2005-2006

Members:
Brad Bush: Guitar, Vocals
Rich Reece: Drums
Joe Talik: Bass

Past Members:
Abbey Castle: Guitar

I always meant to learn to play guitar, but never got around to it until I was about 23. I was in a band in high school (see: Youth In Asia), but being a big fan of Jim Morrison and Mike Patton, I figured I’d leave the musicianship to others while I concentrated on the vocals, and especially the lyrics. It got me by for a while, but the older I got, the more I felt left out.

So, my good friend Nate (see: Youth In Asia, The Put-Outs, CAC) lent me his trusty G&L guitar one night while we were drinking, his pent up frustration spilling out as he almost forced it on me. He had been trying to get me to learn to play for years and I had continued to put it off. He couldn’t have given it to me at a better (or worse, depending on how you want to look at it) time: I was going through a tough family situation, I was girlfriend-less and not always happy about it, and I was living in a one-bedroom apartment with my cat. So, Nate set me up with a rudimentary, hand-drawn chord sheet and a couple of picks he found on the floor of his bedroom. On the nights I wasn’t at Chopsticks getting hosed and singing karaoke, I would watch movies, put off my homework, and practice my fingering.

It came along slowly, but pretty soon I was learning some Ween songs and making up some terrible ones of my own. Nate eventually wanted his guitar back, so I bought a cheap electric, an even cheaper acoustic, and for my birthday that year Nate gave me his old Fostex 4-Track. Pretty soon I was recording songs I had written - really basic numbers that concentrated more on melody and lyrics than the guitar parts. Nothing ever came of that; it was mostly for my own sad, drunken pleasure.

Anyway, fast-forward like four years to when I’m once again living alone and self-obsessing like there’s no tomorrow. I had been tinkering away at a group of songs for long enough that it finally felt like they were turning into something, and my boredom and depression made sure they got finished. I called up my friend Joe Talik, who had a recording setup and was living with our friend Rich Reece (both YIA alumni) and told him I had some songs I wanted to put down on the acoustic guitar. We recorded 10 or 12 songs over the next month, and I gave copies of the recordings to a few people. Most importantly, Talik said he liked the songs. He, Rich and I got together to see if we could work ‘em out with electric guitars and the whole she-bang.

Joe and Rich made me and my songs sound much better than we were, and I couldn’t have been happier. We went for it, worked about 11 of my originals up to snuff, and ended up playing a party a few months later. After that we opened for CAC at my 30th birthday party. Shortly thereafter, our friend Abbey Castle joined the group for a short time on lead guitar. We played a few shows with him, played another party as a three-piece after we parted ways, and then, as sometimes happens, our lives got in the way and we haven’t played in a while. We haven’t officially broken up, we’re just on indefinite hiatus. Plus, Rich has multiple stalkers, Talik’s got a son, and I can’t seem to stop rapping. Same old story.

- BTB

Sly Appearances:

5-Song Demo (2006)

Download free from Bandcamp.

- “Alison”
- “Through Yr Tooth”
- “Forever 25”
- “Let’s Delineate”
- "Spleenz"

Other songs performed:

* “How to Groundscore A Baby”
* “Creaky Bending Limbs”
* “Braju”
* “Fate’s Greatest Mistake”
* “Stripy Tights”
* “The Last One”