Bands Bracket Day 4: Blue Fox Region
We’re wrapping up the first round today and taking a look at the bottom of the Blue Fox Region. We’ve got JMU’s own Puddleduck and 3 other bands with ties to other Virginia colleges. Let’s jump right in and take a look at the 3-6 match-up.
#3 Puddleduck v. #6 Slackjaw [polldaddy poll=5150492]
Puddleduck – I saw these guys play at JM’s on many a Thursday night back in my junior year. The routine was always the same. I’d roll out just after dinner at D-Hall with a couple of buddies. Since most of us weren’t yet 21, we’d walk down the train tracks memorizing all the info on our fake IDs, swearing to each other that if one of us got rejected, we’d all go home together. Then most weeks someone would get denied at the door (usually JMUSB commenter Tedward) and the rest of us would pretend like we didn’t know him, walk right in, and belly up to the bar for some dime drafts (not a typo, beers were 10 cents.) We’d spend the next few hours drinking lots of very bad beer, chasing girls, and listening to Puddleduck before wandering our way back down to the row for a late night party. And while I don’t think anyone is going to argue that the band was particularly gifted or musically complex (Exhibit A the lyrics to Row Psalm), they were the JMU band for a time. They even secured a coveted gig at The Bayou in Georgetown over winter break, which turned into a mini-JMU reunion of sorts. Puddleduck brings back a lot of really good, yet slightly beer hazy, memories for me.
Slackjaw – I always kind of considered this band to be UVA’s version of Puddleduck. That’s not to say that the two bands had anything in common musically. They didn’t. The band consisted of guys from UVA who started out just playing parties and bars around their campus, just like Puddleduck did at JMU. Of course this means that Slackjaw’s early shows probably had crowds with an overall higher average SAT score and an overall lower average personal attractiveness than Puddleduck’s. I really dug their music though and to this day it takes me days to get the guitar riff from AFH out of my head every time I hear it. I only saw them live a couple times, but the parents of a group of girls we were friends with got Slackjaw to play their graduation party our senior year. Maybe this sort of thing was normal with your circle of friends. To me however, it was like some sort of 1990’s JMU version of the Royal Wedding. I’m easily impressed I guess. I’m telling you though, a couple of kegs of Beast Lite, 3 sleeves of red solo cups, and a college band in the backyard was high society to me back then.
# 2 Pat McGee Band vs. #7 Emmet Swimming [polldaddy poll=5150493]
Pat McGee Band – Todd and I were in the same fraternity in college and these guys played one of our big parties my senior year. We held it at Melrose to accommodate a larger crowd. The band was really hot at the time, so of course we all used the fact that they were playing as leverage to bring much better looking woman than usual to the party. There was one girl in particular that at least one of our friends invited with hopes of elevating his game for the occasion. As soon as the show ended however, Pat jumped on the bus back to campus with us and promptly spent the night with girl. The lesson, join a band folks. Join a band. I also was at one of their shows at the Bayou once when John Popper from Blues Traveler showed up and played the entire set with them. I sincerely thought I was watching musical history unfold before my very eyes that evening. I walked out of there convinced I had a story that I’d be able to wow people with for years to come. Swing and a miss with that one. Still though, songs like Girl From Athens and Rebecca could bring the house down back in the day.
Emmet Swimming – OK, I might as well just come out and say it. I’m pretty sure I never even saw this band play once at JMU. I don’t think I even went to one of their shows anywhere actually. They had that one kinda, sorta recognizable song, Arlington, that I remember. I also recall them getting some decent buzz and folks talking about their potential to blow up. Well, I did a couple quick searches and that definitely didn’t happen. They are playing a free show in my neighborhood a week from Saturday though. Yep, Emmet Swimming is playing the Del Ray Music Festival. I love my neighborhood. I love this annual festival. Coachella it is not. In fact I am quite certain that if you went back 10 or 15 years and asked any band in this bracket, “Where do you see yourselves in 2011?”, that “playing a free show in Del Ray for a bunch of families on a Saturday afternoon while a herd of toddlers line up so Bubbo the Clown can paint their faces and make them balloons shaped like a wiener dogs” would not be the first words out of their mouths.
Great recap here. A few thoughts though- you had a fake id at JMU? I never thought I needed one. And you went to the slackjaw show in the yard? My house on harrison street backed into that yard. To get technical the party was in my side yard and the Slackjaw guys hung in my house before they played. I am not sure if that makes me cool though. And as a PVI guy, you needed at least to throw in a shot at Pat McGee since he went to that other catholic school in our area.
Not only did I have a fake id, but I had some sort of shady JM’s VIP card to match. They flat out asked me what name to use on the VIP card so that it would match my id. They gave it to me as a bribe when some bartender started a keg delivery service and wanted me to buy kegs for my fraternity from him. I’d order kegs from him once or twice a semester and in exchange I got $2 pitchers and no cover whenever I went to JM’s.
And yeah, O’Connel sucks. That’s a strike against Pat Mcgee.
I’d be remiss not to point out that Emmett Swimming had GMU ties and was a fixture at T.T. Reynolds in Fairfax. That’s probably the kiss of death on this blog.
Indeed. I was trying to be objective and not taint things by bringing up the GMU ties. Not that the cat is out of the bag though, I guesss it’s OK to tell folks not to vote for them.
I would have thought that Puddleduck had done enough during the regular season to get seeded a little closer to home in the JMs bracket, but what do I know. Hey la, it’s a crazy, crazy life.
Since I still get asked for my ID, and sometimes I’m questioned about it at the age of 35, I’m sure my 20 year old version of myself looked a day over 13. Fake ID’s didn’t work too well for me. Luckily I had good friends who just ignored me and left me at the door. Good times.
As for the region here. Slackjaw was one of my favorites my senior year. Probably because they gave me a free cd. But Puddleduck defines this period at JMU. They just played so much, and were all students at the time.
Didn’t your ID have a picture of someone’s brother w/red hair or am I thinking of someone else? Not to take away from your youthful appearance, but that might have had something to do with it.
Wow no love for Fat … er Frat er… Pat McGee. I couldn’t tell you one thing about Swimming except they are not related to Kevin either.
Who set up that party at Melrose party? I bet whoever set it up as awesome. The hook up story is funny cause I was around late night and with the rest of his crew….and he was nowhere to be found. So standard (and the unnamed girl…..soooooooo hot).
With all of that said….I’m very disappointed I didn’t know about this voting until now. I could have influenced a few more votes and put PMB over the top.
Emmett Swimming? Come on man. Really? The songs “Rebecca”, “Haven’t Seen for a While” and “Girl from Athens” alone should have put PMB over the top. Weak.