R4Y

I am from Detroit. After failed attempts to play the trumpet in middle school, I began playing bass at 17. My first intrument was a $44 Hondo from a pawnshop. I cut my musical teeth jamming in living/bedrooms in Florida. My first "real" (when I say "real" that means scheduled practices, tours, etc.) band was called 'BOB', an Atlanta trio that I joined just weeks after moving there, and quit in 1996. Since moving to New Orleans in '97 I have had the honor of playing in 'The Robblers' with some Juan's co-workers (a FINE punk-rock band, and the last I ever toured with), 'Poop du Jour', and 'Hagus' simultaneously which shared members; both now defunct due to said members departures to California. 'Poop' mutated into 'The Media Darlings', even though there was already a local band by that name. With no solid foundation I became a musical mercenary, playing for a project known as 'the Far East Sensations' culminating with a yearly all-star ensemble for the annual Turducken Halloween Masked Band Balls (it was bass for the Doors that year), and the one gig I look forward to every year. Other performances have included playing bass for Devo, Brian Eno, drums for a solo Syd Barrett, the MC5 where I debuted as a singer, and most recently the White Stripes (drums)and Judas Priest (voice). Hagus may yet rise again - in the interim I have bothered to learn how to play the drums, and do so for a nihilist improv-punk blues 2 piece called 'Pierre Rajon', as well as occasionally producing semi guitar-like frequencies with a guitar. I also record as the 'the cheese' in my solo project, 'shitegeist'.