[Brian Krashpad]

Still no stories! No pics? C'mon people!

OK, so after awhile the Camp 7 lead singer decided he was going to move to the big city and become a rock star. Obviously I couldn't do that, since I had a day job and such, so I was out. The singer brought in an old buddy of his to play bass instead. The new bassist also bought them a drum kit and a new PA, iirc. Eventually they moved downstate for awhile (Orlando I think, maybe Tampa), and then up to Boston. Later the lead singer came back to Gainesville and our musical paths crossed again, but that is for another post.

So anyhow, I was out of Camp 7 sometime in 1990 or so. I decided that it was time to front a band doing original material that would include songs I would write. (We had done one of my songs in Camp 7.) I first got together with Dave, who had been in the early version of longtime Gainesville fave Tone Unknown (in fact, he had come up with that name). Dave quickly repeated his previous band-naming success by coming up with "Smart Bomb" for the fledgling project.

The rhythm section was rounded out by Neil, a jovial heavy metal-rocker type on drums, and Chris Ticknor on bass. Chris was considerably younger than the other members of the band and left after only 3 shows. Wade, a portly drummer in the UF marching band, known for wacky onstage clothing and antics, replaced Chris on bass about five weeks after our debut.

Smart Bomb made it's debut on Saturday, March 23, 1991. The show was very unusual in that we played in a backroom of the old Skeeter's restaurant on NW 34th Street. Dave, who was an abstract painter, somehow talked Skeeter's into letting him have an art show/band show there. Smart Bomb played with three other bands we subsequently gigged with at other venues around town: Bicycle Thieves (another band that included a former Camp 7 member, original drummer Jeff Schwartz; Brian helped them record their first 3-song demo on his 4-track), Unidentified (Dave was friends with Rich Groene), and the Youngies.

This version (Brian, Dave, Neil, Wade) of Smart Bomb lasted until Dave moved, in August of 1991. This version of the band was heavily oriented towards Brian's material since Dave only contributed a couple songs and Neil had not yet begun writing. Gigs during this phase of the band included Gainesville clubs the Hardback, Gravity and Club Demolition, plus a two-day stint at Admiral Spacolli's in St. Augustine (who dicked us over pretty badly and then tried to have us arrested despite that we'd packed the dive).

Dave managed to get the "oldies" radio station he worked at to let him have a local music show, which he called "In The Bunker," and on which he played Smart Bomb live unreleased recordings, plus those of our other local band friends. Dave even interviewed the other members of Smart Bomb once, without ever noting that he was the fourth member of the band! Wade took over the DJ spot when Dave moved.

On to the pics! Here's the debut "art show" gig:



Here's a street party we played, Dave was so plastered he could hardly stand. I have no idea how he managed to play guitar:



Us, with second bassist Wade, at a place called "Club Demolition," which in fact imploded a couple months after opening due to licensing issues:





Let's see some pics from y'all, people!