Nostalgia

So Cookie and I were talking the other day about band names. This got me thinking about all the bands I was in during high school, which was a surprising amount considering I can't play any instruments nor read music. But not very surprising if you take into account that it was usually the same basic group of guys. We rehearsed basically never and only ever played one "show" at Mike's birthday party while his parents were out of town. We went through a plethora of names and corresponding ideologies. My memories of these events are shrouded by a haze of recreational drug use,so if any of you old-schoolers are reading this, please feel free to correct anything that you remember better than I do.

(in no particular order)

The Puritans: It was under this moniker that we played our one and only "show". That night was more important to our group of friends in that it was the first real house party of our youth. We had others, but this one had a band. It was also important for me because it was at this party that I hatched my evil plan to steal Mike's girlfriend as soon as he left town the following month. I dated her for quite some time, but that really had nothing to do with me "stealing" anything. It was all her doing. It usually is. The Puritans played mostly covers of late '80s mopey new wave, although we did do an original written by Isaac, which I believe had something to do with kidnapping. I did this drawing of Hodge Podge from Bloom County for the drum kit.

100 foot limit: This started out as a very fIREHOSE inspired skater band. That was about as far as it went. We got the name from a sign on the flag pole at school that Joey and I stole one day, and resided on his base drum for quite a few years till he sold his kit for rent money. He kept the sign, though. We did this awesome sped-up version of Bela Lugosi's Dead that rocked the house, um basement.

Big Blue Tugboat: Later shortened to just Tugboat. Later shortened to non-existent.

Katharsis: (with a backwards K) This was the industrial band. Very Skinny Puppy, very Thrill Kill Kult, hence the backwards K. This was a band that formed out of us meeting a guy who was really good with a keyboard, and his twin brother who could play guitar. Before that, we just had a weird collection of what we called "insult and injury songs". These, as should be painfully apparent, were either about injuries: phlegm ball (in the corner of my eye), a rock ballad of sorts, and the ever catchy Smoke in the Eye. Or insults: Yo, bitch or Fuck off and Die, which went something like this:

Fuck off and die!
Fuck off and die!
Screw you, bitch!
Fuck off and die!
Blow it out your ass!
Blow it out your ass!
Fuck off and die!

Deep, I tell you. That song, much like the rest, was about one minute long. This was my favorite band to be in, because all we did is hit play on the keyboard, and pound on our instruments, much like Skinny Puppy.

Soon, we all graduated and went our separate ways. Only Joey ever made anything out of his musical ability. Partially because he had more drive, but mostly because the rest of us didn't have any musical ability. I became resigned to designing gig posters for for the few bands that I knew, and still do from time to time.