During the summer of '92 in an old converted barn turned recording and rehearsal studio in Tacoma Washington, the still to be named trio of Dion Strouse, Tommy Rosamond , and Bob D'Angelo , were incessantly cramming square pegs into round holes in an effort to find another guitar player, as well as "the Missing Link, the Voice, the Persona." Falling back on their steadfast network of local musicians / drinking buddies, they literally stumbled into or across ( depending who's beer goggles you look thru) Billy Bullock to the fill slot of second guitar opposite Tommy.
Swimming thru seas of vocalists that never quiet fit the bill, we somehow locked in with Chris "Bucket" Heider. As the story goes, he was on his way back from an audition in the Seattle area and stopped by Ted Brown Music in Tacoma for a breather. Billy worked there, they talked, then he sequestered Chris and handed him a card with Tommy's number with the directive "we need a singer", and IMHO, a small bribe of some type of psychedelic contraband still unknown to this day.During the initial audition a few of the band members were digging him but still on the fence. With some persuasive banter and a few choice expletives, the bass player persuaded the crew to send Chris home with a copy of some of the material and bring him back for a second audition. As Bob later explained, " I heard the essence of something very unique in his lyrical and melodic approach that was quite primal and Avant Garde as opposed to the cliche' vocal lines of previously auditioned singers ."
Chris came back for the second audition prepared and confident, kicked out the parts thus vindicating himself and the guy that believed and pushed for him. Chris was now officially in, and BUCKET was complete! The band pulled together and the writing process kicked into high gear. The unit grew extremely tight due to continual scheduling of 5 rehearsals a week that were 4 to 5 hours long in the now infamous "BUCKET" barn. This is the barn where the almighty 5 gallon drip bucket caught the never ending deluge' of shower and not quite to code plumbing waste water that was coming from Tommy's apartment directly above the studio . And on that note, and fueled by the vehement disdain for band names that were even remotely reminiscent of ANYTHING out of the music industries contrived, force fed, MTV, Big Hair, Butt Rock, Mullet head, Boy Band, or Euro-Pop scene, the "anti-name" and band BUCKET was born.Unknown to most, Tom and Dion actually shared the rehearsal studio with the boys from Nirvana up to the time they left for L.A. to record "Smells like Teen Spirit" - NEVERMIND. There are few other names that graced the barn before BUCKET infected the premises, but it's all very vague after the years and thus will be clarified later. Simply put, their was a lot of good "mojo" in that place. A few major Seattle names spewed (LOL) forth from these humble surroundings to later become some of the industries most infamous artists.The first official recorded BUCKET music was on a self-titled EP demo cassette. This was a good catalyst and gig-catcher, and were actually the recordings that initially caught the ear of Seattles prodigal son, Mr. Jack Endino. The first show that Bucket performed was at the Red Roof Pub with then big Tacoma bands "Sedated Souls" and "Queer the Pitch".
With the help of some new found networking, booking, and managing talent, otherwise known as Mr. Marty Crawford , and the "always present gear packin' road crew ring leader" Jim Poole , BUCKET became a Pacific Northwest gigging machine doing over 200 shows per year. The boys quickly moved up the gigging and venue food chain, and were soon playing all of the major Seattle area rooms either opening for the headliner or heading the bill themselves. During this time the band wrote the material for their CD "Brother Fear" which was originally pressed in 1994. The engineer, producer and mixer was the well-known and bad-ass sound guru Jack Endino . With the promise of an unlimited bar tab and a free "Tickle me Elmo" doll, Jack had been lured into coming to see BUCKET perform at the Off Ramp in Seattle. Later that night he agreed to record the CD.
(* Note to self: When in doubt, always opt for enlisting the simultaneous charms of two or three high priced hookers to sway your quarry.)BUCKET continued to play shows throughout the greater North West in venues across three states. To mention just a few, Tacoma (Red Roof, Victory Club, Java Jump), Seattle (Off Ramp, Under the Rail, Ok Hotel, Rckcandy, The Central) , Olympia (Capital Theatre, Thekla), and Bremerton (Eastside Tavern, President's Hall, RockHaven Ranch) were favorite places to play. Bucket was rotated on KISW and KGRG back in the day and were doing regular interviews via telephone for stations on the East Coast while recieving unsolicited airplay due to overwhelming listener requests. During one infamous in studio interview on a radio show in Moscow, Idaho- Chris "Bucket" was continually bleeped out for his crude language. As everyone in the band but Dion were already 3 sheets to the wind before we walked into the station and thus pre-primed for the gig later that evening on a double bill with the band Sock Monkey, obviously some sort of debauchery was to be expected.
During this time, Billy ended up leaving the band due to personal reasons. In his place, BUCKET took on two other guitarists in sequence to fill in. First, long time friend Rob Stone of In Lunar Blue fame who busted his ass on short notice to cover for 14 shows. The rest of the story in his words...
(Just found this email. So here is the story straight from Rob Stone on how it all went down) "Jun 4, 2008 11:26 AMSubject: hey dorks.... "Not that it matters but I played in Bucket before Fern joined. Remember? I dissolved Zenbox with Ron and the same day I came to get my gear out of the "BUCKET Barn", Tom and Bob were in jamming and said..."Billy just went to rehab...we have 14 shows booked starting tomorrow...wanna play with us?" I said sure... I played the whole month or so. Billy came back (coincindentally for the RKCNDY..best show of that summer..jerk) and when he ultimatley decided to quit he asked me personally to not join the band permanantly as he felt I would be "fucking his ex-girlfriend". My dumb ass agreed and then we helped Fern learn the songs and get the gig. We even sold him some more gear from Ted Brown music to update his "blues" rig. I dont really care actually I really appreciate you mentioning me at all so THANKS!"RobFollowing Rob on guitar was Fernando "Fern", a great player and great soul. Unfortunately he was continually on the receiving end of a rather robust, semi-psychotic, plus size lingerie laden girlfriend. It is our understanding that Fern has long since recovered from the mental scars he received during this time, and is now playing in a death metal band in California called "Slit the Pig" -- ( joking about the band name.)Not only has BUCKET shown up in clubs, on stereos, and on the airwaves, but also in the media; usually in not so flattering commentaries with regard to the bands straight forward, tell it like it is nature regarding local happenings and key figures. Furthermore, BUCKET was sighted in the Rocket, Pandemonium, Earwax, and The Stranger with positive reviews of their CD release and live performances. At one point BUCKETS liberal use of the first amendment caused some front-page editorial section controversy with the Tacoma News Tribune writer C.R. Roberts over a difference of opinion regarding our use of semi pornographic "stick figure art" in our promotional materials. Needless to say BUCKET has always moved to the beat of a different hummer, I mean drummer.
Through the haze of a continual gigging and rehearsal schedule, BUCKET continued to work on the material for their second CD. Songs such as "William Shatner Pt. 1", "Capital King", "Espresso Fag", and "Daddy's Dialect". Although there was unreleased demo material recorded, BUCKET got to song 10 out of 12 before they broke up due to some unfortunate miscommunication. What really should have been a short break for everyone to rest, regain composure, and re-energize turned in to years of misconceived hard feelings between a few members.
In January of 2008, core members of BUCKET: Dion, Tommy, Bob, and Chris "Bucket" found each other all over again via the magic of the Internet. The "Brother Fear" album is now an official release on CDBaby, iTunes, Napster, Ruckus, and Amazon just to name a few. In addition, you can see BUCKET here on MySpace where you can check out videos and paraphernalia of Bucket's still pictures, flyers, and other memories. Video clips are also posted on Bob D'Angelo's page in a somewhat organized fashion for ease of viewing.
Recently, in a moment of clarity and self-realization, we all agreed that there was and still is an undenialble chemistry between all members when creating the sound that is BUCKET. And to this day, though we all have been fortunate enough to play with some very talented musicians thru the years, try as we may, the mind meld otherwise known as chemistry for this type of sound has not been duplicated within the ranks by any of us in other projects. At the moment BUCKET is in rehearsals for up coming shows, and is slated to begin the writng process shortly there-after. So, without further ado and as the Televangelists and high ranking Government officials say as they step into the Brothel,"Darlin', that ain't no double roll of quarters in my pocket. LET THE GAMES BEGIN!"
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