September
25, 1993
30 years
ago, I was 17, in my first year of college, and the singer in a band called
Spastic Cracker. I recently found a VHS tape in a box and I took it to get
digitized.
The lady
who transferred it to a flash drive had a lot of questions and a lot of
apologies. First, she said, “It’s very dark and so loud. I tried to brighten it
and I can’t do anything about the sound.”
It was a
show at the Loft in Baltimore. As I was standing there, I was thinking to
myself, “Sounds about right.”
Then she
asked, “Is that you singing?” “Yeah, I was 17.” She then said, “Well, this is
nice to have then. Do you stay in touch with your bandmates?” “No, sadly, we’ve
lost touch, but I can share it with them on social media I guess.”
One of my favorite
songs we wrote, “Thistle,” is at about 10:30, followed by “Level 3” where I
scream a ton (a fun song to sing).
Looking
back, one of the best things about being in Spastic Cracker was all of the
great people I met at the shows we played. It was also really cathartic to be
able to create and perform with friends at that time.
You can view
the video here: https://vimeo.com/858998170
In 1994, we
released a split 7” with Big Heifer from Chattanooga, Tennessee. (Big
Heifer / Spastic Cracker - Big Heifer / Spastic Cracker | Releases | Discogs)
Photo by
Brian Storms. *I’m not sure who filmed this, but thank you.
*My friend
Mike has written a tremendous amount in incredible ways about this time
period. You can check it out here: The
Retarded Dogs, Spastic Cracker, and the first underground concert in Glen Arm |
Towson-Glen Arm Freakouts (wordpress.com)
And here:
You can
hear “Thistle” here:
https://nunsliketofence.bandcamp.com/track/spastic-cracker-thistle
"It's okay to be alone/even when you're not." I always loved that lyric and it's stuck with me though all the intervening years.
ReplyDeleteThank you! It was always one of my favorite lines to sing.
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