The Four Eyes - a Sacramento Band

Even after living and playing in sacramento for ten years we still get called a Santa Cruz band sometimes. its summer 2007 now. We've released 3 cds and seem to mostly play in spurts (no shows for months then 3 in a week). But where did it all begin?

The Start - a history of The Four Eyes

We were sitting around having an acostic Lint Farmers reunion in joels basement room. Skip had to go give some chick a ride. So we figured we'd learn some Ramones songs so skip would be happy when he came back. Skip ditched us for that chick and we started our own band to become famous just to spite him for ditching us. We had to figure out a name so we (atleast joel and i) thought we should be called 'ducktales 2: the movie' just so we could have the dumbest and most confusing band name ever. Then we came up with The Four Eyes and figured we have all songs about nerds. We practiced in jays parents garage on weekends. Came up with out first song 'compucore' and other early songs like video games, comics, can buy me love, nerds in spac, riptide robot and nerdy girl. Actuallly we didnt practice much, must have been over xmas break because joel lived in Goleta and went to UCSB. So we must have just practice like 2 or 3 times in jays garage. I just rember using the dart board to figure out chords to use for the scott miller song

and i remember recording lost in space for the secret center tape. Jay and i would also visit joel down south his second year at UCSB when he lived in an apartment with nate, rob and tom. We record our 'rock and roll with' tape in the UCSB chemisty lecture room on a weekend night. We would also play at georges driveway on the main party street so drunks would come by and laugh. When joel quit UCSB and moved back to santa cruz must have been when we started practicing in jays garage (i'm obsessed with trying to figure out when we practiced in jays garage). I cant remember very many places we played in santa cruz. We played with Nar at a apartment by the boardwalk, played UCSC with the

bananas, but that was in like 95. Played two sets at the redroom once. Played atleast one Pepepolooza.

In the begining. Santa Cruz, CA, early 90's (like 90 or 91)

Burning the Big Jacket:
	So the first band was Burning the Big Jacket. It was Dave
Ninja on slide whistle, Jay hitting an empty crisco can with a marking pen
and zack singing.  We also had a keyboard playing casio chords and a
guitar that wasnt tuned and didnt have all the strings (it was electric
but not pluged in).  There is a tape of this. It contains songs about the
letter F (F is the chord i want to be, i dont want to have water on the
knee...) and the guitar was played holding an F chord but it wasnt in tune
so that didnt matter. There later on was a 'jam' in Zacks garage with an
amp of two, it was basically feedback and a two 'note' song called "Pog".
du-du-du-du-du-DU-du-du-du-du-du-(POG).  Cris Mark was there for Pog.

Brotherhood of the Flyers:
	Dave Ninja, Joel and Skip.  Joel played guitar, Dave played bass
and skip sang as hit hit a floor tom.  Probably the worst band.  There was
a tape of the only time we did anything (born, recorded and died all in
the same night).  I rember we made people listen to the tape in their car
that night. Story behind the band: Skip and I(Dave) were at joel's house
(joel lived with his mom, step dad and i think his uncle rob was styaing
there) and joel's uncle was telling us he'd pay us a bunch of money to
drive up to Bay Meadows horse track and put flyers on car windows.  We got
all excited and talked about what crappy music equipment we would buy with
the money.  When then recorded a couple songs.  Joel uncle never mentioned
the flyer thing again.

Lint Farmers:
	Skip, Joel, Dave Ninja and Jay.  Skip came up with the name and
wanted to start a band for him to sing in.  He got joel for guitar because
he owned one. Then he gave and invitation for Jay and I to join the band
since I owned a bass and amp and jay owned drums.  This was during the
senior year of highschool.  We practiced every week and for hours in Jay's
parents garage.  Lots of crazyness.  Like once a bum came by and came
inside and started dancing and saying we were great and he said "here the
bass coming out of that machine!" which was a phrase we wouldnt ever
forget. Then there was  Rocky, a skater kid that was probably older than
us who would come by and talk to us just because he just moved there and
didnt have any friends.  Jay's neighbor across the street would complain
about the noise.  We were bad, most of the songs didnt have parts that
went together.  We didnt know stuff about music. There are way too many
Lint Farmers recordings.  Songs like: Kentucky fried holocaust, ohio well
disaster, bite me die, cameras.  Places played: Harbor High quad at
lunch time, Domiana's gradutation party, harbor high little theater for
some tallet show, Nathen Figone's backyard party (our 1st show), some
pepepoloozas.  We recorded "switchblade baby" in like 95 and it was on a
secret center comp. I'll have to make a seperate Lint Farmers
page sometime because there is just too much dumb stuff.

Tard:
	Dillon(guitar), Adam Dam-Bad(guitar), Dave Ninja(bass, 2nd singer),
Jay(drums) and Joel(1st singer, 2nd bass). Dillon and Adam had had guitar
lessons and knew that music should go together from instrument to
instrument.  So the songs only had one 'riff' that was played over and
over but atleast the instruments were playing the same notes at about the
same time.  Songs like: Rob(about joels uncle), Power and Glory(about hte
wrestling tag team of Paul Roma and Hercules), Cats ass, loving machine,
super punch(worst bass line ever, didnt even go along with the song, it
still embarrasses me today).  Played zacks room and a pepepolooza(annual
new years show).

Mote:
	Dillon(guitar), Jay(drums), Dave Ninja(Bass) and Zack(singing).
First realish band.  Some songs on mp3.com (Mote on mp3.com). Got one song on an LP
comp.  Made two tapes, both had the same picture on the cover (joel with
mohawk looking retarded) one was on white paper (called 'the white tape')
other was on orange paper and called "Hotter than cone 10"(or the orange
tape).  We would run a classied add in MRR saying 'send up two stamps and
we'll send you a tape'.  We got ride of about 200 tapes. At first all the
songs were about dumb stuff (macgyver, life is nintendo, barney the
skater, mr burns, ernest goes to the pit) later they because about
nothing. Played all around, we're together for a few years.  I evenually
quit because i wasnt having fun anymore, it sounds dumb now but i didnt
like the idea of being in a band that didnt sing about TV, video games,
movies and inside jokes.  Music was becoming different as well because
people were into hardcore emo stuff like Unwound and Antioche Arrow as
well as bands like the Wedding Present.  Jack took my place, but i think
they only played like one or two shows with him.  You know, i dont htink i
ever saw either of those shows. Before I was out of Mote, Jay, Joel and I
had started The Four Eyes.  I bet no one thought that we would still be
around today.

Ben, Franklyn and the Electric Keys:
	Joel (as ben, played guitar and sang), Dave Ninja (as franklyn,
played bass and sang) and keyboard (as electric keys, played drums and
keyboard).  Lots of dumb songs, only shows have been pepepoloozas.

Joel Tongue and Hot Lick:
	Joel and a keyboard and maybe 4 track. On secret center CD comp
with Ents. Good stuff. Check out the mp3.com page (here).

John Candyman and the Suckas:
	Dumb band with joel on guitar and singing, and zack, jay, dave
ninja, skip singing. Sing along type songs like Skeleton Horde and
electrocution.

more to come (which is now the show history part below)

show history (starting April 2004):
• Saturday, February 23rd at The Stag in Woodland with Rock the Light, The Whiz Bangs, Oliver/Lauren/Lagners band and some drunk guy in a corona jacket that joined in on the scat fest at the end. we played the songs from Rock and Roll with the four eyes tape.
• Sunday, January 20th at Thrillhouse Records Basement in SF with Underground Railroad to Candy Land, Can of Beans and Blood Muffin. Show starts at 7pm and has to be done by 10. we were last. we played all covers.
• Saturday, December 1st - Toy Drive thing at R5
• Sunday, December 16th "Upstarts vs. Oldfarts" at Silk (1101 Del Paso Blvd., Sacto) with CRIME, Lou Lou & the Guitarfish, The Bananas, No Admission, Isonomy, uncut:Hunks, Nowheres and The Disgusteens, all ages ($6 21+/$8 under 21), doors open at noon, show starts at 1 PM
• Christmas show, Friday Dec 28th at Guphy's house. Tons of people, out best xmas show yet. here is the set list
• Saturday, August 25th, San Francisco at the Thrillhouse Record Store basement (3422 Misson St) with The Unlovables, Nar, Vena Cava. this should will likely be amazing. Show starts at 5pm, there are 6 bands total. This was like the best show ever. so many people. we butchered a body count cover and played 'dont stop believin'
• Sunday, August 26th, Delta of Venus in Davis with The Unlovables and Red Pony Clock, it will be our local CD Release Show for our new CD.
• Friday, June 1st at Thrillhouse Records store/house/basement in San Francisco (3422 Misson St) with The Ergs!, Lemuria, Double Ds and Robocop 3. starts at 6-6:30ish. all ages. This will be a 'CD Release show' for our new CD, "Five Songs"
• bunch of shows i missed from Aug 2006 to May 2007. Ones i remember: we played Kody and Brandy's wedding in march, Bill and Karens bacholer/ette party in early may, a show at Fool Foundation with Makes Nice in also in may, show at distillery with the pizzas and robocop3 that no one came to.
• August 6th (sunday), 924 Gilman St., Berkley, sunday matinee(5pm) with us and This is My Fist, One Reason, and Hot New Mexicans, $6, all ages, pit warning
• July 22nd (saturday), Old Ironsides for Wasted Weekend III, we're opening for Harold Ray Live in Concert, The Flakes, and The Clamour also DJs; 9pm, $9, 21+
• July 23rd (sunday), Delta of Venus (122 B st., Davis) with The Ergs! and Hunchback, 5 bucks, 8pm. East meets West nerd-fest! Free cds (the four eyes: sweet sounds or rock and role playing) to the first 34 people that pay to get in.
• April 7th (friday) at Old Ironsides with Th' Losing Streaks and Harold Ray Live in Concert. awesome show. played an amazing Doors medley and the Ben Casey saga
• April 1st (saturday) at Delta of Venus (Davis) with Th' Losing Streaks and Boss and the Big Bit
• April 3rd (monday) at Junta with Jewdriver and The Shemps, also Megacools
• January 11th (wednesday) at Old Ironsides with The Secretions, The Spinoffs (Canada) and Megacool (new talk about charles band). $7 at 9pm