Toxin 3

This line up was the fourth and final phase of the Toxin III legacy. Although Cecil Doyle was in the original line up in 1979, and played in the band through 1981, he quit the band two weeks prior to the recording of the now infamous, Toxin III 6 Song Ep. Cecil and Bill Martin (original drummer) didn't get along very well and Cecil wanted a 'tighter' drummer, so he bailed out.
Bill was a wild card, he liked to play fast and louder, but due to his fondness for beer, would quickly run out of steam after our third song. And this pissed Cecil off, as Cecil was a really good bass player and needed a tighter beat and tempo. So, when I announced the recording session dates for the 6 Song Ep, Cecil had little or no faith in Bill's ability to perform in the studio, he packed up his gear (took my borrowed guitar) and flew the roost. Leaving Bill and me, with our thumbs up our ass, with an approaching recording session in two weeks. I called up Don Spicer from Baton Rouge to fill in on bass for the recording session and the rest is punk rock history.
However, when Cecil heard the songs from the original 6 Song Ep sessions, he was impressed with the outcome and the fact that Bill had performed quite well. And he started lobbying me to return to the Toxin roost. As Don Spicer lived so far away and was persuing a band of his own (Our Favorite Band), I decided to bring Cecil back in, as I did appreciate his bass playing skills, and found that Cecil and I could write songs very quickly together, as it was like telepathy. All I had to do was start playing chord progressions and Cecil was right on it.
After a few months, Cecil asked if he could bring in his friend, Ronnie Stevens for second guitar. I decided that it would be a good idea, as it would give me some relief, so we tried Ronnie out. Ronnie caught on to the songs quickly, and added lead riffs, providing a dueling guitar sound between Ronnie and myself. We Were Shit Hot Now!!!
However, the addition of Ronnie, added to the tension between Cecil and Bill, as Cecill now had an ally, to back up his complaint about Bill's performance. Although we trudged on in this band line up for several months, it was constant battle, just to keep the two warring parties satisfied.
Well, it finally happened, Verbal Abuse was backing us up in Lafayette, Louisiana, and Bill flew the coop with them when they left town. He ended up playing drums for Verbal Abuse for several months, travelling with them to San Francisco, where he had a falling out with the guitar player of VA, and was kicked to the curb.
In the interim, we (Toxin III) put out an add in the local papers for a new drummer. Over several weeks we had no replies, then suddenly, I recieved a call from Paul Richardson. Paul had just moved to Louisiana from Mississippi and wanted to join the band, however, there was one snag, he was only 16. Crikey!!! But I decided to try him out, as we were desperate to get back to gigging out. Lo and behold, Paul shows up for his first rehearsal with his dad in tow!!! Hahahahaha. . . heh heh heh. . . Here's this Adult Father Figure, attending a hardcore punk rehearsal!!! Hooozzzaaaa!!! I found it a bit disconcerting at first, but decided "What the fuck. . . lets give it a go!!!" And I'll tell you, Paul was talented, really talented!!! He was a member of Drum Corp International, at his high school in Mississippi. Damn, Cecil was drooling, as we had found his dream drummer in Paul.
Well, we got the nod of approval from Paul's father, after many assurances that we would not lead his son astray. Hahahahaha. . . "You can't rape the willing!!!". . . heh heh heh
We had to sneak Paul into the back door of most of the bars/clubs, that we were playing at the time. And as soon as we were finished playing, rush him out, so the bar managers wouldn't give us shit. . . heh heh heh. . . Subterfuge. . . I love it!!! However, we were able to do a lot of all-age shows, where Paul could hang about.
We recorded these songs 'live', in 1983, at Vince's Backstage music store in Lafayette (I remember that Vince (owner/recording engineer) had to throwup, because the music was too fast for him. . . heh heh heh. . . he had never heard hardcore punk. . . hahahaha). Several of the songs from this recording session were released on Bad Compilation Tape's No. 11 "Brain of Stone" cassette - 'Hardcore Wing Ding' - 'No Knees Please' - 'Arrested - 'Calculated Risk' and 'Supply and Demand'. And also on BCT's "The Best of the Bad Compilation Tapes" compilation 12" vinyl release in the early 90s. This was this line-up's only claim to fame. . . heh heh heh!!!
We played around Louisiana (Lafayette, Baton Rouge and New Orleans) and Texas (Houston, Austin and San Antonio), backing up the likes of, The Dicks, MDC, DRI, The Necroes, Battalion of Saints, Ill Repute, Chanel 3, etc. But we were not destined to last, as Cecil didn't like to travel far, just getting him to play in New Orleans, was like pulling teeth. So I invented another band, 'Snufflix', to perform as a backup band for Toxin III shows that we self-produced and when I had enough of Toxin III, I folded the band in 1984, taking Paul with me to Snufflix.
Thats my story and I'm stickin' to it!!!
C. Cart