It rocked when we dropped out of school and bought a van named "Rocco" for $1,000.  It rocked when clubs all over the Midwest and South would let us come in and play the songs we had written.  Sometimes they would even give us money, but mostly they would give us beer.  And it rocked when we would ride on I-77, I-70, I-65 drinking said beer and listening to The Kinks, Chuck Berry, Cheap Trick and The Replacements among others.   And it rocked when we started writing better songs and got to really rocking.

But it sucked when Rocco exploded on a one-day drive from Toledo to New Orleans.  And it sucked when we got stranded in NYC and ended up camping near Woodstock for three days with all our remaining money spent on five loaves of white bread and that really big bottle of Jack Daniel's that you always look at but never need to buy.  And it sucked when the cops would pull us over and frisk us on the side of the highway and call in the dogs to search the van.

But it rocked when the cops would say, "The dogs can smell something funny in there, but you boys are lucky we couldn't find anything".  And it really rocked when hundreds of people started coming to our shows.  It rocked when Jim Steinman (Meatloaf fame?) heard our demo and said, "GOOD CHRIST these guys write good songs!" and we signed with Epic Records.   And it rocked when our two albums on Epic came out and we toured with, Dash Rip Rock, Cheap Trick, Ben Folds Five, and The Smithereens among others.

But it sucked when our A&R Rep. was fired, and our label dropped us and replaced us with Silverchair.  And it really sucked because not only were we screwed, we were partially responsible for allowing the sucky Silverchair to suck from coast to coast.  And it sucked when our manager dropped us to make more time for a second career as a Hollywood producer.  And when our agent dropped us, that sucked too.  Plus, "Rocco" finally died for good after we tried to use a motor made for a boat to save him.

Ah, but it rocked when Frank Aversa of Spin Doctor fame said, "GOOD CHRIST, you guys write great songs, let's cut an album at my studio and its on my dime".  So we rocked and the album "Star Vehicle" rocked and became an underground radio success throughout the Midwest.  And it rocked when the Insane Clown Posse invited us to tour the USA with them.

But it sucked when their thirteen-year-old fans would throw shit at us every night.

But it rocked when we would come back on stage at the end of the night and throw shit back. It rocked when we backed up Slim Dunlop (Replacements) on stage.  And it rocked when we backed up Pat Dinizio (Smithereens).

Finally, it rocked when we met Tim Patalan and he said "GOOD CHRIST you guys write good songs, lets make the album everybody has been expecting from you.  It's on my dime."  So after a snowy Michigan winter, we finished "The More it Hurts,.The More it Works".

The Hype is gone, the gimmick is in the songs.

2002