity of my older recordings.  Let me know what you think.

THE HICKMANS DON’T LIKE YOU

            Well it is getting to be that time again and your favorite local legends THE HICKMANS are gearing up to celebrate 15 years of true Longview rock.  Guitar hero Biff Dougan and myself are going to bring the classic acoustic duo back to show you sonsofbitches how it is done.  Of course, being the geniuses we are, while preparing for the 15^th anniversary party we will be recording a new CD with brand new odes to chicks, drugs, booze, and criminal behavior. 

DON’T BE SOBER WHEN I CALL YOU

            As former member of THE SUNKEN, noise geek Gene Symptoms is putting the finishing touches of his second solo album entitled “Don’t Be Sober When I Call You.”  It features guest appearances by SBTDOH, Don Haugen, Regosphere, and Cedric’s Lettuce.  Some of the tracks slated to be on the disc are “I Miss You Susan” and “Monoxide Radio.”  Early listens to the mixes are proving to be amazing as they are a radical departure from his previous disc “Horses of Rome.” It should also be noted that Gene Symptoms has signed a deal with Headless Pymp Rock Alliance.  When asked why he did so his response was “Fuck it.  Why not?”

THE LOLLIGAGGERS:  CALM DOWN VAN GOGH

            Well, as many as you know, the lineup for Longview’s longest running punk rock band THE LOLLIGAGGERS has been dramatically altered.  For some of you this has been a welcome changes and for some of you it has been a difficult transition.  Let me help set the record straight for you.  Both myself and bass player Joe Deal were brought in to help the band out when their frontman/bassist could not make it to some shows.  I was asked and I accepted the invitation without any hesitation.  We got together, started practicing, and apparently everyone enjoyed the process.  Three shows have been played thus far and it has been a great time for everyone involved.  However, with drummer Dustin Wheeler having moved to Nashville to pursue his musical aspirations, a major hole was left to be filled.  I am happy to say that MINTY ROSA drummer Jeremy Denman has agreed to step in and handle the drumming duties.  It goes without saying that Dustin will be missed but his spot is being held down by a true local legend and a great dude to boot.

            So what does this mean for the future of THE LOLLIGAGGERS?  We recorded some songs before Dustin departed and those will see the light of day very soon.  Additionally, we are starting to compile ideas for new songs for a future album.  Lots of stuff is starting to happen and ideas are flowing like wine.  However, for you sissies that are afraid the band is going to veer off course let me be the first to tell you that the new ideas Eric Lolligagger laid down on 4 track are about as classic as it gets when it comes to THE LOLLIGAGGERS.  Keenan also has aces up his sleeve and his newest contribution “One of Those Days” is a real anthem.  Even your old pal CHUCK ROAST has brought a tune to the party entitled “You’ll Never Love Me Right.”  The intention of this new lineup is to keep it true to Eric’s vision as well as go only slightly off the beaten path.  Does that make sense?  Nope.  Just wait till you hear what comes next.

            Now, for all you fine folks who have come out to the shows and said how much you like this new lineup and the changes that it has brought, we thank you.  For those of you who have cried your eyes out and said “it’s just not the same” and “it’s just not The Lolligaggers anymore” all I can say is TOUGH SHIT….GO FIND A NEW BAND TO LIKE.  For a brief moment Eric did contemplate changing the name but I talked him out of it.  Eric has put 20 years of his life into this thing and as long as it feels like THE LOLLIGAGGERS to him then that is exactly what it is.  All you sniveling poor sports are just going to have to get over it.  The proof is in the pudding muthafucka.  THE LOLLIGAGGERS are not going anywhere anytime soon so you might as well just shut your trap, come to a show, and taste the pudding.  Tis quite a tasty pudding indeed.

Cheers,

Tyler Stockton AKA Chuck Roast

Headless Pymp Rock Alliance

Longview Washington

Go check out my youtube channel at:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9AIWeDRbMX6QCj-rX9gYUQ

AS WITH MY OTHER DOCUMENTARY UPDATES HERE ARE SOME PICS:

YET ANOTHER DOCUMENTARY UPDATE.

So in an effort to prove that progress is being made on my planned Longview / Kelso music documentary I have started a Youtube channel.  I decided to do this channel for several reasons:

1.  To help me practice doing editing and other technical aspects which all the big time film makers know how to do.  I am approaching this project with as much of a D.I.Y. spirit as possible and practicing the technical elements will go a long way to helping me achieve a more cohesive finished product.

2. Just because watching all these videos is fun.  Some of these I have seen countless times over the years, but there is something exciting about taking some of these clips and posting them up for all to see.   This is not just a project for my own personal benefit but it is a way to help preserve great moments which have long sat in boxes on worn out VHS  tapes.  I have tons of stuff that I have gone to great lengths to preserve and I can do the same for you.

3.  The most important aspect is the hope that I can inspire YOU to action.  Pull out those dusty boxes.  Open those closets.  Climb into your attic and see what you find.  Again, I do not want to do this project alone.  I can only achieve something fantastic with your contributions.  I have given you easy and convenient ways to contact me.  I am always available and never hard to find.

Now….with all that being said….here's the real update.  While I appreciate all of you whom have contributed materials there is simply TOO MUCH TALK.  I keep hearing "Yeah man I will get ahold of you"……"Oh man this is going to be so awesome"……and "Oh yeah I have stuff for you."  But let's face it….until I hear from many of you it's all a bunch of noise signifying nothing.  Excuses are meaningless in the grand scheme of things.  Many of you subscribe to 'punk' concepts such as ACTION NOW and DO IT YOURSELF.  However, the reality is that once the music dies, the show is over, and the last beer gets drank, the slogans and ideals are nothing more than a distant memory.

Yes, I am fully aware of how life has a way of making us aware of our responsibilities and obligations. Back when we were all in our teens and 20s it was easy to just go wild with our impulses and live the way we wanted.  When we get older, that impulsiveness gets less accessible when the rent is due or the electricity is about to get shut off.  However, I have a passion for the project I am working on and am fully ready and willing to do the necessary leg work and heavy lifting to make it all come together.  Even though I work 40 hours a week, have bills, and obligations I have made it a point to not just roll over and let life run me over.  There are songs that have yet to be written and art to be conceptualized and I for one want to take advantage of those precious moments when I can LIVE.

So will there be a DOCUMENTARY?  That is a question that I have been pondering quite a bit as of late.  The most honest answer I can give is I DO NOT KNOW.  This project is not just me assembling a bunch of old clips together, it is much like a research project where you need as much material as possible.  When I do research I always seek to cast my net as far and as wide as possible. I am hoping that I have more material than I can possibly even work with in a film type setting.  As stated elsewhere, Spring 2015 is the final deadline for gathering, and honestly, unless I hear from a vast amount of you, I may just call it good and keep what I have gathered for my own personal collection.  This is a project I am incredibly passionate about and I apologize if some of you do not feel the same.  If you are one of those who do not respect me personally or have no love for my meager contributions to our local scene I will not attempt to sway your opinion.  Again, I am on a mission, I want to DO SOMETHING, I want to MAKE ART, I want to FUCKING LIVE. What about the rest of you?

AGAIN:
headlesspymp@gmail.com
(360)355.6425 [call me or text me I am open to whatever your preferred means of communication is]
OR
contact Hilarie Hughes on Facebook.

WATCH SOME GODDAMNED VIDEOS! GET STOKED! CONTRIBUTE! DO SOMETHING!

END NOTES:
1.  Some of you may or may not have noticed that many of the videos I have posted contain numerous of my own projects.  This is not a calculated scheme to give myself more air time but more about the fact that I HAVE DONE A LOT OF BANDS OVER THE YEARS.  I grew up in this local scene and while that may seem corny to some, I feel justifiably proud of the stuff I have been privileged to participate in. I never got into music to make money, or to be a big rock star, and I cannot think of a single time where those notions ever occurred to me.  I have always just wanted to have fun with my friends, nothing more, nothing less.  Rest assured, more videos will get added on a semi regular basis featuring so many more great bands from around the way.  Stay tuned.

2.  On a completely unrelated note:  After several months of downtime Seattle Punk is back online.  Go visit www.seattlepunk.org OR www.seattlepunk.net and join in the discussion.

3.  Working on a new Chuck Roast cd entitled 'Blah Blah Cadabra' which should see the light in the next month or so.  I will start playing some of the new tunes at upcoming shows if there are any shows and I feel so inclined to do them.

4.  My noise project Cracked Dome is working on a split CD with East Coast noise faction A SNAKE IN THE GARDEN. This disc will be released on California D.I.Y. label Nefarious Activities.  First noise release I have done in about 4 years.

Cheers.

DOCUMENTARY UPDATE [For you "On the Go" Types]

Yeah yeah yeah I get it.....some of you lead busy lives and do not have all the time in the world to read my long dissertation on how the documentary is coming along.  So in the interest of helping those of you who are too busy, too lazy, or have difficulty reading I am dishing out an abridged version of my previous blog.  However, this should not excuse you from taking a few minutes out of your day and getting your brain filled with something a little meatier than what you're going to get from some asswipe on Facebook.  So here you go.....the short version:

1. RESEARCH STAGE: I have been digitizing tapes for the last year or so and continue to get new stuff on a semi-regular basis.  There has also been a tremendous amount of scanning of photos, fliers, and other stuff of interest.

2.  THE GIST OF THE PROJECT: What are the origins of our local scene? When did kids stop doing Guess Who and Loverboy covers and start writing their own tunes?  Then the ultimate question is posed. Why are there so many participants in the Longview / Kelso music scene still hard at it when there's no money, fame, or recognition to be had?  Many of these participants are now approaching middle age.  What drives them? What is everyone up to today?

3.  I AM NOT WORKING ALONE: This is my project which I have long wished to do but it will not be told from my own perspective.  While my archives and personal recollections are substantial, they are simply part of a much larger puzzle.  The story of our local scene needs to be told by those who have lived it and are still living it.

4.  I NEED YOUR HELP:  You.....yes you.....play a major role in putting this project together.  Your contributions, no matter how small, are all critical to me.  Get in touch at burntsound@gmail.com or at headlesspymp@gmail.com and let's talk.  What do you have stashed away?

I NEED THE FOLLOWING:

1.  VIDEOS:  I do not care if it is a show, practice, party, skit, or whatever.  All videos will be considered.  While some things may not make it into the finished product they will be a part of a website which I will assemble in the future.  Format of the video is of no concern to me as I accept VHS, VHSc, Hi8, and blah blah blah.  Drop me a line and lets talk.

2.  SOUNDS:  Anything works.....Demo tapes, cassette reels, DAT, vinyl, cd blah blah blah. I take them all.

3.  PICTURES AND FLIERS:  Anything and everything.  Send them over.  I can come to you and scan them in person or you can bring me stuff to scan.  All items will be in the same condition when they are returned to you.

4.  ANYTHING ELSE:  Set lists, lyrics, news clippings etc.  I do not care if you think your stuff is worthy because it is.

5.  CURRENT INTERVIEWS: Hopefully by next summer I will be conducting videotaped interviews with scene participants. This will be a major part of this project as I will not simply be relying on archival footage alone.

In closing, thanks to those who have participated thus far, you have all made huge contributions to this project.  To the rest of you......I WANT YOUR PARTICIPATION.  Get in touch with me and let's shoot the shit.

Cheers,
Chuck Roast

I have a youtube channel  at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9AIWeDRbMX6QCj-rX9gYUQ Go check out stuff and get stoked.  More videos will be added in the days and weeks to come.

DOCUMENTARY UPDATE WHICH WILL BLOW YOUR MIND!

It has been quite awhile since I have posted anything here at the Headless Pymp Rock Alliance blogspot so I shall dive in head first and get right to the point.  For the last several years I have been slowly cultivating a project which documents the local music scene here in Longview / Kelso.  Again, when I say ‘slowly’ I am not joking, as this particular project has often taken a backseat to real life stuff which requires my immediate attention.  I have gone through fits of inspiration in which I make considerable progress and then there are times when the project goes dormant.  The last several months have been a period of extreme hibernation as I completed my final semesters at Washington State University and received a promotion of sorts at my work.  Factor in family emergencies and the requisite rock-n-roll engagements here and there, it becomes abundantly clear as to why my documentary project becomes low on my priority list.  However, in the interest of full disclosure, I will dish you up an update of sorts as this project is still very much a going concern.  It is my belief that while Longview / Kelso has made little headway in the larger world of music, there is an important story to be told.

The initial thought process behind this project has been to figure out what is it that a Longview / Kelso music documentary would actually say.  What is the message?  What is the overall theme? For me, there is a clear line which local kids were taking it upon themselves to step outside the cover band schematic and write their own songs, create their own scene.  This is a common theme with most of the books I have read on the subject, small towns developing a culture of sorts out of what they had gathered from elsewhere.  For example, many towns in the Midwestern United States had little to no cultural base unless it was imported to them from places such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, or New York.  However, this sort of cultural importation cannot happen unless there are receptive individuals there to receive it.  Those individuals have almost universally been bored teenagers who hungered for something more than 38 Special and Sammy Hagar [1].  Thanks to bands such as Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, and M.D.C., a touring network came to exist which brought these bands to all of the lonely outposts, delivering the promise of something new for disaffected kids to believe in.  The most important gift these bands left in the wake of their performances was the idea that anyone could do what they were doing.

By my estimation, this cultural exchange happened here in Longview / Kelso as well, but on a slightly different scale.  Our small mill town just happens to be situated on the I-5 corridor smack dab in between Portland and Seattle.  While those two cities, especially Seattle, were far away from any sort of media attention in the wake of the early 90s Grunge explosion, they were both important in their own right.  Not large enough to be mentioned in the same sentence as Los Angeles or New York, but large enough for bands such as Black Flag to make time in their insane tour schedule to make frequent stops in.  Our humble little suburb, by extension, took the residue, crumbs, rumors, and remnants of these events which then prompted a small but active music community to grow.  We have heard the names many times: Protest, M.I.S., Dread, The Vagrants, and General Concern.  These bands to me are a crucial explosion of inspiration which fired up a generation of kids to pick up their instruments and get on with it.  It is here that the most critical point of the documentary becomes apparent.  I was one of those kids who got caught up in the action and never ever stopped.

So in trying to determine a timeline for what was to be covered I feel that it is important to document the early days of our local scene and chronicle its own small explosion of bands in the early to mid 90s.  From there, I want to examine why so many of those kids are still doing it despite there being no money, recognition, or glory in the process.  What motivates someone like Barry Brusseau to continue on after nearly 30 years?  The same goes for so many of us, those kids who came up at roughly the same time, what is it that keeps us coming back?  As my gathering continues on in the coming months I hope that a more concrete timeline takes shape and more thematic elements present themselves.  However, it should be noted that I have been having a blast looking at all the submitted materials and I must say that there is always room for more.  

CHUCK ROAST FUN LIST #1: THE STATS

Being a hardcore numbers fan I feel that the true gauge of one’s progress is in the raw numbers and the statistical elements therein.  So with that being said here are some crunchy tidbits for you local motherfuckers to chew on.  Bon apetit.

-151 fliers

-297 pictures

-109 set lists

-64 pieces of misc. materials i.e. press clippings, calendars, stickers, and ticket stubs.

CHUCK ROAST FUN LIST #2: THE VIDS

Of course, no documentary would be complete without authentic archival footage of our local scene in action.  Over the last several years I have been in the process of transferring my own personal collection to DVD and have also done that with other people’s stuff.  Check this list out gang! Be forewarned, it is not in chronological order and does not make much mention of out of town bands.

-Minty Rosa:

 4.1.2011 @ Las Rocas in Longview 

-The Hickmans:

 11.20.10 @ Chinese Garden Lounge

Centaurpalooza PDX Summer 2010

Arnada Café Vancouver Wa. early 2004

Sky Bar Longview April 2004

Arnada Café Vancouver Wa. April 2004

-Anakrusys:

Swanstock Kelso Wa. 1991 [includes about 60 seconds of The Dream playing]

-The Adickt:

KLTV Teen Talk 91/92 [includes interview and performance]

-Sid Khatryd:

Swanstock Kelso Wa. 1992

-Stranglefish:

Swanstock Kelso Wa. 10.31.92

Swanstock Kelso Wa. October 92 [practice shit]

Winlock Community Center December 1993

Clays Coffee House Kelso Wa. January 1993

Clays Coffee House Kelso Wa. March 1993

Clays Coffee House Kelso Wa. July 1993 [second half of show]

Clays Coffee House Kelso Wa. August 1993

X-Ray Café PDX January 1994

Swanstock Kelso Wa. 1992? [random house party jam with various oddballs]

Minus World Longview Wa. 7.20.12 [reunion show]

-The Sunken:

Excommunicate House Vancouver Wa. 2005 [raging noise show]

-Thriftstore Undies:

Reid’s Pitstop Longview Wa. 1999 w/ Chester Copperpot

AWPPW Hall Longview Wa. 5.14.99

Kalama Fairgrounds Summer 1999

-Spagg:

Longview Armory Longview Wa. 8.16.96

-Slave 69:

Monticello Hotel Longview Wa. April 1997

Matt Johnson’s back yard Kelso Wa. Summer 1997

Reid’s Pitstop Longview Wa. Summer 1997

Satyricon PDX Summer 1997

-Bung: 

The Depot Concord Ca. Summer 2001 [includes trip footage]

The Place Battleground Wa. 2001 [picture quality sucks but audio rules]

The Shed Kelso Wa. circa 1992 w/ Marmalade and The Shankleberries

Reid’s Pitstop Longview Wa. 2003? [only has one song]

-Loser:

American Legion Longview Wa. 1997

-Meatlocker:

Compilation vid filmed in various locations both locally and in PDX.

-Happy Campers:

KLTV Get a Clue with host Bryan Edmison [full interview and performance]

-Wallcrawler:

Ben Schneider’s basement Summer 2000 [raging set / Matt pukes like a champ]

-The Lolligaggers:

Reid’s Pitstop Longview Wa. 2003? 

-Various artists:

Lower Columbia College Student Center Longview Wa. May 1993 J.A.M. Benefit show featuring Group Immolation, Klingon 4 Play, Bung, The Jimmies, The Shankleberries, and Meatlocker. [Awesome show]

Cowlitz County Fairgrounds May 1993 KLTV Grungefest special [has a few seconds of The Jimmies plus some cool footage of local yokels hanging out]

CHUCK ROAST FUN LIST #3: THE PIX

Thanks to the generous contributions of some great people I have amassed a sweet collection of pictures featuring local bands in action and just hanging out.  Thus far it is a stunning set of pictures to check out.  My collection represents the following bands [in no particular order]:

Big Dick McGee / Bung / Jackmove / Spagg / The Jimmies / F.S.U. / Wallcrawler / G.B.H.C. / Gus / Jet Lag / Meatlocker / M.I.S. / The Hickmans / Chuck Roast / Stranglefish / Sid Khatryd / Thriftstore Undies

I could go on and on about the substantial collection of recordings that I have managed to pick up along the way.  However, that could potentially turn into a dissertation too long in the telling.  My most recent treasure that I managed to transfer to digital format was The Jimmies / General Concern split 7inch. While everyone knows how amazing The Jimmies were and are worthy of their own documentary, it is the General Concern track that just blows my mind.  Here was a band that was truly tapping into something just slightly to the left of the punk rock thing.  I cannot accurately put into words how good of a band they were, other than that they were a bit ahead of their time.  Without naming names, a handsome gentleman from the local scene is the holder of a cassette reel of a General Concern recording.  One of my long standing goals is to take that reel to a studio and have it mixed.  My belief is that this reel along with any other treasures of this type should be preserved for posterity and should not languish in a box or a garage.  While to some people this may seem corny, I strongly believe that this is our heritage and it must be protected and celebrated.

While the gathering thus far has been exciting and really informative, there is one thing I have come to realize.  We really have had an amazing scene here in this little nowhere town.  Great bands, great people, and great memories abound in every piece of history that comes my way.  While I have long desired to create a documentary of this largely isolated and unrecognized scene, I do not want to do this alone.  This is a project where each and every contribution is a critical piece of the puzzle.  There is an entire generation of us who each have a very unique and important story to tell.  I am not just talking to the musicians either.  I am hoping to have participation from people who took pictures, kept journals, recorded/ filmed a practice, or just brought themselves to the shows.  From the active participant to the casual observer, each person has a part to play.  This is an opportunity for each of us to get our say and tell our story.  So dig out those dusty boxes from the attic and find your treasures.

Now here’s where the blog goes a bit off track and I address the skeptics and critics.  In the past there had been questions in regards to my motivations as to why I would want to undertake a project of this type.  This to me is a perfectly legitimate thing to question but let me be the first to dispel some myths as to what motivates me to do all this.  First of all, there was an exchange between myself and a member of General Concern regarding my wish to have the aforementioned cassette reel mixed and mastered.  He felt that somehow by doing such a thing at my own expense was a way to somehow make a profit from General Concern’s work.  Why would I try to make money off of it?  Is such a thing even possible? The question I posed to him was “Why would you allow such a treasure to languish in someone else’s garage?  You could do this shit yourself yet you choose not to.” The plan was to have it mixed and mastered and give the finished product to the band and let them decide what to do from there.  I mean let’s be real here, what’s the alternative?  The physical and sonic condition of the reel itself could prove problematic in terms of salvaging it.  However, that is a risk I am willing to take on myself at my own expense for one reason only…..because I give a shit.

So am I assembling all these scattered puzzle pieces simply to make a profit off of a documentary film?  The short answer is NO.  The following are my top motivations for making this project a reality:

CHUCK ROAST FUN LIST #4: LIST OF MOTIVATIONS

1.  Because I care about our local history and the scene that came from it.  I am proud of everyone’s contributions…..even the shitty bands.  There is so much history there that it is extremely hard not to be excited about all of it.

2.  There have been numerous studies and anthologies regarding the subject of art and culture over the years.  This documentary could serve as an additional link and area of interest for those individuals who are studying how culture can spread even in small communities.  A major influence for me has been the book American Hardcore by Steven Blush.  This book is essential reading for anyone into the punk and hardcore scene in the United States.  Not only does Blush examine the major cities and the big players in each, but he also examines the spread of punk rock to small isolated communities.

3.  To assure those of you who think I will be reaping massive profits at your expense.  There is no money to be made here.  As brilliant as all of us have been over the years, we all suffer from one thing…..we’re from here.  Some of us have had brushes with the big time only to find ourselves back at our jobs or whatever.  What I am trying to say is that I have no interest in making money off this project.  I fully expect that I will operate at a deficit as I always have throughout my adult life.  This is a truly D.I.Y. project in the purest sense of the word.  The only money I have spent since I started working on this project in earnest has been to purchase gas to drive to your homes so that I can conduct my research.  I fully intend to do all my work at my own expense and I also hope to enlist the help of qualified and sympathetic individuals who can assist in the more technical aspects of the project when I reach that point.  Upon completion, I hope to publicly screen a finished product and give away copies to those who would like one.  The most modest thing I can hope for with a project of this scope is to possibly screen it in Portland or Seattle.  Money is not a good enough reason for me to do any artistic pursuit.

4.  This next motivation may ruffle some feathers but I don’t give a fuck.  Some of you have amazing pieces of history sitting in boxes, gathering dust in sheds, or at the bottom of your basement.  I want to help you preserve your treasures.  At best, some of you have this stuff and have not had any reason to dig it out.  At worst, some of you are careless and slovenly.  In either event I feel a strong desire to protect a heritage that belongs to all of us collectively.  There are a lot of young kids out there playing shows locally as of late who have no idea who paved the road for them around these parts.  When I hear a young kid say “I’ve never heard of The Jimmies,” it really pisses me off.  This is an opportunity to not only preserve our history but to set the record straight.  Why let bands like Seacats [2] have the last word on the scene that so many of us have spent our nights and days building up?  These young kids don’t know the history, or at the very least don’t have any respect for it.  For some of you, your participation was simply a product of your youth and you moved on to college, jobs, marriage, and kids.  For the rest of us who are still out there it is important that people know that we still exist.  Again, whatever you are holding, I would love to have the chance to preserve it for posterity.  For some people, the past means nothing to them.  For others, the past is something to be excited about, it’s a reminder what we have done and what we can still achieve.

5.  I just want to do this because I feel it is important.  This is something that should be done and it is a way of celebrating some awesome stuff.  Is Longview/Kelso’s music scene something for the larger world to be excited about?  Probably not, but it still deserves to have its place in history.  We were right there during the Grunge explosion and its ripple effect touched us whether some of us want to admit it or not.  Something was happening around here and its evidence is readily apparent to me.  Our story is but an exciting and dynamic dot which can connect to other dots, an expression of a generation.  We deserve to have our say.

So with all of this stuff said, the all important question is what’s next?  With the summer in rapid decline I intend to spend my fall and winter evenings working on this project.  I hope that I can elicit some help from all of you who read this.  Each of you who were there, many of you have pictures, lyrics, set lists, demo tapes, videos and everything else in between.  I want to hear from all of you.  I want to spend the upcoming chilly nights basking in the glory of a shared history.  Scanning your treasures, digitizing your cassettes, putting VHS tapes onto DVD, is something that I really look forward to.  In fact, as I have been typing this, I just got contacted by another handsome local rock legend and he is bringing over a stack of video tapes.  You fine folks have no idea how exciting that is to me.  To some people they are just old tapes.  To me they are crucial pieces to a truly amazing puzzle.  The following Roaster fun list I hope will spur some of you into action:

CHUCK ROAST FUN LIST #5: MY STUPID WANT LIST

Yes, I have a want list too.  A few of the following items are things that I did have at one time but have since lost.  Other things are simply items that I hope exist.  As stated previously I hope that some of you get as fired up as me and help me out here.  Check it.

-Stranglefish live at the post office 7.3.93 [Go 4^th show]

-Stranglefish at X-Ray café November/December? 1993

-Stranglefish at Columbia Theater 9.17.93 [Duke’s Music battle of the bands]

-Stranglefish Real Rocker Newsletter [published in summer 1993]

-M.I.S. “Donation’s for Broken Glass” demo

-M.I.S. any video footage, set lists, or photos

-Dread any video footage, set lists, or photos

-The Jimmies any video footage, set lists, or photos [3]

-General Concern any video footage, set lists, photos, or recordings

-The Vagrants demo cassette

-Protest any video footage, set lists, photos

-The Lolligaggers any video footage, set lists, photos, Lolligagger Lager cd.

-Any fliers from Marty’s garage or video footage from shows there.

-He Man Woman Haters any video footage, set lists, photos, or recordings

-The Naked Apes any video footage, set lists, photos, recordings etc.

-Klingon 4 Play any video footage, set lists, photos, recordings etc.

-Loser any video footage, set lists, photos, recordings etc.

-Chester Copperpot any video footage, set lists, photos, recordings [4]

-The Inner 6 any video footage, set lists, photos, recordings etc.

-Academy Street any video footage, set lists, photos, recordings etc.

-F.S.U. any video footage, set lists, photos, recordings etc.

-George Bush Heroin Connection any video footage, set lists, photos, recordings etc. [5]

-Peabody ‘Hick Bastard’ practice tape. [Only 4 copies were ever made so good luck]
-Aggressor any video footage, set lists, photos, recordings etc. [Jeremy Denman I’m looking at you]

Of course there are a ton of names I am missing and it is not my intent to leave anyone out.  Every time I try to list off all the local bands I can possibly think of, the list is always incredibly long and then I think of about 5 or 6 more.  The above mentioned want list is just a smattering of the stuff that is likely to exist out there.  It is a near certainty that by the time this project is complete there will most likely be more materials surfacing.  I am already well prepared for the idea that to have every piece of archival material from a town’s music scene will be next to impossible.  However, as my college experience has taught me, in research it is always far better to have more material than you could ever possibly need.  In the future there will be a public website put in place to display all of these collected materials.  While a finished product is still a considerable distance off, I fully intend to take advantage of this upcoming fall and winter and really get down to business.  If all goes well, I hope to do interviews with a small but diverse list of local musicians and fans by spring and summer of 2015.  

In closing this long and meandering missive, I would like to thank the people who have thus far made a contribution to this project:  Hilarie Hughes, Jerry Wilson, Erik Gidney, Tim Ward, Matt Johnson, Eric Hazen, and Mindy Conn.  I would also like to send special shout out to Barry Brusseau for providing me with some interesting factoids and historical tidbits.   I would also like to thank Scott Barnes for discussing his years on the super early local scene.  There are still so many more people to talk to and work with in the coming months, and I sincerely look forward to every minute of it.  Finally, to all those whom have entrusted me with their memorabilia, rest assured that your stuff is safe and I will get much of it back to you in the coming days and weeks. Ultimately, I felt that I owed all of you an update as to where we are on this project and where we intend to head in the near future.  It is an incredibly exciting journey and one that I treat with the utmost reverence and respect.

Cheers,

Tyler Stockton 

a/k/a Chuck Roast

Headless Pymp Rock Alliance

All questions, comments, cease and desist orders, and general inquiries can be sent to headlesspymp@gmail.com    

END NOTES:

[1] Nothing against 38 Special and Sammy Hagar at all but I recall there being a lot of that shit blaring out of many a car in the early 80s around here.  

[2] I said Seacats because…..why fucking not?

[3] There is a fine handsome man who holds a fairly substantial amount of Jimmies stuff and I foresee myself camping out at his house very soon.  You simply cannot talk about anything that ever went on musically in this town without talking about The Jimmies.

[4]If you have “Kings of Tardcore” I will be your friend forever.  While I was not particularly close with Mike Agee and I’m sure that feeling goes both ways, one cannot argue with the fact that the dude could write some catchy goddamned songs.  

[5]While of course there were different permutations on the G.B.H.C. name I am looking for the very earliest stuff.  Of course I am also looking for the later stuff as well so please don’t think I’m nitpicking.

ADDITIONAL END NOTES……THE EVIDENCE:

Miss Hilarie gave me the inspiration to include some of the items I have collected over the last year or so.  In doing this I further hope to prove that I am quite serious about this project, and that I have actually been attempting to put something together.  I also hope that by including a few photos, fliers, and other items here along with my dense yet impassioned manifesto I can inspire the lot of you into contributing to this project.  So check this good stuff out……which was picked out at random for maximum fun and frolic.

   

TOP 113 ALBUMS OF ALL TIME.

My wife was the inspiration for this list.  Someone on Facebook was urging people to post their list of their top 13 favorite albums.  She felt that there was no way she could narrow it down so she went one step further and did a list featuring 113 albums.  Her criteria was simple in that the list could only feature one album per artist; which I assume was for the sake of variety.  This was difficult for me when it came to some bands since there are whole catalogs of music I like.  For extra fun and frolic she put her list in chronological order starting with the earliest works first.  So in a fit of inspiration I too decided to try my hand at this so without further ado…..enjoy.

1. John Lee Hooker – House of the Blues (1959)
2. Miles Davis – E.S.P. (1965)
3. John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers – A Hard Road (1967)
4. Velvet Underground – Velvet Underground With Nico (1967)
5. MC5 – Back in the U.S.A. (1970)
6. The Who – Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy (1971)
7. Yes – Fragile (1971)
8. Black Sabbath – Volume 4 (1972)
9. The Stooges – Raw Power  (1973)
10. Blue Oyster Cult – Secret Treaties (1974)
11. Frank Zappa – Roxy and Elsewhere (1974)
12. Genesis – The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974)
13. Led Zeppelin – Physical Grafiti (1975)
14. Steely Dan – The Royal Scam (1975)
15. Kiss-destroyer (1976)
16. Rush – 2112 (1976)
17. Pink Floyd – Animals (1977)
18. AC/DC – Let there Be Rock (1977)
19. Ace Frehley – Self Titled (1978)
20. J. Geils Band – The Best of (1979)
21. Joy Division – Unknown Pleasures (1979)
22. Wire – 154 (1979)
23. The Wipers – Is This Real (1980)
24. Siouxsie and the Banshees – Kaleidoscope (1980)
25. Dead Kennedys – In God We Trust Inc. (1981)
26. Black Flag – Damaged (1981)
27. The Cure – Pornography (1982)
28. Crass – Christ the Album (1982)
29. Iron Maiden – The Number of the Beast (1982)
30. Van Halen – Diver Down (1982)
31. The Scorpions – Blackout (1982)
32. Def Leppard – Pyromania (1983)
33. The Subhumans – The Day the Country Died (1983)
34. Quiet Riot – Metal Health (1983)
35. Swans – Filth (1983)
36. Judas Priest – Defenders of the Faith (1984)
37. Ratt – Out of the Cellar (1984)
38. Twisted Sister – Stay Hungry (1984)
39. Motorhead – No Remorse (1984)
40. S.O.D. – Speak English or Die (1985)
41. Celtic Frost – To Mega Therion (1985)
42. Metallica – Master of Puppets (1986)
43. Slayer – Reign in Blood (1986)
44. The Mentors – Up the Dose (1986)
45. Kreator – Pleasure to Kill (1986)
46. The Smithereens – Especially For You (1986)
47. The Smiths – Louder Than Bombs (1987)
48. Anthrax – Among the Living (1987)
49. Death – Scream Bloody Gore (1987)
50. The Butthole Surfers – Locust Abortion Technician (1987)
51. The Damned – The Light At the End of the Tunnel (1987)
52. Nuclear Assault – The Plague (1987)
53. M.O.D. – U.S.A. For M.O.D. (1987)
54. Wehrmacht – Shark Attack (1987)
55. Sodom – Persecution Mania (1987)
56. R.E.M. – Dead Letter Office (1987)
57. King Diamond – Them (1988)
58. The Sugarcubes – Life’s Too Good (1988)
59. Rancid Vat – Justice: This is What We Do to Traitors (1988)
60. Smegma – Smell the Remains (1988)
61. Voivod – Dimension Hatross (1988)
62. They Might Be Giants – Lincoln (1988)
63. Carcass – Reek of Putrefaction (1988)
64. The Birthday Party – Hee Haw (1988)
65. Public Enemy – It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988)
66. N.W.A. – Straight Out of Compton (1988)
67. Sonic Youth – Daydream Nation (1988)
68. Cocteau Twins – Blue Bell Knoll (1988)
69. The Ramones – Ramones Mania (1988)
70. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Tender Prey (1988)
71. My Bloody Valentine – Isn’t Anything (1988)
72. The Pixies – Surfer Rosa (1988)
73. Fugazi – 13 Songs (1989)
74. Minor Threat – Discography (1989)
75. Ludichrist – Powertrip (1989)
76. Bauhaus – Swing the Heartache: The BBC Sessions (1989)
77. Nirvana – Bleach (1989)
78. Depeche Mode – Violator (1990)
79. Robyn Hitchcock – Eye (1990)
80. Mudhoney – Superfuzz Bigmuff (1990)
81. G.G. Allin – Doctrine of Mayhem (1990)
82. Poison Idea – Feel the Darkness (1990)
83. Napalm Death – Harmony Corruption (1990)
84. Morbid Angel – Altars of Madness (1990)
85. Muddy Waters – Chess Box Set (1990)
86. The Breeders – Pod (1990)
87. The Melvins – Bullhead (1991)
88. Seaweed – Despised (1991)
89. General Surgery – Necrology (1991)
90. Flop – And the Fall of the Mop Squeezer (1992)
91. Beastie Boys – Check Your Head (1992)
92. Ween – Pure Guava (1992)
93. Cannibal Corpse – Tomb of the Mutilated (1992)
94. Deicide – Legion (1992)
95. Incantation – Onward to Golgotha (1992)
96. Antiseen – Eat More Possum (1993)
97. The Posies – Frosting on the Beater (1993)
98. Pearl Jam – Vs. (1993)
99. Darkthrone – Transylvanian Hunger (1994)
100. Anal Cunt – Everyone Should be Killed (1994)
101. Pantera – Far Beyond Driven (1994)
102. Man is the Bastard – D.I.Y.C.D. (1995)
103. Karp – Suplex (1995)
104. Heatmiser – Mic City Sons (1996)
105. Robert Pollard – Not In My Airforce (1996)
106. Eyehategod – Dopesick (1996)
107. Guided By Voices – Mag Earwhig (1997)
108. Spazz – Sweating to the Oldies (1998)
109. Phobia – Means of Existence (1998)
110. Master P – The Last Don (1998)
111. Nile – Among the Catacombs of Nephren Ka (1998)
112. Marduk – Panzer Division Marduk (1999)
113. Deftones – White Pony (2000)

1950s: 1 release for .8% of the total list
1959: (1)100%
1960s: 3 releases for 2.65% of the total list
1965: (1)33.3%
1967: (2)66.6%
1970s: 18 releases for 15.92% of the total list
1970: (1)5.5%
1971: (2)11.1%
1972: (1)5.5%
1973: (1)5.5%
1974: (3)16.6%
1975: (2)11.1%
1976: (2)11.1%
1977: (2)11.1%
1978: (1)5.5%
1979: (3)16.6%
1980s: 55 releases for 48.67% of the total list
1980: (2)3.63%
1981: (2)3.63
1982: (5)9.09%
1983: (4)7.27%
1984: (4)7.27%
1985: (2)3.63%
1986: (5)9.09%
1987: (10)18.18
1988: (16)29.09%
1989: (5)9.09%
1990s: 35 releases for 30.97% of the total list
1990: (9)25.71%
1991: (3)8.57%
1992: (6)17.14%
1993: (3)8.57%
1994: (3)8.57%
1995: (2)5.71%
1996: (3)8.57%
1997: (1)2.85%
1998: (4)11.42%
1999: (1)2.85%
2000s: 1 release for.8% of the total list
2000: (1)100%

The year which hosts the most releases is 1988 with 16 comprising 14.15% of the total list.
Percentage of those releases which would fall within the "metal" genre: 18.75%
Percentage of those releases which would fall within the "alternative" genre: 50%
Percentage of those releases which would fall within the "rap / hip hop" genre: 12.5%
Percentage of those releases which would fall within the "punk" genre: 18.75%

47 albums on the list are “metal” which comprises 41.59% of the total list.

17 albums on the list are “punk” which comprises 15.04% of the total list.

****************************

This list of course could change with any given day but most of these are mainstays in my musical diet / development and have provided me with tons of inspiration.  Do yourself a favor and give some of these releases a listen.  

Bye. Roaster.

STRANGLEFISH....weren't they a christian band or something?

ROCK AND ROLL UPDATES ARE GOOD WHEN THERE ARE ROCK AND ROLL THINGS TO UPDATE.

PART I: THE BEGINNING

I started getting into music around 20ish years ago when I joined a 'band' called BLIND UNTIL NIGHT. While by most standards people wouldn't really consider what we did as being music but then again I have never done things based on the standards or beliefs of others. We recorded 2 tapes "Pseudovegetarianismrehabilitation' and 'Steele your thunder' in a living room at a house on Holcomb Acres Road back in 1991. For me, being a part of this band was the most exciting thing in the world to me as it allowed me to express the creative side of myself with other like minded individuals. The point was not so much about whether we were making hits or getting popular in town, it was just a way to have fun and kill time on the weekends. The idea of doing shows never really occurred to us since A. no one really cared about us and B. people were just going to hate it anyways so what was the point. By the time we 'broke up' we had started work on a third tape [1], recorded a live cassette [2], and tried getting signed to Alternative Tentacles Records [3], and had only sold one tape [remember no one gave a fuck]. When I think back to these times I remember only the fun, the pure innocent enjoyment of life, and just trying to 'do something'. Myself and Chris Peyton went on to actually try to start a band and went through many permutations and alterations before things started clicking. Short lived bands such as CHALK DICK and SINESTRO'S BIG HEAD were mainly just ways for us to continue playing and attempting to get better. Video footage and memories from the time period suggest that we should have been practicing more but I swear we practiced every fucking day. For us, jamming with different guitarists and singers was nothing new to us and it was always a good time. Despite the sheer fun of just playing and hanging out, we really did want to find a good combination of people. Then…….two dudes entered the equation and it was in that moment that we were sure our ship to fame and fortune had finally come in. The two dudes in question were DEAN and DALE GROFF. 

It seemed like our search for a guitarist was over since now we had two and both of them were killer players. The search for a singer was far more problematic because it was decided that we needed to have a girl fronting our hot new band. While I had no opinions on the matter whatsoever I always just felt like it was a way for Chris to get some pussy and had little to do with finding someone with actual talent. Now my memory may be skewed about this but, I swear at every audition I was subjected to having to play 'White Rabbit' over and over again. While there is nothing wrong with this song in and of itself, Spencer Dryden is not doing anything all that exciting in it drum wise which drove me crazy since I was a drumming machine [joke]. Anyhow to keep the story show, we eventually arrived at a singer and I promptly bailed out during a practice. Something pissed me off so I said 'fuck this I'm outta here.' I didn't talk to Chris again for awhile[4]. 

I spent the next several months playing with various people in different configurations, the object was simple: have fun. Now without further ado:

FUN LIST NUMBER I: IT WAS A BUSY TIME.

KENTUCKY FRIED CHILDREN [me: drums / rich meyers: bass / joel stehman: guitar / jesse clark: vocals]

DREADFUL LOAF [me: drums / gary stephenson: bass / erik gidney: guitar / rich meyers: guitar]

SIX INCHES OR BETTER [me: drums / gary stephenson: bass / rich meyers: guitar / tony jones: vocals]

BILLY WAS BORN DRUNK [me: drums / gary stephenson: bass / rich meyers: guitar / jesse clark: vocals]

CUNTRY [me: drums / rich meyers: guitar / guy gallear: guitar / joel stehman: guitar / jim mclinton: bass / jesse clark: vocals]

BLIND HALF HUNDRED [me: drums / gary stephenson: bass / dean groff: guitar / chris peyton: vocals]

While I was off doing all these fun and wonderful projects, my old pals Chris and Dale [Dean had left or was fired but I wasn't there for that so I can't say what actually happened] were still plugging away. My departure was not seen my them as a setback but as an opportunity to put a real drummer in my place. Matt Jones is a drummer who has always had a way with making the art of playing drums look easy. The dude has always had the talent and the chops to jump into any situation and make shit happen. My feelings were somewhat hurt but then again I was the one that left so what where they going to do beg me to come back. Fuck no, when you get Matt Jones in your band you don't look back. However, it wasn't all smooth sailing for the boys as they went through lineup and name changes. So, with that said, here you go:

FUN LIST NUMBER II: FINDING A SINGER IS HELL.

ANAKRUSYS [chris peyton: bass / dale groff: guitar / matt jones: drums / bryan edmison: vocals][5]

THE ADICKT [chris peyton: bass / dale groff: guitar / matt jones: drums / dan hepner: vocals] [6]

SID KHATRYD [chris peyton: bass / dale groff: guitar / matt jones: drums / joey labard: vocals]

One afternoon I was hanging out with the old crew as they practiced. By this time they were doing the SID KHATRYD thing and were starting to play out a little bit. I had become a big fan of theirs as well because I really enjoyed the direction their music was going in. Their one weak link was Joey, whom although better than his predecessors still didn't have the pipes that their music warranted. In retrospect though, what Joey did have was charisma, good looks, and was a genuinely nice guy. Those qualities make it easy to overlook the sour notes. This practice was different though because Joey just seemed a little bit 'off', not in a bad mood, but not in a good mood either. After awhile he simply handed his microphone to me and that was that. I don't remember if he just stood there and watched or if he left but it was definitely clear that Joey was not going to last. We spent the rest of the time just goofing around while I sang jokey stupid shit. At the conclusion of the practice, Dale and Chris asked me to come back next week and 'audition.' Well goddamnit that's what I did. I was tasked with rewriting lyrics to one of their songs and learning 'Rock-n-Roll' by Led Zeppelin. While there is no existence on video or otherwise of my audition I don't know how it could have been very good but apparently it was good enough for them because I was in [7]. This alliance was then dubbed STRANGLEFISH and we immediately got to work on rebuilding the set list and making new songs. 

Our first appearance as a band was a halloween show where we played so many goddamned songs it was insane, but the crowd ate it up and everyone had a fantastic time. I look back at this show as the very essence of what so called punk rockers refer to as D.I.Y. The halloween show was a D.I.Y. affair as we built our own stage, lights, sound booth, printed / sold our own tickets, and spread the word [pre-internet where you actually had to tell people in person about stuff]. We bought a bunch of pizza and soda and proceeded to rock the fucking house. We ended up making money and it was one of the few times where a profit was turned in any band I have ever been in. For the next 15 months STRANGLEFISH played shows, wrote songs, had fun, and made friends everywhere we went. Then……it ended……..I joined the military and ended up moving away. This was an incredibly heartbreaking thing for me but it was something that needed to be done and proved to be a fun experience in its own right. However, it could never replace the fun I was having with my friends doing what we loved to do. From March of 1994 to spring of 1996 we would get together when I was in town and the magic would immediately return each time. During this period we played 2 shows, one at the shed in June of 1994 and sometime in 1996 at Nic Rheaume's garage. Then……once again…..it was over because life has a funny way of calling at the most inopportune times. Sometimes growing up means growing apart.

After returning from my sojourn in the Air Force, there was no band to come back to, in some ways there was very little to come home to. Most of my old friends were either gone, or doing drugs, or just didn't have time to hang out anymore. Shit had definitely changed and I was not a fan of those changes. Eventually I ended up playing in some cool bands with some good friends over the next 15 years……but I always felt like STRANGLEFISH was the foundation for everything I ever did. 

PART II: A NEW BEGINNING

In 2005 I was approached by former STRANGLEFISH guitarist Lee Bennett about the possibility of getting the band back together to play a show. I said yes immediately because it just seemed like such a fantastic idea. I mean seriously, who wouldn't want to get back together with some old friends and do the thing you so enjoyed doing? To be able to go back and recapture a feeling or a moment is a rare thing to be able to do. Certainly one can look at pictures and watch videos but to actually live it and breathe a moment in the past is something too irresistible to pass up. By all accounts everyone was on board and we were ready to go but…..something happened or didn't happen. Whatever the case may be we never did manage to put this thing back together. I don't recall ever feeling sad that it didn't happen as my adult life is a fairly busy one and I was already doing music related projects at the time so I doubt I took it as a major loss. Some things are just not always meant to be, and that is something that most adults learn to accept. We can't expect things to come back after we've let them go. There is no such thing as a time machine………..or is there?

As of last month…..I can honestly say….YES MOTHERFUCKERS THERE IS SUCH THING AS A TIME MACHINE. I am proud to say that STRANGLEFISH is alive and well and currently practicing all the old favorites. We have practiced a few times so far and it has been an absolute thrill playing with these dudes again. Yeah there's a lot of rust there but the magic is definitely there. I totally feel the old energy swirling around the room. Thus far I can say that it has been a fantastic time re-connecting with these very dear friends of mine. To me that is the most important part of it, even more so than the music, the opportunity to hang out with my friends and catch up on all the things that have taken place in our lives. Along with that, there is the reminiscing that we have done, which has helped refresh our memories about a ton of stuff from the days of way back. Then of course there's the music which is coming together quite nicely. We have a pretty large list of songs to choose from and we really want to play them all. Thus far we're coming along quite nicely and it's really sounding good and in some instances it's even better than it was. The first practice was funny because we just looked at each other and said 'well here we are'. 

We have discussed a great deal of things over the coming months and yes there is definitely a show in the works at some point in the spring or summer. There has also been talk about recording which would be exciting but ultimately unnecessary for the richness of the experience. I for one would like to try and write a few songs just to see what we can come up with. I really believe that we could capture that old school feeling and make songs that fit right in there with all the old ones. Again, there is a great deal of stuff we want to do and we are going to do our best to get to doing all of it. One important thing I would like to do while we're active is dispel the old myth that this band was a joke. While talking about the old days, we started getting into some of that shit, how people didn't believe we were any good, or that we weren't punk enough. Yes it's true we weren't punk so whether we were 'punk enough' was never really a concern of ours. What we were was a band of explorers, taking our influences and throwing them together to make something else, something that made us feel cool, something that made our friends feel good. It was never about trends, never about being the flavor of the month, it was about friends doing something creative. While playing these songs again, one thing is definitely clear to me and that is none of the songs sound dated. It all sounds fresh to me and in some instances it sounds timely. So with all of that said what I want to do is go on a stage with these dudes and give a killer show that you will not forget. I want each person who shows up to say 'fuck yes.' To all our old friends from way back we wanna take you on a trip because this is just as much for them as it is for us. We intend to rock you all the way from start to finish. 

CONCLUSION

For me this experience is something that makes me feel like I've come full circle. Each time I go to practice with these dudes I feel like I'm going home. I know for some that sounds kinda silly coming from me because I'm usually such a cranky person but it's true. In the future I'll be doing a lot less and focusing more on family life as well as my education. While going out and playing music is something that's important to me it is not the be all end all of my existence like it once was. I remember getting so fired up on the days that a show was happening. That is something that is harder to come by these days. Part of it is just plain old youthful enthusiasm. The other part of it is simply due to me finding magic in making music privately and for my own self. To me, the creation and building of a song is far more exciting than that presentation. This is by no means me saying that I'm going away, it's just me saying that I have a full life with varied interests and I would like to take part in all of them. You will be seeing me for a good while still and I will continue to make music even past the point where I no longer go out and perform it. For me, reforming STRANGLEFISH has taught me about the important stuff in life: friends, family, and music. I am living the old days right now and for me that is enough. I'd like to thank DALE GROFF / LEE BENNETT / ROBERT MOORE / and MATT JONES  for bringing the good times back. 

CHEERS. CHUCK ROAST

headlesspymp@gmail.com

ENDNOTES:

[1] The third BLIND UNTIL NIGHT tape had no working title and was only partially completed when I stupidly erased it because I needed to make a mix tape for a party. What a dumb fuck. 

[2] The live BLIND UNTIL NIGHT tape was called 'Live and Live Again'. It featured several feeble attempts to recreate songs off our first tape along with a bunch of made up stuff. Also a notable event due to the fact that we had a 3 man horn section, who also were our audience. The tape has long since lost but I remember listening to it way back when and recalling how you could totally hear a band completely losing interest until all you can hear is the television which happened to be playing 'The Song Remains the Same'. Surreal and depressing at the same time. 

[3]We of BLIND UNTIL NIGHT really felt we had made some real progress on our 'Steele Your Thunder' tape. So much so that we decided we should send a copy of it to Alternative Tentacles Records, because we were sure we would get signed. We sent a tape off along with some promo pics [polaroids of us sitting on a roof with flower pots on our heads and other stupid shit] and eagerly awaited a response, which unsurprisingly never came. We then realized to our horror that we had sent the ONLY FUCKING COPY of 'Steele Your Thunder' so now none of us have it. Several years later I wrote to Alternative Tentacles and inquired as to whether they might still have our tape. I was happy to receive a letter from Jello Biafra and he stated that he looked for it but couldn't find it. This could quite possibly be the stupidest move in all of music. IDIOTS.

[4] Me and Chris started being friends again when we did a version of 'Night of the Living Rednecks' for drama class. Reed Barker was Jello Biafra and Chris and I were Klaus Flouride and whoever the drummer was in the DKs at the time that song was made. Teenagers are such pussies I swear.

[5] I gleefully informed them that there was a band on Metal Blade Records called Anacrusis. Bryan got kicked out because he couldn't memorize lyrics. Boner face.

[6] Dan was kicked out after fans say stuff like 'You guys are really good but your singer sucks.' Most of the time fans don't know what they are talking about, but in this case I think they nailed it right on the head.

[7] Dale recently relayed the story about how they were auditioning singers at the time. He said they had really been scraping the bottom of the barrel with a cavalcade of shitty singers. It was decided that they should go with me because they knew me and I couldn't possibly be any worse than the dudes they were auditioning.