Current: George Atkinson Guitar Lead vocal, Doug Falls Bass, Peter Mahlmeister Keys and vocal, Blair Wager Drums , Dave Plante Percussion, Mike Conroy Guitar, Ed Stevenson whatever we need him to play.
Influenze
Dead, Stones, A Bros, R&B, Soul, Country, good ole 3 cord rock and roll
The band was formed in 1989 by George Atkinson, Dave Mooney, Tom Ramsdell and Peter Wilson playing covers of Grateful Dead, Rolling Stones, Allman Brothers etc. They hacked away at the tunes until some poor unsuspecting fool hired them to play their party. It was then that they thought they had something... a cover band.
By 1990 Tom and Pete had something else in mind... like growing up and going to law school. With their departure came a new rhythm section with Doug Fetkenhour on bass, Dave Plante on percussion and Daniel Kiely on drums. For fear of change the band continued to hack away at cover songs but progressively got better gigs. By the mid 90's the band was a regular headliner in Wrigleyville, Lincoln and Wicker Park area bars of Chicago- Cubby Bear, Brother Jimmy's, Otis', Wild Cherry, Sidelines, Steppin Stone, Gulf Coast, Bub City, Hog Heads, Dirty Nellies, Double Door, Waterloo. Ed Stevenson from Lonely Boys Supper Club and Cryptical Envelopment, joined on keys and proceeded to take an even cut of the pay. Ed, Moon and Geo penned a few songs and the idea of recording became the goal for 1994. There went more money to the studio, mastering , printer etc... an thus "Too Tired To Spawn" was born. A 9 song cd that had a blend of good and bad songs. They did the local radio station tour and got some air time on WXRT, WKQX and WLUP. Even played live on-air a couple times for WKQX and WLUP.
They actually had delusions of "making it" until reality stepped in and slapped them around. Really what happened was Geo graduated from business school and he gave up on booking the gigs and babysitting the other members...it seems his thesis was complete. But they kept playing despite personal growth in the ranks. The gigs kept coming and so did the crowds. Bar owners / managers loved them and they loved to play.
In 1996 a second disc was born, Shaggy Moon. 12 songs that clearly showed growth in song writing and playing. All the same, like most second albums it fell flat primarily do to the lack of self promotion and again the dreaded self improvement within the ranks of the band. Members were getting promotions, married, having kids or issues... not necessarily in that order. They lost Eddie (keys) to an old friend of his. He was promptly replaced by Scott Larned who brought a great deal of talent and a full sized Hammond B-3. (man that thing sounded great) They lost Doug Fetkenhour (Bass) to med school at the ripe age of 32 and Kiely (drums) to the call of the wild...Montana. Scott left to start his own band called Dark Star Orchestra and it seemed the band was unraveling before their very eyes.
As fate would have it they took a break for a couple years with the occasional private party or wedding to play. They found friends from other bands to sit in and a new band was formed. From Rollover, Lonely Boys Supper Club and others they grabbed Doug Falls on Bass, From Rollover, The Nurv and others they grabbed Blair Wagner on Drums and from Rollover, the Nurv and others they grabbed Peter Mahlmeister on keys... see a pattern. Eddie shook off his old friend and was seen sitting in from time to time on bass, keys or guitar (talented SOB). The group played when they could and play they did... a new sound was crafted. Covers were what kept the people moving and covers were what kept the bar happy...so covers it was...and good ones.
By the time the new century came they started playing again with frequency. Gigs and practices are scheduled around babysitters and bed time. Dave Mooney left for North Carolina with hopes of becoming the best door to door insurance salesman in the South. Bob Remington from Rollover, Zipper Head and many other bands joined on guitar and the band lives on... since 1989 and still smoking... regardless of state laws. Good Times. One guitar or a full band, if your looking for a great party band that plays rock and or roll ...you cant go wrong with The Smoking Fish.
