Jared DuBach
Daily Egyptian
When it comes to historical nightlife and music scenes, Carbondale has its share of stories. And according to some of the leading authorities on the matter, during the mid to late '80s, Carbondale had a bustling music scene of its own, away from the better-known scenes of Chicago, New York and Los Angeles.
Some of the more prominent local bands that were a part of the scene during the '80s were Diet Christ, Lost Cross, Blood-Stained Tool, Brown Order, Diggles Dozen, Disfigured for Life, Hunting Sleeve, Action Man, 3 Alarm Mustard and the Blue Meanies.
Diet Christ was formed in 1986. The band consisted of Mikey Snot on vocals, Mark Groble on bass and RJ Sussman on guitar. After Ian Lintault and Shelly Parnell came and went as drummers, Mike "Taz" Kartje joined as the last drummer Diet Christ would ever have. In 1988, Sussman left the band, and James Ricks III took over on guitar.
Mikey Snot decribes Diet Christ as hardcore political punk saturated with massive amounts of alcohol.
"We started when the loony bastard Reagan was in office and continued on when the Bush crime syndicate family took over a really nasty '88 election," Snot said. "They gave us lots of material to work with."
The band had so much material to work with that they produced a 7" record called "Band in the Bible Belt," which was released on Super Seven records. All 600 copies have been long since sold out.
At the peak of the underground scene, there were three primary basements that held shows. Those so-called venues were House of Voodew, Lost Cross and Club Romex. House of Voodew, which is no longer in existence, was at 412 E. Elm St. Club Romex, also defunct, is located at 408 Beveridge Street.
Lost Cross is the longest running of the original three basements. Many people wonder how the house got its name, and of course, where it is. According to Snot, Lost Cross was born in September of 1986.
"On a weekend journey to Chicago to go see Samhain at the Metro, I had a gold cross earring pulled out of my ear while slamming," Snot said. On the return trip home, Snot wrote on the back of a flyer what would become the song "Lost Cross" for Disfigured for Life.
Lost Cross also became the name of a side band that came from Disfigured for Life. The house then became known as Lost Cross house. The house was named to maintain the secrecy of the location.
Lost Cross still holds shows on occasion, but by request of its current residents, the location of Lost Cross must remain known only to those who need to know it, according to Diet Christ bassist James Ricks III.
Snot said that prior to the basement shows and the booking of larger acts that followed, the only style of music represented on the Strip was trendy "Top 40" bands. So in order to hear the kind of music they wanted to hear live, Snot said punk-rock enthusiasts essentially had to either start their own bands or book other bands to play in Carbondale.
According to Snot, Ricks, and Kartje, some of the more famous bands to have played in Carbondale during this time period were Black Flag, Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, Plaid Retina, Naked Raygun, Neurosis, NOFX, Ministry, Rapeman and the UK Subs.
Many of the bars present on the Strip had different names in the '80s. T-Bird's below ABC Liquors was once called Airwaves. Stix was called Alexander Coles. Gatsby's II was referred to simply as Gatsby's, and the Upside Downtown was Mainstreet East.
Ricks said that when House of Voodew was in full swing, patrons of the HOV and Lost Cross would travel between the two.
"On a Saturday night, you'd see anywhere from 150 to 300 people walking across town after seeing five bands at House of Voodew to Lost Cross to see another five bands there."
Eventually, the venues on the Strip began to catch on to the necessity to book live, original bands.
"There was just so much demand for it," Snot said.
Patrick Rollinson, a former member of the English pop-punk bands Brown Order and Diggles Dozen, said, "By the time we were at it, punk was already getting old, having started in earnest back in the late '70s when most of us were in junior high or grade school. We were all outcasts to a degree."
Even though the local underground music scene in the '80s lasted for just more than four years, the music is still continuing. According to Rollinson, the current music scene in comparison to the scene of the late '80s has narrowed in its variety of styles.
"It's not that the newer version of the scene is exclusive, it's just more poppy now and seems to have more 'norms' that are adhered to," Rollinson said.
Kartje said even though the '80s are long gone, the echoes of its music still remain on the Strip.
"I still get people to this day telling me what a blast those shows were and how what we did influenced what is going on in Carbondale today," Kartje said. "This town is very fortunate to have had and still have a long line of successors to fill the shoes of the people before them."
Reporter Jared DuBach can be reached at jdubach@dailyegyptian.com
Published on 11/17/05; 12:24:44 PM
