That just kinda came and went, huh?

I’m talking about Beings. Their songs, their sets and their albums left me wanting more. I wanted more of Ivan’s catchy hooks, abrasive guitar playing, and weird little yelps and hoots. I wanted more of Betty’s explosive toms, her fast rolls, and red lipstick. I wanted more of Mike’s rock solid bass playing, his perfectly synched fills, and his relaxed dance moves. Of course, now that they’ve broken up, I just want more Beings.

They always surprised me, too – and, I’m not talking about the cool arrangements and weird time signatures (those caught me off guard) – they’d surprise me with the basic elements of basic rock they’d slyly sneak into their songs. On the surface it seemed so noisy and wild, but if you scratched a little of the feedback off and looked past the blast beats you’ll see it’s just rock and roll.

I was 15 when I first saw the Crumbs play. It was at the Kitchen Club in the Grove. Up until then, I thought punk was all about playing loud and fast; I was partially right, punk is loud and fast. The Crumbs played a set full of catchy songs that have been stuck in my head ever since. I guess I didn’t know much about the Ramones at the point, but by the end of that week my punk preferences shifted from Minor Threat and Black Flag to the Ramones and the Queers.

When the Crumbs got signed to Lookout Records in 1996, I thought they had arrived. When I saw Billie Joe Armstrong playing a guitar with a Crumbs sticker on it, I thought they had arrived. When they asked me to fill in on bass in 2001, I thought I had arrived. It turns out; success and punk rock go together like cocaine and waffles.