Somewhere between "Chainsaws, Hookers and Blow" and wrapping up "Hell Street", Bubba and I had a series of Business Meetings to discuss how to market the material we were working on. The meetings just included the two of us sitting around my apartment and shooting the shit about what to do with the songs. Believe it or not, we take the business of writing foolish songs very seriously. We have production meetings, band rehearsals, instant messenging, conference calls, etc. However, I digressed.
One day, Bubba said, "I really want this to be a band thing."
"What do you mean?" I asked. "I thought we were going to market this stuff as just Bubba."
"We don't have to," he said. "Besides, I prefer the band thing. It's boring writing songs by myself. It takes longer too. When you have a bunch of guys helping you write the songs, you know, coming up with their own parts and shit, it goes much quicker and it's more fun. I'd rather have a band than to do it all alone."
"Okay, Bubba, I hear you," I said. "So let's start a band."
"I love playing music live, man," he said. "I love the feeling of being on stage and playing in front of people. It gets my juices flowing."
"Keep your juices in check," I said.
"Aw, man," he said, "music is my life. I love playing live. It's pure adrenaline for me. I love it, man. It's where I take all of my aggression and beat it out on the drum set. It's how I express myself through music. It's better than sex!"
"I wouldn't go that far Bubba!"
He shook his head and said, "There's nothing better on this great earth for me as playing music. It's what I live for. It's what I was born to do. God didn't give me any other skills. This is all I got."
After a very poignant speech from Bubba, I understood what he meant. He wanted to take this little thing we had going to a different level. He wanted to add more people and start up a band.
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| Chad in the BGC Studios ripping it up! |
I had absolutely no qualms about working with Chad Robishaw. I've known the guy since our days at Mahoney Middle School. Chad was the first kid I ever saw with a mo-hawk! He's always been cool though. He's probably the coolest guy I know. He's like the Fonz and the rest of us are the Happy Days Gang!
I've known Chad for a long time. He was at my bachelor's party the night before I got married. He got too drunk and didn't make it to the actual wedding but no worries, he did provide the strippers and beer!
Back in our high school days, I played with Chad in a couple of short-lived bands. I knew he could sing and he had an awesome voice but I didn't know how well he played guitar until we played "Hell Street". Oh man, he'd come a long way! Chad is a great guitar player. He taught himself how to play and he practices all of the time. As Bubba once said, "The guy has a guitar in his bathroom so he can play while he's taking a crap!" That's dedication to your art right there!
It's true though. Chad is a great guitarist. What makes him great is everything comes from the heart with him. You can hear it in his playing... that's Chad's heart. I love the solos he comes up with too. They sound spontaneous but I suspect he practices them because he practices all of the time!
So we had three guys. That's enough to start a band, right? Sure but four makes it better! Especially when the fourth guy is TJ Hubbard!
"How closely do you want to be connected to this thing?" I asked TJ one night while we were recording "She's Got the Herp".
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| TJ in the BGC Studios shredding guitar! |
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Well, I mean, we wrote this song, it's subject matter is a little offensive or inappropriate to some people," I began. "When we put it out there, how do you want to be credited? Do you want to be in the video?"
"I'd love to be in the video," he said. "As far as the song material goes, I love it too. I like writing funny songs, recording them and putting them out there. It's a fucking blast!"
I think that's how TJ joined the band. It was all very quick.
TJ is an excellent guitar player. He can pick up and learn any song quickly, usually just by listening to it. He has great timing too. He is also an excellent song composer. He can arrange and write all the guitar and bass parts, which makes it easier on me. He always shows me different things I can do with the bass. He is patient, easy to work with in the studio and he is just a hell of a nice guy to boot!
"What do you want to call the band?" I asked Bubba one day.
"I don't know, man," he said. "Let's see what we can come up with. What do you think?"
"Well, it's gotta be 'Bubba and' something else," I said. "We know that much already."
"How about 'Bubba and the Twats'?"
"I don't want to be a twat," I said. "Think of something else."
"'Bubba and the Genital Warts'?"
"I don't want to be a genital wart either."
It didn't get much better than that for a while. We sat around and bounced a bunch of stupid names off each other until I suggested 'Bubba and the Government Cheeze' spelled with a 'Z'.
"I like that one," said Bubba, approving of our future band's name.
"If we can't think of a better one between now and the time we post 'Hell Street' on YouTube, then we'll go with 'Bubba and the Government Cheeze'," I suggested.
And that's how we got our name!
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