Hello to all,

I don’t expect many would know me from this crowd. I’m just a two time loser in an arm pit of a town, but I was there in the Johnson City heydays, had a grand time. I was part of a croud from Elizabethton. I was still in high school the first time I saw the Nightmares, sometime in ’87. I was pretty big into skateboarding with my buddies, and we were mightily impressed with the music scene as we discovered it then. Many of my immediate crowd went on to actively participate in that scene; Eddie Webb, Charlton (Chuck) Phaneuf (who is still at it around VA beach, his stuff is on mp3.com), Kim McLeod, Linda Barnett, Gary Miller, David Guffey. I remember when we graduated high school in ’88 we took off to the beach, and more importantly to the skatepark in Jacksonville; it was a steady stream of the Nightmares and Scott Pleasant the whole way there in the van. I think exposure to these fine musicians at our tender young ages burned a permanent idea and expectation about what rock music is, and what constitutes good stuff.

We went on to discover college, drugs and ultimately our lot in life, but to me, the music has endured. Many a good time was had by all, and the Nightmares brought some rockin' new years in for us for a while. I don’t play an instrument, but I tried to get creatively involved in ways that I could; I painted and drew pictures and stuff. Barbara, I miss you by the way, I hope you’re still painting. I remember your “meat” series there towards the end of college. Eddie, Gary, Chuck and Kim (later replaced by Liz) formed Tall Tale, just to get a piece of the action. Chuck and Gary would have ridiculous arguments about their lyrics: Chuck arguing to write with deep meaning, Gary saying fuck that, just write something down and move on. Chuck drank some mysterious brown liquor one night while Eddie pierced his nipple with a safety pin. Chuck wanted his chest to look cool when he took his shirt off when drumming at shows. But alas, one day while skating at a half pipe he fell and the safety pin hooked on a nail on the way down, and rip! I saw him last year and that damn nipple is still swollen.

Anyway, I like the idea of this forum forming the basis of a composite whole. I hope someone actually does sort this stuff out eventually. Another impression I have is a bunch of long haired guys hanging out in dresses, on a regular basis. Best I can remember, a guy named Trent would hang around in a dress just hoping some frat boys would have a smart ass comment just so he could beat ‘em up.

Finally, just in case no one’s ran across this on the net, I’ll part ways with this lovely thought:

“Today the world faces a single man armed with weapons of mass destruction, manifesting an aggressive, bullying attitude, who may well plunge the world into chaos and bloodshed if he miscalculates. This per son, belligerent, arrogant and sure of himself, truly is the most dangerous person on Earth. The problem is that his name is George W. Bush, and he is our president.” This quote is from Jack M. Balkin, Knight Professor of Constitutional Law and the First Amendment at Yale Law School, September 22, 2002.