Duo/Solo [1999-2004]

After Trim collapsed, deserted by the rhythm section (Brett defected to play drums with The Glasspack, while Sue focused her bass on Super Villains), James Turner and I continued playing guitars together for several years. At first we used the old Trim practice space above Ground Zero Records, until we got screwed out of our share in the place; then we got together a few times a week in his bedroom at his mom's house. We never managed to find members to round it out to a full band. Still, we worked up a bunch of material, and in July 2000 we rented a Tascam and recorded 17 songs in the upstairs studio of my house. I booked us into an August spot in the Monday Music Series at the old ArtsWatch space. A month before, my partner disappeared from the radar screen, leaving me to rethink the whole thing as a solo performance. The day before, he resurfaced, and wound up playing on a couple songs. We continued playing after that. James booked us into the Insomniacthon, but then disappeared the night before. I shrugged and blew the gig off myself. I put my guitar in its case and decided the time had come to quit.

Jamming with James at Ground Zero--photos by Karla Haas

There're two different videos of the ArtsWatch gig, and Steve Good got it on DAT, but otherwise this is the only proof I could muster.

A couple years later, I got my guitar back out for some porch playing. I started writing songs. I got interested in working up covers of a couple Bikini Kill songs. Ridiculous as it sounded even to me, in late 2003 I rented a Tascam, borrowed an amp and mikes from Wink O'Bannon, and recorded RUFF END 2-10-3-(1). After that I went out and actually bought my very first amp, a tiny fetal Fender Frontman 15-R practice amp. On April 30th, 2004 I played a sparsely attended set for the "Rock Art" show at the old Cinderblock Gallery--en plein air, as the daylight failed and a thunderstorm moved into the Ohio River Valley. I went home, guitar in its case, firmly resolved that I was done.