(For
a history of our name and Cocktail Recipes click here)
As is the
case with many of the influential rock and roll powerhouses working today,
's
beginnings were humble and unassuming. In 1983, Jamey ran into a high
school friend at "Parody Hall", a great, now extinct, live music venue in
Kansas City. Amidst the alcohol, cigarette smoke, and loud music, they
found that a mutual interest in music dating back to high school choir had
sustained through the years. The friend indicated that he
had a recurring, informal "jam" at his house, which happened to be about a
mile from Jamey's. Being "between bands", Jamey took him up on an
invite to drop in the following week and play some tunes. They muddled
through a few hours of noise, fueled by the usual condiments accompanying
such occasions in the early 80's. At the end of it all, the friend
lamented the sub-par quality of the "session" and suggested Jamey return the
following week when, (and I quote), "Steve, with his vast knowledge of songs
will be here"! Jamey returned, met Steve, and they gradually drove
everyone else away. Realizing the limitations of a guitar/keyboard
only outfit, they embarked on a couple of years of song-writing and home
recording. Through the 80's there were a few failed attempts to put a
band together, usually ending with the "Dudes, I gotta quit, my
(babe/wife/lover/etc.) is bummin' on it" speech from a member.
Generally, this happened right before they were ready to "hit the clubs". In 1992, a
former band-mate from that era, Chris (who first appeared playing in a band
with Jamey's brother Mick back in the early 80's), contacted Steve and Jamey
with a recording proposition. He had some songs he wanted to record
and proposed that Steve and Jamey play on his tunes and he would play REAL
drums on some of Steve and Jamey's tunes (a welcome break from the machines
and computers they'd been using!) After that project was completed and
unsuccessfully shopped around Nashville, the trio continued to jam together
and started talking about yet again forming a band. They reeled in a
bass player they'd known from a few years before and started to get some
tunes together. Alas, after a couple of years the bass player didn't
work out and they were again a bass-less (baseless?) trio. They ran an
ad in the local free paper. After auditioning several folks who
weren't quite right, they got a call from a guy who asked if they'd found a
bassist yet and when told "no, the job's still open" replied, (and again, I
quote), "Well, tell them others not to bother with it, I'm your man!"
Galen had arrived! It was an instant fit and aside from a short period
of an altered line-up and a few years of semi-retirement, the "A" team of
(from left to right in photo) Jamey, Chris, Galen, and Steve have pumped out
the tunes as
!