This is a prequel to my original post titled “A Long, Long Time Ago…”. There I explain the history of Deadset A.D., and give away the album for free. Enough about that.
In the days before Deadset A.D., there was a band called “Stranger than Phiction”. This band was blend of punk, metal, rock, and on the recording – industrial. [GASP] Industrial music before Glyptic Minority? How far back does this go? We’re talking late-mid 90’s. So yeah, it was bad. But good. You’ll see.
On the recording you’ll hear the worst layering of acoustic and electric drums that you have ever heard. We just hooked up some cheap mics to a crappy drum kit and had the drummer play along. Oh yeah. The drummer. His name was Bulldog. Well, it was actually Randy – but nobody called him that (I guess he earned the name in prison). Then we had another Randy who played bass (didn’t go to prison, so he got to keep his name). James played and sang with us for a while (eventually went to prison, but he’s good now). We had a number of people who played here and there (I’m guessing at least one or more of them wound up in prison). I can’t even remember them all. But those were the key people over the few years we played.
A few production notes… This was probably recorded on a combination of a MiniCD player and a 486 Micron PC with a SoundBlaster sound card (thanks, Dad for letting me use it). Both the guitar and vocals were recording using the first generation of guitar floor pedal multi-processors. Don’t laugh. It was the only thing I had. Also, it was entirely produced in Acid Pro 2 in my parents basement, which is basically like playing with Lincoln Logs by today’s standards. My guitar was a plaid Samick Blues Saracino, which played terribly. I’ll look for pictures.
Can’t wait to hear how awfully amazing the 90’s Industrial garage band scene was?! Look, or listen, no further. Check it out. But, please be sure to fasten your seat belt securely and park your mind in a judgment free zone. Extra points will be awarded for those who make it to the end.
In case you’re wondering what kind of Christian band lets such shady characters play with them, it was the kind of Christian band that worked with at-risk youth and young adults. So yeah, we had a lot of really cool people play with us that didn’t always make the best choices in life, myself included. Eventually I came to the conclusion that STP was equally a ministry for the people who joined us for so many short stints. It was about the fellowship with other believers who had real life struggles with hard issues. Not every believer looks and acts like The Church Lady. Believers are people who claw and struggle to get through life while placing their faith in Jesus Christ. Not to be cliche, but we’re not perfect – just forgiven.
