The Band Formerly Known as Fuel

We played at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis.

Taken in the alley behind the Varsity Theater.
Bottom row (l to r): Mike Kirsch, Jim Allison, Wes (Angry Son manager/roadie/driver), Jeff Stofan, Gary Nix (RIP, Fuel roadie, Jim Allison’s best friend); Middle row (l to r): Aaron Arroyo, Toby Lawrence, Austin Stewart and ???; Top row (l to r): David Lowther, Mike Soper

Read more about Fuel and Angry Son.

As you can see from the flyer, this show took place in a HoJos, or a Howard Johnsons Motor Lodge. I recall that there were four conference rooms - Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Roosevelt - named after the presidents on nearby Mount Rushmore. This was definitely not a punk rock atmosphere. Our merchandise table was set up in the lobby between the entrances to these four rooms so a stream of Kiwanis or Rotary club types kept walking past.

See this list of shows that happened in Rapid City, which shows that Gilman St. bands like Crimpshrine had hit the road in ‘88, Neurosis and Plaid Retina in ‘89, and Filth, Fifteen, and Green Day (opening for Dead Silence and on the same bill and after Admiral) were out at the same time as us in ‘90.

I was astounded when a link to this video showed up in an email. I had never seen a copy and had presumed the original was long since disappeared. We played a decrepit old theatre in Flint, Michigan and were taped by the local cable access channel. It was a weird experience and we weren’t too happy at the time, but I was stoked to discover this complete show in pretty-good-quality video.

You have to sit through three minutes of the credits and then the cable guy, but then our set starts.

We played some kind of art space in Baltimore, Maryland. This was organized by Kim Coletta from Jawbox and was the first show of our mini-tour with them. I believe the Holy Rollers opened, then us and then Jawbox.

I do remember that our van got broken into and Aaron’s bag with clothes and cassettes was stolen, but they missed the envelope with all our cash in the door pocket. I think we scoured the neighbourhood and then spent a couple of hours filling out a report at a police station downtown.

The show was fun though, especially since the guys from Admiral were at the show, but didn’t get to play. You can see the singer Sean in a couple of shots. We had just finished playing a series of shows with Admiral and then stayed with them in Harrisburg. We then moved on to the East Coast with Jawbox, staying at Kim and Jay’s place in Silver Springs.

First song - “Take effect”

Second song - “The Name Is…”

Third song - “Some Gods”

Fourth song - “Not Up For Sale”

I used to have a copy of this show on VHS and am trying to track down a digital copy of the entire show.

This was from a show with Jawbox at D.C. Space in the summer of 1990.