THE PURE PLASTIC TREE, s/t cassette (1990)

The Pure Plastic Tree formed in 1991. They were:

Eric Bagdonas - acoustic guitar, backing voice
Brian Bagdonas - stand-up bass
Kattie Daugherty - voice
Steve Johnson - drums, backing voice

Kattie and I had been friends at WWSU. I believe the first time I spent any significant time with her was the time the two of us went down to Bogart's to see and interview THE BUCK PETS. The whole trip just sort of fell together in five minutes. I was in the station lounge lamenting that this band I really liked was coming to town and that I could probably call and get free tickets and meet the band but didn't want to go by myself (because it's no fun seeing a band, getting fucked up, and crashing the car on the way home all by yourself). I'm not even sure I knew Kattie's last name at the time, but she was in the room and she volunteered, and so I called and we went.

Kattie has the unique distinction of being the only person who's ever thrown me a surprise party. It was for my 21st birthday, and I have to say I was completely fuckin' surprised. She had asked me to give her a ride home from Canal Street Tavern (where she was my favorite bar maid for several years). When we got to her place, she opened the door and sort of fumbled getting the keys out of the lock. So I ended up getting to the top of the stairs first. All of a sudden somebody came leaping out of her kitchen doorway, and for a moment I was sure she was being robbed and we were both about to be executed. But it was only Sterling Schissler (another WWSU DJ), and he was shoving a Britny Fox cassette (which I still own but have never listened to) in my face. About ten other people seemed to appear as if from nowhere. Gail Dafler gave me a Land Speed Record (on vinyl!) by HUSKER DU, and Ben gave me a 12-pack of Black Label in bottles (though Ben had to work and couldn't make it that night, so he sent the beer with Joel). Great birthday...

Okay, this episode really is about the first PURE PLASTIC TREE release, but I've got a little more background on Kattie before we get to that--and it's important because this would've been a very different band without her (and, in fact, was a very different band after she left). Anyway, she had an amazing singing voice then, and I was ready to play guitar anywhere, any time, for anyone. So we got together in her attic, worked out a few acoustic numbers (which I really wish I had recordings of today) and covers (I distinctly remember "He Ain't Heavy" by the Hollies), and played some musicians' co-ops at Canal Street Tavern. We also did one as a trio with Bob Moore, who was editor of Nexus (WSU's literary magazine) at the time and just learning to play guitar. As I remember, we did some of the songs Kattie and I had worked up, plus a cover of "Love Song" by THE DAMNED, and one or two originals that the three of us collaborated on. But then Bob and I had a falling out over something incredibly stupid (I've still got the letter), and the three of us never played again. Kattie and I played a few more times. I went with her to buy her first guitar and taught her a couple of chords, but no real sustainable music project ever came from any of that. All of this happened around 1988-90.

A year later, Kattie was in THE PURE PLASTIC TREE with Brian, Eric, and Steve. I saw them play on the quad one afternoon at WWSU. If I remember correctly, they had no amplification, but they sounded great. It was a windy spring day, but they had no problem cutting through that. It was their first show as a band and Kattie's first real show ever. Eric and Brian had, of course, played in LIQUID DRAINO, and PURE PLASTIC TREE was certainly a departure for them. For that matter, it was a departure from what every other band in Dayton was doing. I can't think of any other bands at the time that had no need at all for amplification--except maybe TOOBA BLOOZE. But Toobas were more or less traditional R&B. They weren't playing anything that was quite so off-beat.

After a year or two, Kattie left the band and in 1993 (I think) formed REAL LULU, in which she remained for the rest of the decade. REAL LULU released at least one seven-inch record (which I'll share on this blog if no one objects) and one full-length CD (which I will likely not be sharing because I'm pretty sure Andy Valeri is still selling it over at Big Beef Records). Her most recent band was THE NEW THIRTEEN, in which she played with her husband Dennis Mullins (guitar), friend Justin (bass -- don't know his last name), and Dave Graeter (drums -- formerly of LIQUID DRAINO, THE LARRY BRRRDS, COLAVISION, THE BARNHILLS, ART OF CHOKE). I don't know if THE NEW THIRTEEN ever released anything, but my most recent band, THE VECTORS, did a show with them at Elbow's a couple of years ago. They were great. Maybe if Dennis has some recordings, I can get him to let me share them.

THE PURE PLASTIC TREE went on in Kattie's absence for a couple more years (dates and such escape me on this one). Later, Eric and Brian moved to Portland and formed KIL-KARE. Today, Brian plays bass in the FOGHORN STRING BAND, a rootsy, Appalachian folk outfit that's getting a lot of favorable attention in that genre-world. I don't know what happened to Steve or what Eric is up to now.

As with most other download packages on this blog, this one also contains hi-res scans of the cover, insert, and cassette. I want to point this out particularly in this entry because I've always been impressed with the art on this one. I'm pretty sure we have Eric Bagdonas to thank for that. It's amazing what that man could do with nothing more sophisticated than photocopying on colored paper.

Track list:

1. Turn Away
2. Someday
3. Cop Song
4. Waiting for the Green Light
5. Spewing Democracy
6. This Stuff Is Getting to Me
7. Plaid People Land
8. Crossing the Stepping Stones
9. untitled

Download it! (22 MB) (link re-upped on 2-1-2013)

Recorded at Cro-Magnon studios.

One final fun-fact about Kattie: she's had the same phone number since at least 1988 (and that's land-line, not this wussy cell phone bullshit). Other than my parents (who had the same number for forty years), I've never known anyone who's had the same number that long.

take care

---Jones

LIQUID DRAINO, oops! Another Day (cassette, 1990)

A few months after OXYMORONS got together, a couple of guys wandered into the lounge at WWSU (which was my home away from home at the time -- my actual home being Canal Street Tavern) and asked if anyone knew where a local punk band might get a show. They said they were in a band in Beavercreek called LIQUID DRAINO. I got their number, and Grog got them on the bill at OXYMORONS' next show at Canal Street Tavern. As I remember, one or two of them were still underage at the time, which meant their parents had to be in the bar when they played.

They kicked ass. They pretty much wore their influences (SCREECHING WEASEL, 7 SECONDS) on their sleeves (so did we), but they were damn good guys in a damn good band. The only complaint from that show came from the band members themselves. They didn't like the fact that three of their songs were instrumentals because no one had written lyrics for them yet. But nobody else seemed to care.

Over the next couple of years, we played with LIQUID DRAINO several times both in and out of Dayton, and we all got to be pretty good friends. We did at least one mini-tour together, maybe more (I lose track).

LIQUID DRAINO was:

Dave Graeter - drums, voice
Sheldon Mutter - guitar, voice
Eric Bagdonas - guitar, voice
Brian Bagdonas - bass, voice

All these guys played in other bands around Dayton after LIQUID DRAINO broke up. Dave was in COLAVISION, LARRY BRRRDS, THE BARNHILLS, and ART OF CHOKE. Sheldon was in CIGARHEAD and plenty of others (Dave would know specifics). Eric and Brian were in THE PURE PLASTIC TREE and KIL-KARE. Brian is currently in the FOGHORN STRING BAND. I'll be sharing from some of these bands in future posts.

I'll also be telling more about LIQUID DRAINO and the individual members. But for now here are a few random recollections:

• Sheldon earned the nickname "Sasquatch" for his tendency to be sighted enigmatically walking by the side of the road. People who knew him would usually stop and take him wherever he was headed.
• Eric and Brian's last name was often transmogrified to "Bag-O-Donuts" (usually by Ben, who loved nicknames).
• Dave Graeter has the finest private collection of obscure punk and indie rock that I've ever seen, and he has the best taste in music of anyone I've ever known. If Dave ever recommends a band to you, you should listen.
• LIQUID DRAINO was but one of at least five bands that practiced in Dave's parents' basement over the years (the others being PLANET ED, COLAVISION, THE LARRY BRRRDS, and Dave's older brother's cover band whose name escapes me right now -- UPDATE (3-2-2008 it was NOBODY'S BUSINESS).
• Dave's dad, Paul Graeter, is the coolest registered member of the Republican party I've ever met.

About the download, I ripped this from a first generation cassette dubbed straight off the original mixed reel-to-reel, so it's probably the best sound quality one could get without the reel itself. I included a scan of that cassette in the package, but I've also got a scan of the production model insert and cassette. Thanks to Gail for providing me with those.

Most of these songs were written when the band members were still in high school (I remember Ben being particularly impressed by that--me too for that matter). You'll find individual lyric and music credits on the insert.

"Dinosaurs" was intended to have lyrics but nobody ever finished them.

Notice how Dave wrote both "Save the World" and "Blow Up the World"? The boy is a mass of contradictions.

Eric's note to "just whine along" to "Radio" is a dig at Sheldon, who never wrote out the lyrics to this song and doesn't enunciate them clearly enough for anyone to tell what he's singing.

Ben Shelcker (credited as Ben Phlegm) played harmonica on "Blow Up the World."

The cover picture is of the Beavercreek McDonalds on Dayton-Xenia Rd. I believe that McDonald's was demolished and rebuilt some time in the '90s.

As a bonus, I'm throwing in a live recording of Dave's and my other band PLANET ED performing "Room 101" with Sheldon on vocals (and that's me on bass, Will Dalgard on guitar, Dave Graeter on drums -- so it's half and half -- PLANET DRAINO?). At the beginning and end you'll hear some of that classic PLANET ED time-wasting stage banter that used to drive Dave absolutely crazy (more on that when I do the PLANET ED post).

In addition to this, LIQUID DRAINO released a 2nd cassette, Ike Fell in the Water. I'll be sharing that at some point, as well as a LIQUID DRAINO live show I've got.

Track list:

1. Life Without You
2. Room 101
3. Save the World
4. Dinosaurs
5. Don't Need It
6. Grey Suit Man
7. Roller Skating
8. Whales
9. Radio
10. Blow Up the World
11. Innocence
12. Planet Ed (live)-Room 101

All songs were recorded January 6, 1990 at Cro-Magnon studios (engineered by Joe Buben), except track 12, which was recorded by me on a boombox at Canal Street Tavern, March 1, 1991.

Download it! (29 MB) (link re-upped on 2-1-2013)

Thanks again to Gail for providing me with the insert and cassette, which are only a fraction of the treasure trove of stuff she dropped off at my place yesterday. She brought me 12" records by THE PLEASURES PALE, TOOBA BLOOZE, THE OBVIOUS, and THE HIGHWAYMEN, as well as scads of cassettes from the likes of BIG BROWN HOUSE, MOM, LIMITED POTENTIAL, and others -- plus some flyers, t-shirts, photos, more 7"s than I can count, and a couple of surprise items that will remain top secret for now.

So with all that plus my and Grog's stuff, there's enough material to last at least a year, likely more. The bad news is that today the new semester starts at law school, and I'll be busy as hell with that until December or thereabouts. So it may take me quite a while to scan and rip all the stuff Gail dropped by. But I've got a good backlog of posts already written and music already ripped, so you can expect at least one or two posts a week for the foreseeable future.

take care

---Jones