Then there was this time, Part 3

I really screwed up when I posted part two. I forgot to tell you that in 1979, I actually JOINED Anthem! The drummer, Gene Pinkham, was the only original member left. He was never part of the problem I had with the singer and jackass guitarist who shouldn't have been anywhere near a guitar. Gene was a good guy.

This band ROCKED. I think it's the heaviest thing I've ever done. Rick Merrill was the other guitar player. He's still playing today (not in a band, but he keeps his chops up). He made it the most fun experience. Jimmy Oliver played bass. He once dragged me to Melrose High School to play with him and a drummer, and I was so horrified at how they sounded, I set my amp up way over to the left of the stage and played behind the curtain. I was not the best guitarist in the world at that point. I was 16, and just finished my sophomore year at Malden Catholic. The three of us SUCKED. I sucked the least so I thought I'd be a smart ass and set up outa sight. The drummer was Mike Cronin, he was such an awesome guy back then. But none of us had any business up there. The few kids that did show up only did so to hurl insults. After about 20 minutes of horror, I unplugged my stuff and went home.

I went back to playing bass then. I started a band with Tom Rossino, a guy a year ahead of me at MC. We needed a drummer. One day when Tom was in court, he met a guy from Stoneham who had hung out with him when he played in a band called Born Dead, which featured Mr. Bob Hiltz on drums. That was where I met both Brian and Bob H. Little did I know that over the course of the next 10 years, I would be in bands with both of them. Amazing how a circle will spread out. Like a ripple. It echoes all over the world.