May 23, 1996 - Dunwoody High School's "Battle of the Bands"

It was a warm Thursday night. The doors opened around 6 p.m., I think, as scads of high school kids (many of whom would not have seen the performing bands otherwise) shuffled into the gymnasium to witness the event that had been generating so much buzz. Eight high school bands were on the bill, nearly all of them I had not heard before. They were (in order of performance):

1. Shotgun Kitty Kat
2. Bearlicker
3. Bouncing Betty
4. The Blastoffs
5. Orange
6. Some Reggae band??
7. Rebel Intuition
8. Watersgrave

If you missed the concert, or just don't remember it, fear not! Thankfully, I, a fifteen-year-old bootlegger in the making, realized the significance of this night as not only a landmark show for many of my friends and peers who would take the stage that night, but also as a good excuse to try out my tape recorder. Or I could say, with the enormous benefit of hindsight, that I had thought four years in advance that night and brought a tape recorder along to capture the musical extravaganza! But then, that would not be entirely accurate. It seems I have digressed. Moving on!

Bearlicker

Jack from the Blastoffs and James Branch (from the band I was in...we didn't have a name) joined the band for the night, with guitars in said hands. Bearlicker played a couple of original tunes, 3 fight songs, and a bunch of 20-second-long cover songs. The covers ranged wildly; everything from Silverchair to Marilyn Manson to Rage Against the Machine's "Bulls on Parade." I think the performance was a little under par overall, but at least Bearlicker kept you laughing the whole set through!

The Bearlicker Intro - Robert Lammers and Coach Eason introduce the newly 5-piece Bearlicker. David grows weary of Eason's silly games and begins to play the intro song "Revenge," a hilarious one-note metal song with absolutely no meaning whatsoever. Irrefutable proof that, even before the Hosstages, David had a knack for the senselessly funny intro song. Download (336K)

The Bearlicker Fight Song - The infamous "Bearlicker Fight Song!" It's not hard to remember the words to this catchy ditty. Listen for the "WATERSGRAVE SUCKS!" at the end. Download (514K)

The Blastoffs

The Blastoffs took the stage in full force. Unfortunately, the band had a difficult time conveying said force when the vocal microphones spontaneously stopped working. After the crack Dunwoody HS sound personnel (that was sarcasm) fixed the technical difficulties, the Blastoffs took the stage once again, and thus proceeded to kick some booty. [Note: my tape recorder picked up the vocals extremely well, but that's about the only thing you can hear] Anyway, here are some songs from their performance:

Girl Next Door - The first Screeching Weasel cover of the night (after the technical difficulties). Once again, Coach Eason attempts to hype up the crowd with the same band introduction and is met by embarrassing silence. How funny! Download (813K)

Joanie Loves Johnny - A blistering cover of the Screeching Weasel tune. Download (461K)

"We're not warranteed to cover 'Freebird.'" - Jack explains to the Skynard fans in the back.

Hey Suburbia - The Blastoffs prove that they don't give a HOOT about tomorrow, with this Screeching Weasel anthem! Download (878K)

Epilogue

Bearlicker disbanded soon after the Battle of the Bands. David went on to form "The Hosstages," Gunnard joined "the Reruns," and Allen concentrated on the Blastoffs.

(By the way, Dunwoody garage band line-ups changed around quite a lot.)

Shortly after the Battle of the Bands, the Blastoffs changed their name to "the Scrams," and recruited guitarist James Branch. The Scrams performed a number of house shows and such for a while longer and later broke up. Tom started playing with the Hosstages full time, James went on to form F.A.F., Ben joined the Reruns, and Jack later joined F.A.F. for a brief stint behind the microphone.

Whew. So that pretty much sums up all I know about pre-Hosstages bands.