January 1, 2014
Good morning and this is the end! Wayne here, back with Part 8 and the final installment of my story on the Eternal Bad Luck Charm album & the year of 1999 and 2000. These are my my memories of that time; I’m sure Brandon, Chris, Dave, and Timbo (Ruler of All Things Mutant Pop) would say say I’ve finally went over the deep end and remember things in a completely different way. Thanks for reading!
PART 8—A NEW BAND BRIEFLY ARISES…AUF WIEDERSEHEN TO CONNIE & THE GANG…13 YEARS LATER…
January of 2000 marked the beginning of the end. It did not end with a firework of bombs but more like a puny sparkler. Dave arrived on a Thursday night and we had plans to practice on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. In addition to those practices, we were taking band photos on Saturday for ETERNAL BAD LUCK CHARM. When Brandon did not show or answer his phone on Friday, we practiced without him. On Saturday morning, we phoned him to remind him of the practice and that we were going to be spending a couple of hours with a photographer. He told me his back was killing him and he was unable to leave his place.
Well, as an alcoholic and professional liar, I smelled bullshit. And it may seem childish, but Dave and I drove to his place that same afternoon and his roommates advised us he had left earlier with his girlfriend. I was upset but not surprised. Obviously, we did not bother to call him Sunday and ended up jamming on some fantastic songs Dave had written that sounded nothing like The Connie Dungs (wish we would have gotten the chance to have recorded those tunes). I was still pissed about Brandon standing us up but also a little relieved. While the songs from EBLC had grown on me quite a bit, the new songs (that never came to be) were even more of an English pop style and he was starting to say maybe we should add a second bass player (WHAT?). In my mind, it was over. To this day Brandon says he was still wanting the band to keep going, but his actions did not reflect that in any shape or form. I did not hear from him for several months after that weekend. Not a call or visit and I was tired of tracking him down to beg him to come and practice.
So, without an active band and finding myself newly single, me and Chris decided to start something new and 100% opposite of where EBLC left off. By mid-January, we had found two guitarists (Patrick Rockwell and Nate Jackson) from West Virginia and went to work. Our point of reference was The Dead Boys and The Dwarves. Straight rock and roll, no love songs. I wanted to be the anti-dungs at the time and we succeeded. The Bleeding Hearts had no symbolism or hidden lyrical meanings. Subjects covered were sex, rock n roll, arson, alcohol, driving and living fast, and…did I mention sex? During our short tenure (January of 2000 to our implosion in April of 2001), most of the band lived what we wrote.
Similar to The Connie Dungs, we were playing shows and recording a demo about a month after our first practice. Different from the dungs, we played a lot of shows. I thoroughly enjoyed the change but having two new guys who liked to drink non-stop as well was not good thing. My already large consumption of alcohol was kicked up higher. I regressed to a high school mentality and drank Mad Dog almost exclusively. Most shows were played in a haze. Luckily, we had Chris to hold us together. His playing made our sloppiness seem almost planned.
Brandon finally called me and I invited him to a Bleeding Hearts show. After the show, he pulled me aside and informed me he did not think much of the band. I was pleased—I thanked him and he gave me the strangest look.
In June, the new band went to Sonic Iguana and recorded a full length album (still unreleased). It’s actually really good. 11 original songs + a cover of “I Need Lunch” by The Dead Boys. I had a blast but it was a weird feeling being at Sonic Iguana and not be in the connie dungs. Sort of like cheating on your girlfriend. Just a strange feeling.
In July, I found out two things. Number one, Mutant Pop was going to release ETERNAL BAD LUCK CHARM. However, Timbo said it was going to be his order. Ten songs and then the other three songs would be listed as “bonus tracks” as he felt they did not fit. I honestly didn’t care if the record came out at all at the time, but oh well. Good deal… Number two, there was a two day punk festival in Warren, PA in August and the organizers wanted The Connie Dungs to headline the second day. I said we would do it on the condition that mine and Chris’s new band would get to play the first day. They obliged so I set out to get everyone together one last time.
Me and Chris were on board and Dave quickly agreed to play as well. Brandon was still in Ashland but had moved to a new apartment. I went over there with Bleeding Heart singer/guitarist Nate and knocked on his door. He did not answer but Nate pointed at the gap under the door and whispered, “Look; you can see his shadow”…I cracked up and said, “Hey Brandon! Answer your door, we can see your shadow”. He answered the door quickly and we all laughed. He knew he was being strange. I quickly explained to him that we had a chance to play this upcoming festival but we gotta make a decision now and you HAVE to be at these practices or I am going to cancel. Plus, I told him I felt it was best if he just sang at this show and we could have Nate play second guitar. He totally agreed to everything and the rehearsals for the show went fine without any issues.
When we arrived in Warren, PA, we saw Timbo and got copies of EBLC. He had flown to the show from Oregon and had been selling copies to people who were there for the two day festival. I gotta say—that was a strange show. Warren is not a large town and there’s all these punk kids from everywhere just hanging out. It was like aliens had landed. It was also strange having people come up to you at Arby’s and shit and tell you how your band changed your life. It was nice but odd as well. Brandon was approached a lot more than we were. You could definitely tell he was uncomfortable! It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate the nice comments. Well, I think it was overwhelming to him.
Anyway, in the EBLC cd booklet, Timbo says the band had called it quits. Brandon was absolutely shocked. He was upset—I almost laughed at him. We had a heated exchange but things cooled down well before showtime. We played a great, inspired set that night. But in typical Connie Dungs bad luck, due to time constraints we had to cut out several songs. We ended with “My Brain Is Full” and called it a day. Brandon was convinced we were going to keep going after we got home but I knew it was over. We said our goodbyes back in Ashland and went our separate ways. Little did I know that in January of 2002, me, Chris, and Brandon would renew our friendship and launch a new band…A RADIO WITH GUTS. But, that is another story…
13 YEARS LATER.
To say my
feelings about EBLC and The Connie Dungs have changed since the record
came out originally would be an understatement. I used to feel it was
our absolute worse thing in our catalog. Now, I consider it easily the
second best of all of the releases. Sorry—I just think EARTHBOUND FOR
THE HOLIDAY is the shit.
However, I do consider it a much, much stronger album now that it has a SIDE A and a SIDE B and in the order we originally wanted it (and it sounds so much better on vinyl). EBLC does tell a story and Brandon’s lyrics are perfection. I honestly feel that way. When I listen to CAPTURED, FEARFUL SYMMETRY, or CIGARETTE BUZZ, I just think, “What a genius. He’s a fucking poet.” And the way the record ends? THE MADDENING and INSOMNIAC KILLER are my favorite two songs on the record and every lyric is top notch. It’s not that I am kissing ass. I truly believe it.
Just like I believe that my brother Chris is one of the most phenomenal drummers out there. Not just in punk rock but in the world. If you could be in a band with him and see the way he totally changes a song…sometimes without saying a word—just with his playing; absolutely amazing and beautiful. Anyway, you get it.
During these 8 PARTS of this little story…at times I feel I might have been cruel to my own band members and to Brandon in particular. I hope everyone understands I love every member of the connie dungs…past and present.
Plus, as of this writing, I am 106 days sober. While that’s just over 3 and a half months, it has gave me some clarity and I look back at myself 1999 and 2000 and see a very sick, ugly, and hateful young man. And that sick, ugly man grew older and not much wiser until he put down his bottle and went to rehab in September of 2013.
Who knows how things would have went those two years if I had not drank so much? Maybe the way I treated the band and Timbo during that time made them act differently towards me?
As I tell my friends, family, and co-workers, I am not in any way against drinking but I am against Wayne drinking. I used to live my life like I was the star of some movie and everyone else was trying to win a part to play opposite of me. At times, it’s like I am a kid again…And I like that feeling.
Thanks for reading,
WAYNE.