Goosewind

[http://weirdorecords.com/cpCommerce/product.php?id_product= 337] In 1987 I got a four track and began making demo recordings of our folk/punk/noise band called CHUCK. Paul, CHUCK's bass player gave a tape to Thomas Spectre, then of shockwave band THE SKINNY BODIES. Thomas came over to my house on Buffington street in Upland and slammed his Fiero into the neighbors garbage cans, one of the metal cans (remember those?) got stuck under the bumper and he drove back and forth past my house, showering sparks from the wedged receptacle. We began experimenting with 4-track techniques and funny songs about caterpillars and iguanas and bizarre Blondie covers. The songs basically served as comic relief from our main projects which were quickly becoming egobased and super serious. With Paul from CHUCK we gigged occasionally under various names such as LONE AND THE TWO STONES, THE BUFF TENDER CHICKEN EATERS, FIP PLACARD, BLADE OF GRASS, and AFRAID OF GOLDFISH. We were completely unaware that others were doing exactly the same thing, trading tapes in what was becoming the lo-fi cassette underground that had been going on for awhile and would soon crest and crash on the shore. It was very exciting that these microscopic works were going around the world without use of press kits,band photos, or studio recordings. There was no need for a demo even. The 4track or tape recorder demo was the finished product. Lo-fi was all about capturing the darkest and lightest bedroom emotions in their rawest forms, and fidelity (in every sense of the word) became secondary. I solidified our group by giving it the permanent name of GOOSEWIND, recognizing our spacerock tendencies combined with our practical joker's aesthetic. The ironic thing is that at the time of applying said monicker I had never actually heard a HAWKWIND song; it was just a lucky guess finally confirmed when my friend Jenny gave me a copy of SPACE RITUAL. My bedroom became a speakeasy of sorts, and practices became shows as Nick Dave the dog sat on the couch and absorbed the sounds. My younger brothers' bands also refined their chops in that seemingly expansive bedroom. When the numbers of the bedroom speakeasy crew got big, we spilled into a club in Pomona called MUNCHIES which was located in a crumbling long forgotten corner of L.A. that had become a haven for inland empire struggling artists, musicians, junkies, and others who could ignore the falling brickdust in favor of lower than snakebelly rent. Munchies wasn't even a real club, it was an Italian restaurant with a big back room and a cool bar where John the bartender would open his black calendar and book ya right there without even needing a demo. Under various names and members, our shows were among the first. The Munchies shows were a coopertive effort of unbridled creativity without competition that culminated with CalJamlll, an all day event organized by SHRIMPER that featured other great Upland area bands such as WKR SPGT, NOTHING PAINTED BLUE, JIVE, THE MOUNTAIN GOATS, and others. A professional recording was made of the entire event, I have yet to hear our set. 1992 was a magikal year that seemed to last forever with record releases, totally fine women, spontaneous adventurous touring, and fully fun gigs. It felt like the personal Lo-fi Indie approach had secured a spot in subculture credibility. Unfortunately that feeling didn't last, and GOOSEWIND tired of the scene at about the same time the scene tired of us. I went on whirlwhind improv tour in a stolen van with wild punk rock sisters Ammonia and Welfinda (see blog), while Paul and Carrie moved to Alabama to start a family. In 1995 Garrett Squid became drummer as we played a sereies of local shows, and for the first time we made use of a setlist instead of playing 40+minute improv. In 1996 I moved to Lake Arrowhead with Ammonia Lee where we started a very wonderful family with the addition of daughters DEANS and KAT. Thomas and drummer Garrett "G-Squid", and Ruben Seahag stayed in the trenches and contiued to pound out 4track hits under the name GIVE CHRIST BACK TO THE MARTIANS. Amee and I would go down the hill on occassion in our black and silver station wagon to record, and the boys would come up and we'd jam and barbeque and go sledding. Besides occasional bar gigs under the name KNIGHTSHADE, we played only one show during the mountain years at the Showcase Theatre in Corona. Ammonia, baby Deans and I also did a cross country improv tour in the deathwagon, and made it home somehow with 11 cents profit. We invested that money in GLOW IN THE DARK BREAD TIES and made a fortune and now live at the beach, the mountains, or wherever we want.