Passion

BAND HISTORY (According to Paul...) ************************************************************ *** Alton, Ed, and I started playing music together in 1979 when we formed a band called LUNAR ROCK - a name Ed came up with after having drawn a picture of the moon. There were others in and out of the band, but the line-up soon settled down to the three of us and a fourth person, Jeff Brooks. Ed was on drums, Alton on bass, Jeff and I on guitars. We played mostly 70s cover tunes and performed at school functions and church youth group dances. During this time our equipment was stolen from our practice space at Jeff's house. Even so, we stayed together. ************************************************************ **** Between 1981 and 1982, I moved from guitar to keyboard and we changed our name to SURGE. We played our first paying gig at a pizza and beer joint. By the end of 1982, Jeff had lost interest in the band. Alton recently told me that Jeff and I fought all the time, but I don't remember that. I only remember one fight. We were about to play a gig at school. I wanted to play shirtless (in retrospect, not a wise choice.) Jeff declined to play until I put on a shirt. We exchanged some words and insults but Jeff eventually got his way. (Postscript: Now that I am 100 pounds heavier, Jeff would not have to insist that I wear a shirt!) ************************************************************ **** Jeff soon left the band. After his departure, we decided to continue playing without a guitarist. We had gone from two guitars to none and I wasn't a very good keyboardist. Soon thereafter, we added Chris Atkins on vocals, trumpet, and synthesizer and changed the band's name to PASSION. We recorded Now Save Arthur which, in retrospect, I cannot stand. The lyrics were pompous and bloated, the music sloppy, the songs too long, and the recording quality was awful. I implore you NOT to listen to Now Save Arthur - even if given a chance. Part of my reason for wanted to do this 20th anniversary album was to give Alton something else to circulate other than PASSION's catalog of embarrassment. ************************************************************ **** [Editor's note: Alton has converted some of PASSION's analog tapes to MP3s that can be found on PASSION's website: www.lovebedlam.com. The recording quality is not great, but you can get an idea of the band's earlier sound.] ************************************************************ **** After Now Save Arthur, Alton moved away and quit the band (for a while.) In Alton's absence, we released Keeping PACE in 1985. It is largely a solo album since both Ed and Chris had lost interest in the band and only made cameos on the album. ************************************************************ **** If PASSION had ended in 1985, we would not have reunited now. Up until 1985, we had done nothing worthy of remembering. But then, Alton and I got together during Christmas break 1985-86 to write and record (off-the-cuff and on-the fly) a number of silly songs for a "death theme" album named Ghosts Never Sleep. Ed made a cameo, but Chris did not show up for this one which was written and recorded in about a week. This album is only a partial embarrassment. I enjoy listening to it, but it has countless limitations. The sound quality is muddy and poor compared to what you may be used to, but the fun that Alton and I had making the album shines through. Many of the songs were made up moments prior to recording. You can hear me trying to find the right words and, in many cases, I can't find a word at all. We made two videos for the album and it really brought Ed, Alton, and I back together. ************************************************************ **** Prior to Ghosts Never Sleep, I had joined a college rock band called MELTING POT, which included Rich Conner and Jeff Touzou. MELTING POT went on hiatus when Jeff took a year off from school. With PASSION reforming, Rich joined the band replacing Chris. In Rich, we once again had a guitarist and Rich was exceptional. He dramatically changed the sound and direction of the band. We started writing songs that remain favorites of Alton's and mine. At the end of 1986, we released Neodadaism containing the song, "Love Bedlam". In the spring of 1987, we released The Difference featuring the song, "On a Line". When Rich and I graduated from college in May 1987, PASSION came to an end. ************************************************************ **** So there you have it: The history of PASSION from 1979 to 1987. However, there are postscripts to this story. Ed and I went on to form a band called LAST YEAR AT THIS TIME with Rick Skinner and DC Williams. The group disbanded, if you'll excuse the pun, in the summer of 1990. In 1995, Ed, Alton, and I got together with TC Howard to play a song for a regional environmental CD, Music for the Earth. Then Alton and Ed made guest appearances on an album TC Howard and I released in 1998 called HOWARD/JOHNSON Merchandise #5. ************************************************************ **** We have vowed to reunite every 20 years until we die. Please keep a look-out for our next CD to be released in 2023. Copyright © 2003 - PASSION Music, Ltd. - All Rights Reserved ************************************************************ **** DISCOGRAPHYNOW SAVE ARTHUR - 1983/84 KEEPING P.A.C.E. - 1985 GHOSTS NEVER SLEEP - 1986 NEODADAISM - 1986 THE DIFFERENCE - 1987 MERCHANDISE #5 - 1998 (Howard/Johnson) twenty year opus - 2003 Copyright © 2003 - PASSION Music, Ltd. - All Rights Reserved ************************************************************ ************************************************************ ************************************************************ ************ Send us an e-mail telling us you'd like to receive PASSION's Twenty Year Opus. Tell us your name, address, and phone number. You send us $10.00 USD or Money Order. We'll even pick up the shipping and handling. Unfortunately, this offer is only available to listeners in the United States. The address is listed below. ************************************************************ **** But wait! There's more! If you would like to receive PASSION's Twenty Year Opus AND Howard-Johnson's Merchandise #5, send us an e-mail with your information, then you send us $16.00 USD or Money Order and we'll send your cd.PASSION Music, Ltd. 514 eighth st n.e. charlottesville, va 22902 e-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]