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Fall, 2001 - Jahna (a guitarist, bassist, singer in various bands for years, including The Demands and The Coal Gems at present) informs Blair that she wants to learn to play drums.
Christmas, 2001 - Blair gets Jahna a kit. She soon informs him that in order to really learn to play, she'll need a band. Since Blair's had vintage combo organs (Vox, Farfisa, etc.) for years, she suggests it's high time he started a band.
Winter, 2002 - One night after Demands' rehearsal, Jahna stops by Leisure Time Lanes in NYC's Port Authority Bus Terminal. There, she meets up with Blair and the two of them invite a couple of the bowling pals, Mike and Matt, to join in.
Mike (who's been friends with Blair since age 8) has played guitar in bands for years. He started playing guitar in high school. In fact, Blair once sat in on Casio when Mike and their friend Cliff were jamming in 12th grade. The three of them played "Louie Louie" for about a half hour. Mike's played various different styles over the years. Mike's also playing drums in The Bordellos.
Matt played in his first band sometime in the early 80s. One of his bands, The Painted Birds, even played one of NYC's favorite garage/psych nights of the late 80s, the monthly Mind's Eye event (which Blair was probably at, since he went to almost every one of those that happened). These days, Matt's joined forces with Blair and Jahna in The Coal Gems.
Spring, 2002 - The four friends gather in Blair & Jahna's basement to rehearse. Right from the start, the focus is original material.
Spring, 2003 - They've got a full set ready. It's mainly originals, but they do include their own slowed-down, almost VU take on The Ramones' "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend."
August 30, 2003 - They debut at Magnetic Field in Brooklyn. They do the set they've been practicing, plus a cover of The Rolling Stones' "Empty Heart" as an encore. Despite an incredible amount of nervousness, there are smiles all around and everyone has a good time.
Fall, 2003 - A couple more gigs and more fun.
Winter, 2004 - Woodshedding and working in some new songs. Blair gets a cool Yamaha YC-20 combo organ from the early 70s and falls in love with it. Michael gets a new Fender Strat... And falls in love with it.
Spring, 2004 - Their first Jersey gig, at Uncle Joe's in Jersey City, with Muck & the Mires and the Subway Surfers. A great time, though we feel bad for Jahna as her butt is right in front of the fireplace. New songs, plus Blair's on top of the world thanks to the YC-20. A cool mention of the show on Audities and eMole lists from Gary "Pig" Gold of The Pig Papers and many other publications.
Summer, 2004 - An interview on Fufkin.com, plus a gig with The Anything People in Brooklyn. After the gig, an interview with Vie magazine.
Fall, 2004 - A couple new songs are being worked in, but the big thing is that The Miscreants are starting to play more. Blair was quite psyched when he finally got a matching stand for his YC-20. Beautiful chrome! Finally, a night without a stupid X-stand!
Winter, 2005 - Still trying to figure out when we're going to get around to recording, but it absolutely needs to get done. Hopefully soon.
Early Spring, 2005 - Recording in the basement w/Jahna at the helm.
Spring-Summer, 2005 - Attempts at mixing don't work too well. The band discovers that it's hard to self-produce.
Late Summer, 2005 - Jahna announces she wants to leave the group, but promises to stick around till the band finds a replacement.
Fall, 2005 - Blair's ex-roomie Andy Peters (one-time Maxwells' soundguy) says to send him the recordings and he'll mix them. He does so (and the band is quite pleased.)
Winter, 2006 - The band records w/Mike Fornatale at the helm. This is Jahna's final act with the band. The new drummer is Jeff Cuyubamba
Spring, 2006 - The band sequesters itself in its rehearsal space and works on new material. In the meantime, Mike finishes grad school, Blair nurses tendinitis, Matt contemplates his navel and Jeff learns he often forgets song endings.
Why is there no previous band background on Blair?
Simple... 'Cuz he's never really done it before, despite being a huge fan of live rock'n'roll for over 20 years, a mainstay of the NYC garage scene, at times a DJ, and a longtime 'zine publisher. He did try starting something twice in the early 90s, but nothing came to fruition. But he's here now.
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Hi 60's savage garage punk lovers! The summer is over and concerts are back with beers, screams and fuzz! Well, I'm happy to gather all these bands from all over the world in the 4th issue of the Garage Rock Playlist.
