Prologue
Once upon a time there were five kids. Their names were Eddie, Garry, Matt, Sam, and Metcalf. Sam and Metcalf had been good friends of mine for a couple years, but the others were a year younger, and I didn't know them very well. As young musicians are inclined to do, the five friends formed a garage band. Soon, a name for the band was decided upon, and the name was Venture. Venture was the band that started it all in 8th grade. It featured Eddie on lead guitar, Garry on vocals and rhythm guitar, Matt on percussion, Sam on rhythm guitar and backing vocals, and Metcalf on bass. After a while, Sam and Metcalf asked me if I would be interested in playing harmonica as a guest musician on their cover of "Sweet Home Alabama." Strangely, no mention was made of the fact that "Sweet Home Alabama" has no harmonica part. At any rate, I agreed, and it was while playing at a few of their gigs that I first came to know Eddie, Garry, and Matt. When Venture’s popularity started to grow, the band decided it was time to write some originals. Eddie and Garry were the primary songwriters of the group. Eddie was very much a metal/rock guitarist, and favored a heavy, Metallica-esque sound. His behind-the-head six string heroics were (and still are) a major attraction at local shows. Garry however, was greatly influenced by the work of George Harrison and Simon & Garfunkel, and thus contributed a distinctly thoughtful, introverted mood to the songs. All of a sudden, Metcalf was kicked out the band. I guess he just got too damn fat. Sam took over on bass, and Venture soldiered on. As their popularity grew, it was decided that Venture should record all their originals in proper studio fashion. The result was their wicked good debut album, A New Life. Several shows followed, but divisions among the players began to form. Before another year had passed, Venture announced its breakup, due to artistic differences. This came as quite a shock to their loyal local fan base, of which I was a member, and everyone wondered what to do with their Venture T-shirts. Eddie, Garry, Matt, and Sam parted company, and all was quiet for a time.
Chapter One
In which this remarkable and wholly factual history begins
I took Honors Chemistry my sophomore year at Salem High School. At one point during the semester, Hillner was like "d00dS you gotta liek do a video proj for teh phynal!" In what turned out to be a landmark good decision, I teamed up with a kid named Mike Grant. Me and Mike got along great, and in choosing the soundtrack for our video we realized that our tastes in music were quite similar. One time while we were at my house working on the project, Mike picked up my brother’s guitar and started to play. I was quite impressed at the ease with which he could rattle off bunches of tricky riffs. I was a major n00b on bass at the time, and Mike had been playing for several years. We had a fun little jam, but when chemistry was done with, we parted ways.
RANDOM NEWS BROACAST:
Recently some new information regarding Mike's shady past has come to light. It seems that as a young lad, Mr. Grant was actually quite the metal head, playing lead guitar in the ranks of such noteworthy groups as Lithium and Made 2 Heal. Though they never quite struck a chord (heh) with the American public, Made 2 Heal were actually wildly popular in Yugoslavia. However, they were forced to break up the band when the Country-Formerly-Known-As-Yugoslavia stopped existing.
And now, back to the story...
Middle of Chapter One
In which these astounding and irrefutably true events continue to unfold
After a year of practice, the purchase of a new Fender Fretless Jazz Bass, and a short stint as the mayor of an Amish Viking colony, I felt that it was time I got into a real band. I had been jamming around the neighborhood for a while, notably with 80’s club rocker Bill Killey (aka The Godfather), and I suspected that what I lacked in technical skill I made up for with my good ear for pitch. So I contacted Mike and proposed that we collaborate on the forming of a rock band. Mike agreed that this was a good idea, and over the summer following junior year we got some guys together, including Joel Sambataro and Craig Campbell. This proved to be an abortive, disappointing first attempt, much like William Jennings Bryan's entire political career. A couple months later, we tried again, this time after having been inspired by the music of The Polyphonic Spree. Listening to the Spree, we realized that there were still new and awesome things to be done in music. The original idea was to create a giant band and play a kind of experimental symphonic rock music with horns, strings, and a chorus. However, we soon realized that this would be incredibly hard to organize and maintain, and a more traditional type of group began to take shape. Mike said he knew of a singer and told me he’d ask the kid to come to a practice. As it turned out, the singer was none other than the highly regarded Garry Dumas, who had cut his hair and quit Venture about a year before. He joined right away. After a couple of practices, we decided that we wanted to be a distinctly happier sounding band than any of the nu-metal and post-hardcore/screamo acts that we were sick of. With this agreed upon, the songwriting took wing. Garry’s style lightened up considerably, and we seemed to be getting the sound we wanted. We still had no drummer, but we were not sure we wanted one. We feared that a drummer might change our unique sound too dramatically. At our third practice as a trio, Garry, Mike, and I wrote our first song, “Free Love.” Mike’s expensive and confusing live track-layering gadgets allowed him to take on the role of several guitarists at once. I'm reasonably certain that the playing of this song caused Hurricane Katrina. It's ok, though, we made up for it by doing Rock for Relief later on). Then we decided we needed a name. It was Garry's idea that we would be The Wudan Warriors, after the characters from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
End of Chapter One
Regarding the search for a drummer, as well as other amusing topics
After writing a few more originals, and with the Battle of the Bands fast approaching, we finally decided to recruit a drummer. We knew that this could be no ordinary kid banging on a drum kit. It had to be someone who could make good artistic contributions to the songs. After narrowing down our selections, we concluded unanimously on John Bonham. However, sources informed us that he was in no condition to play since he had been dead for 27 years, so we needed to find the next best thing. Matt St. Jean from Venture was the obvious and best choice, and he thoroughly exceeded our hopes. He had gotten even better at drums, and could still play with the crazy Keith Moon-style energy that Venture had benefitted from. It wasn’t long before we were wondering how we ever got by without a drummer. We agreed that we would sparingly use only light distortion, if any at all, in order to maintain our lighthearted, pure-toned style. In order to clear up any questions, we decided to call our style experimental/(quasi)progressive indie post-alternative rock. Coincidentally, (and quite conveniently), this signifies absolutely nothing.
Epilogue
So it was that The Wudan Warriors were assembled. We might not be the loudest or most popular band out there, but we are close to the happiest.
The Wudan Warriors:
Garry "Green Destiny" Dumas - vocals, rhythm guitar, synth
Mike "Iron Monkey" Grant - lead guitar, synth
Matt "Pai Mei" St. Jean - percussive devices (including that damned bell kit), synth
Jim "Couldn't Think of a Good Nickname" Morris - bass guitar, NO synth
Persons Affiliated in Some Way With The Wudan Warriors:
Art Murphy - Album Producer
Merry Carney - Chief Fan
Bryan Marchulaitis - Photographer
Missy Graziani - Guest Vocals
Sarah Graziani - Guest Vocals
Liz Gaines - PR Manager, Salem Chapter
Josh Samataro - Graphics Designer
Kelly Lyons - Poster Hanger, button maker
Stan Steers - Chairman, Wudan Dynasty (UPitt Chapter)
Diana Pascoe - Chairman, Wudan Dynasty (Carnegie Mellon Chapter)
Original Songs:
Free Love
Leavin' Home
Your Life
I Don't Know
Believe (Garry hates it so we don't play it)
Flight of the Trailer Park Flamingos (probably never to be played again...not surprising)
Everything (Garry hates this one too)
Everyone's The Same
There For You
Be Yourself
The album is finally out!!! $5 each.
Influences:
George Harrison
The Polyphonic Spree
Sufjan Stevens
The Beatles
Sigur Ros
David Bowie
Modest Mouse
The Owls
The Who
Past Gigs (in order):
The Sons of Italy 1
SHS Battle of the Bands '05 (Prelims)
SHS Battle of the Bands '05 (Finals)
The Sons of Italy 2
Wicked Graduation Pahty '05
The Sons of Italy 3
The Sad Cafe 1
The Lamprey River Tavern
Rock For Relief - SHS
The Sad Cafe 2
The Sad Cafe 3
SHS Battle of the Bands '06 (Prelims)
SHS Battle of the Bands '06 (Finals) - we won!
The Sad Cafe 4
Brittany's Birthday Bash
The Crossings
O'Keefe Family Reunion
The Sad Cafe 5
Milly's Tavern
The Boys' and Girls' Club
The Sad Cafe 6
The Sad Cafe 7
WUDAN WEBSITES:
http://www.purevolume.com/wudanwarriors
www.myspace.com/wudanwarriors
