Gas Huffer, Decomposers and Phorhed , Club Starzz 1991

For post number 1 I thought I would kick it off with one of the first bands I played in, Phorhed. This was our first real gig opening up for Seattle punk band Gas Huffer. The show was a sellout and we more than stoked to be a part of it. We were lucky enough to get on the bill via Utah booking legend "Stormy", who now manages band tours for Rancid, The Offspring, NOFX and many other Punk Rock giants. I remember being super nervous and forgetting some of the lyrics. I was only 16 at the time.

The Venue, Club Starzz, was a landmark in the Salt Lake underground music scene. Bands such as Pearl Jam, Nirvana and the Smashing Pumpkins all played their Utah Debuts at this small church turned music hall. Before the club took on the name Starzz it was known as The pompadour which also lays claim to many historical Utah shows. This was back in the day when you could stage dive all night and not get thrown out. If you get a chance, or your ever in SLC, you can check out the now full functioning church at 750 S. 300 W.














Here's the flyer from the gig. As expected, Gas Huffer blew minds.


On Bass, Jarred (J-Russ) Russell. Note the beard and receding hair line, pretty impressive for a 14 year old. Seriously. Looking back, I don't think Jarred was from this planet. Musically, he was way beyond the rest of the band. As a child he was genius pianist. Very talented. Jarred and I stuck together for years after Phorhed and formed the band Wheel Chair Weed which we played in for almost 7 years. I know, who keeps thinking up these stupid band names? I'll explain later. Our team efforts wouldn't last forever though. It wasn't long before Jarred was being held back musically, He left WCW and joined up with some of the late members of Ice Burn and form the band Lion, and Lion Head Records. Last I heard he was playing Sax and Keys with the Disco Drippers.

Here's a flyer from the biggest gig Phorhed ever played. It was also one of our last. After the band signed with local label Salt Flat Records, this was kind of a "hey, here's all the bands that are on Salt Flat Records" show. Headlining the show was the legendary Bad Yodelers, one of my personal favorites to this day. I think I was more stoked we were playing with the Yodelers than I was about anything else. It wasn't long after this gig that we blew our deal and were threatened to be sewed by the label for breach of contract. We were supposed to be pushing songs from a single we cut about a year before the label even signed us. We were sick of those songs and wanted to push the band in a different direction. Funny thing is either way we pushed it, the music still pretty much sucked. We were young.














Another gig at Starzz. We were the opening band for locals Lumberjack who had a large following and usually packed em in pretty full. We played quite a few openers for Lumberjack thanks to front man Jeremy Chatelain now on bass and vocals for New York band Jets to Brazil.
















Check out the flyer

On the floor. I'm trying to find some pics of our drummer Greg Jessop, but I'm having a hard time. You can kinda see him in this pic. One of the best drummers I've ever known, Greg played a huge part in shaping the sound of the band. I'm sorry to say that he took his own life a few years ago. We'll miss you old freind. Rock a beat up there in the clouds for us.