I Wish I Was Dead was a punk rock/hardcore band from Toms River that formed in November 2002 from the ashes of The H-Bombs and The Resistance (formerly known as Esowell). Andrew, Rob and Steve from The Resistance and Marcus from The H-Bombs got together and had their first practice Nov 16th 2002. We started with the intention of playing high energy punk rock...fast, short and powerful songs, and just to have fun.......that part was pretty easy considering they were already friends.
A lot happened within the first 4 months.....first practice, first recording, Robs court date and possible jail time, first show (12/20/02 at Middletown KOC with The Banner, Kill Crush Destroy, The Survivors), drunken pizza party at B.J.'s, first out of state shows, the ex-lax brownies that were fed to unsuspecting folks at one show, marcus screaming at Applebees, etc. One of the highlights has to be the "Weekend Of Love" with Kill Crush Destroy where both bands went out on a weekend and played 3 shows.......Andrew summed it up best on the website news section: "The "Weekend of Love" with Kill Crush Destroy was tons of fun. On Friday we played in South Brunswick, it turned into a naked dance party in some persons garage. Saturday we played in West Newton, PA, we played on a basketball court. The kids there are way different than NJ. They made pyramids out of people during bands. I chipped a tiny piece of my tooth on the mic there. Sunday we played at the University of Maryland at the wmuc radio station on air. It was fun, Steve put Toby's poo in a pizza box, which upset one of the bands we were playing with. All in all, it was a good time."
So April 2003 rolls along and things slow down a little bit. Rob has to work a lot to pay off fines so there isnt much time to play shows......Marcus still has school, andrew is in college, etc.........so some uncontrollable factors led to the demise of the band.
I Wish I Was Dead played their last show June 22nd 2003 at Hamilton St with The Assistant, Fanshen, Kamikaze and Kill Crush Destroy.
I Wish I Was Dead played shows with lots of bands......some of which dont exist anymore and some that went on to do some pretty big things. Thanks go out to you all!!! Kill Crush Destroy, Get Real, The Banner, Blind Society, The Survivors, She Lies, The Assistant, Denver In Dallas, Fellowship, The Insults, Dance With Me, Crooked Grind, Dawn Treader, The Examination, Venusian Skyline, The Color Of Violence, The Scarlet Letter, The Setup, The Procedure, Breather Resist, Crime In Stereo, Fanshen, Kamikaze...........and a handful of others. Thanks again to you all!!!
Rob currently resides in Fredericksburg, VA and works a lot and does lots of big boy stuff now (pays bills, lives in his own house, etc.) He plays guitar/growls in DOGPISS http://myspace.com/dogpiss
Marcus still lives in Toms River and keeps getting progressively more rad as time goes on.
Steve (the dude) is MIA but i think hes in San Fransisco. He still rules as well
Andrew plays bass in The Measure (SA) http://myspace.com/themeasuresa..........Andrew should call Rob and say hi
check out their current projects.
DO IT SON!!!
IWIWD (RIP) Nov 16th 2002 - June 22nd 2003
