All this stuff dates from 1982, when the lineup was:Ron Bauer = vocalsGreg Walker = drumsJim Benham = bassDave Schumacher = guitarGreg played bass on one song in the pictures. But all the recordings have only the above lineup.The pictures are from our first show, at the Monta Vista HS "Hootenanny" show. Not sure exactly when it was ... April, May or June 1982the demo stuff were recorded on a boombox in bedrooms and garages, in March and May 1982.Recordings from the On Broadway is SF was sometime in July 1982. This one was a 4 track recording, and has a great dismissal from Dirk Dirksen in the end!None of this stuff is high quality, but you can hear the songs, and most of the lyrics.Band history:The Minority was pretty short lived, but I'm pretty sure we were Cupertino's first hardcore band. We practiced and wrote a lot of songs in 1982.In the fall, we all left town to go to college. Since Jim, Ron and I all went to San Diego, we did practice a few times, and tried to get a bass player, but nothing panned out.If I remember right, the guy we played with a few times went on to play with Battalion of Saints [Kevin might have been his name]In summer of 1983, we got back together will Benham on drums, and Lans McLoskey playing bass. We may have played a few times with Walker that summer, but I can't really remember!In summer 1984, we played a few more times, this time with John Barrett playing bass.Then again, John playing with us might have been 1983 also ... I'm not too sure.We probably played live no more than 10 times.I'm probably mis-remembering half of it :)that's it!
My perspective:
You see, for me, it was a band that I knew. They were all my age and were doing something that I wanted to do. They played clubs in San Francisco and had even recorded material. This was something of a challenge for me and some of my friends at the time. Eventually I would figure it out and play in Slip and The Forgotten but by then I was a seasoned musician and not a kid. These recordings here are quite good and show a band in its infancy and urgency....Great stuff! Thanks to Dave Schumacher for sending me over this stuff, and a big hello to Ron Bauer who I would later share many drunked filled gigs with in the later years.
Ken
.bmp)
