Happy Toons - Revision history

AnarchistiCookie: /* External Links */

2016-08-05T20:27:14Z

External Links

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:27, 5 August 2016
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	== External Links ==		== External Links ==
	[http://www.spontaneous.com/images2.html Photos at Spontaneous Combustion]		* [http://www.spontaneous.com/images2.html Photos at Spontaneous Combustion]
			* [https://www.discogs.com/artist/1194179-Happy-Toons-2 Happy Toons on Discogs.com]

	[[Category:Bands]]		[[Category:Bands]]
	[[Category:Western Suburbs]]		[[Category:Western Suburbs]]

Gantry at 02:42, 19 July 2007

2007-07-19T02:42:50Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:42, 19 July 2007
Line 1:		Line 1:
	'''The Happy Toons story as told by [[Keith Lyons]] and [[Brooks Smith]].'''<br><br>		'''The Happy Toons story as told by [[Keith Lyons]] and [[Brooks Smith]].'''<br><br>

	'''Keith: ''' The best I can recall is that after the breakup of [[Negative Element]] - the move of the [[Steppe]] brothers to Peoria IL, [[Tom Faulkner]] and I wanted to continue playing music. Before I began looking to create a new band, I went and started playing drums for the first line up of [[Life Sentence]]. [[Eric ~~Brockmann~~]] was a good friend and a mentor - and his previous band, The Anti-Bodies had rehearsed in my parenets garage, [[Keith Garage]], so we'd already made some noise together. We rehearsed at his home in Itasca but it was just too far away for me - seeing that I was still too young to drive, my brother and older friends couldn't commit to driving me on a regular basis. Eric had rented his house in Itasca with the purpose of rehearsing and he had no desire to be driving out to Westmont every other night again. Shortly thereafter [[Tom Faulkner]] and I started getting together and I had a number of ideas for songs that were too psychedelic and weird for [[Negative Element]]. Strange enough, I wasn't really into hardcore but freaky music. Heck, I liked Black Flag and the Circle Jerks and all the current music from 80-82 but I was literally buying Fugs albums and Sandy Nelson albums at the Salvation Armies. My mind was elsewhere. It must have been [[Mick Calhoun]] who introduced me to [[Robert Byrne]], so Robert, Tom and I rehearsed some. Faulkner wanted to be more of a Chicago scenester so it only worked out for a little while with him - we were rehearsing in my house in the burbs.		'''Keith: ''' The best I can recall is that after the breakup of [[Negative Element]] - the move of the [[Steppe]] brothers to Peoria IL, [[Tom Faulkner]] and I wanted to continue playing music. Before I began looking to create a new band, I went and started playing drums for the first line up of [[Life Sentence]]. [[Eric Brockman]] was a good friend and a mentor - and his previous band, [[The Anti-Bodies]] had rehearsed in my parenets garage, [[Keith Garage]], so we'd already made some noise together. We rehearsed at his home in Itasca but it was just too far away for me - seeing that I was still too young to drive, my brother and older friends couldn't commit to driving me on a regular basis. Eric had rented his house in Itasca with the purpose of rehearsing and he had no desire to be driving out to Westmont every other night again. Shortly thereafter [[Tom Faulkner]] and I started getting together and I had a number of ideas for songs that were too psychedelic and weird for [[Negative Element]]. Strange enough, I wasn't really into hardcore but freaky music. Heck, I liked Black Flag and the Circle Jerks and all the current music from 80-82 but I was literally buying Fugs albums and Sandy Nelson albums at the Salvation Armies. My mind was elsewhere. It must have been [[Mick Calhoun]] who introduced me to [[Robert Byrne]], so Robert, Tom and I rehearsed some. Faulkner wanted to be more of a Chicago scenester so it only worked out for a little while with him - we were rehearsing in my house in the burbs.

	I knew Cheeze Romano (we went to parochial school together) from the pop, new wave band The Kidz and I knew that [[Bryn Zellers]] was on his way out. He was and always will be a great musician. So eventually it was Robert, Bryn and I. We started to learn a number of weird country/psychedelic songs. Through the relationship of [[Mick Calhoun]] and [[Robert Byrne]] (both of [[Dead Fink]]) I started hanging out with [[Dan Schneider]] and some others like Ross Vondersmith and Jamie Munroe and I started skating again. We needed a singer and [[Brooks Smith]] popped up around that time. Brooks started showing up with this cool guy Mike Carruth, who ended up being one the first promoters of stunt/freestyle bike events in the USA: There was a connection there because of skating and BMX/freestyle bicycles. Brooks was this kind of mysterious dude from 'California'. His claim to fame was doing the longest wheelie in the world, so naturally we asked him to sing.<br><br>		I knew Cheeze Romano (we went to parochial school together) from the pop, new wave band The Kidz and I knew that [[Bryn Zellers]] was on his way out. He was and always will be a great musician. So eventually it was Robert, Bryn and I. We started to learn a number of weird country/psychedelic songs. Through the relationship of [[Mick Calhoun]] and [[Robert Byrne]] (both of [[Dead Fink]]) I started hanging out with [[Dan Schneider]] and some others like Ross Vondersmith and Jamie Munroe and I started skating again. We needed a singer and [[Brooks Smith]] popped up around that time. Brooks started showing up with this cool guy Mike Carruth, who ended up being one the first promoters of stunt/freestyle bike events in the USA: There was a connection there because of skating and BMX/freestyle bicycles. Brooks was this kind of mysterious dude from 'California'. His claim to fame was doing the longest wheelie in the world, so naturally we asked him to sing.<br><br>

195.93.60.8 at 05:11, 4 May 2007

2007-05-04T05:11:14Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:11, 4 May 2007
Line 1:		Line 1:
	'''The Happy Toons story as told by [[Keith Lyons]] and [[Brooks Smith]].'''<br><br>		'''The Happy Toons story as told by [[Keith Lyons]] and [[Brooks Smith]].'''<br><br>

	'''Keith: ''' The best I can recall is that after the breakup of [[Negative Element]] - the move of the [[Steppe]] brothers to Peoria IL, [[Tom Faulkner]] and I wanted to continue playing music. ~~First~~ I went and started playing drums for the first line up of [[Life Sentence]]. [[Eric Brockmann]] was a good friend and a mentor but it was just too far for my brother or friends to ~~drive~~ and ~~too much for him~~ to do every other night. [[Tom Faulkner]] and I ~~got~~ together ~~also about the same times~~ and I had a number of ideas for songs that were too psychedelic and weird for [[Negative Element]]. Strange enough, I wasn't really into hardcore but freaky music. ~~Hell~~, I liked Black Flag and the Circle Jerks and all the current music from 80-82 but I was literally buying Fugs albums and Sandy Nelson albums at the Salvation Armies. My mind was elsewhere. It must have been [[Mick Calhoun]] who introduced me to [[Robert Byrne]], so Robert, Tom and I rehearsed some. Faulkner wanted to be more of a Chicago scenester so it only worked out for a little while with him. I knew Cheeze Romano from the pop, new wave band Kidz and I knew that [[Bryn Zellers]] was on his way out. He was and always will be a great musician. So eventually it was Robert, Bryn and I. We started to learn a number of weird country/psychedelic songs. Through the relationship of [[Mick Calhoun]] and [[Robert Byrne]] (both of [[Dead Fink]]) I started hanging out with [[Dan Schneider]] and some others like Ross Vondersmith and Jamie Munroe and I started skating again. We needed a singer and [[Brooks Smith]] popped up around that time. Brooks started showing up with this cool guy Mike Carruth, who ended up being one the first promoters of stunt/freestyle bike events in ~~the USA. There was a connection there because of skating and BMX/freestyle bicycles. Brooks was this kind of mysterious dude from 'California'. His claim to fame was doing the longest wheelie~~ in the ~~world, so we asked him to sing~~.~~<br><br>~~		'''Keith: ''' The best I can recall is that after the breakup of [[Negative Element]] - the move of the [[Steppe]] brothers to Peoria IL, [[Tom Faulkner]] and I wanted to continue playing music. Before I began looking to create a new band, I went and started playing drums for the first line up of [[Life Sentence]]. [[Eric Brockmann]] was a good friend and a mentor - and his previous band, The Anti-Bodies had rehearsed in my parenets garage, [[Keith Garage]], so we'd already made some noise together. We rehearsed at his home in Itasca but it was just too far away for me - seeing that I was still too young to drive, my brother and older friends couldn't commit to driving me on a regular basis. Eric had rented his house in Itasca with the purpose of rehearsing and he had no desire to be driving out to Westmont every other night again. Shortly thereafter [[Tom Faulkner]] and I started getting together and I had a number of ideas for songs that were too psychedelic and weird for [[Negative Element]]. Strange enough, I wasn't really into hardcore but freaky music. Heck, I liked Black Flag and the Circle Jerks and all the current music from 80-82 but I was literally buying Fugs albums and Sandy Nelson albums at the Salvation Armies. My mind was elsewhere. It must have been [[Mick Calhoun]] who introduced me to [[Robert Byrne]], so Robert, Tom and I rehearsed some. Faulkner wanted to be more of a Chicago scenester so it only worked out for a little while with him - we were rehearsing in my house in the burbs.

	I ~~can't remember our first show but~~ I~~'m sure it was a party in~~ [[~~Keith Garage~~]]. ~~We played all the clubs in Chicago~~ and ~~we became~~ a ~~regular attraction at [[West End]]~~. ~~The manager of that bar~~ was ~~the coolest bar manager~~ I~~'ve ever met~~. We ~~had quite~~ a ~~few early admirers from~~ the ~~'old' school hipsters~~ of ~~the late seventies. I think Shrub's (~~[[Robert Byrne]]~~) guitar skills for a 14 year old were unprecedented and at first we were doing really bizarre music - at least for Chicago. We played dozens and dozens~~ of ~~shows.~~ [[~~Jeff Pezatti~~]] ~~even used us to introduce~~ [[~~Big Black~~]] ~~to Chicago youth~~. ~~Ain't that funny? I have to say~~ that the ~~highlight~~ was ~~playing at~~ a ~~Mothers Day Peace Festival in Chicago~~'~~s Grant Park~~ in ~~front of 40~~,~~000 people. We played Bryn's song "Suicide Trap"~~.<br><br>		I knew Cheeze Romano (we went to parochial school together) from the pop, new wave band The Kidz and I knew that [[Bryn Zellers]] was on his way out. He was and always will be a great musician. So eventually it was Robert, Bryn and I. We started to learn a number of weird country/psychedelic songs. Through the relationship of [[Mick Calhoun]] and [[Robert Byrne]] (both of [[Dead Fink]]) I started hanging out with [[Dan Schneider]] and some others like Ross Vondersmith and Jamie Munroe and I started skating again. We needed a singer and [[Brooks Smith]] popped up around that time. Brooks started showing up with this cool guy Mike Carruth, who ended up being one the first promoters of stunt/freestyle bike events in the USA: There was a connection there because of skating and BMX/freestyle bicycles. Brooks was this kind of mysterious dude from 'California'. His claim to fame was doing the longest wheelie in the world, so naturally we asked him to sing.<br><br>

	I think after [[Dead Fink]] started we became more of a cult - the two bands ~~combined~~ with Dan's own charisma and my tweaked past we forged a kind of scene in the Western Suburbs. The drugs and drinking took precedence at some point and the rest is history... Rest in Pieces.<br><br>		I can't remember our first show but I'm sure it was a party in [[Keith Garage]]. We played all the clubs in Chicago and we became a regular attraction at [[West End]] - I probably confused this bar with [[Batteries Not Included]] because now that I think about, the West End bar owner lost his mind during the Minutemen Show. The owner of Batteries Not Included was the coolest bar manager I've ever met. Anyways, we had quite a few early admirers from the 'old school hipsters of the late seventies punk scene'. I think Shrub's ([[Robert Byrne]]) guitar skills for a 14 year old were unprecedented and combined with the fact that at first we were doing really bizarre music - at least for Chicago - people had taken notice. I remember trying to get Shrub to learn Borderline by the MC5's - which was almost a taboo 'no, no' in the emerging hardcore scene. We played dozens and dozens of shows. [[Jeff Pezatti]] even used us to introduce [[Big Black]] to Chicago youth. Ain't that funny? I have to say that the highlight was playing at a Mothers Day Peace Festival in Chicago's Grant Park in front of 40,000 people. We played Bryn's song "Suicide Trap".<br><br>

			I think after [[Dead Fink]] started we became more of a cult - With the combined charisma of the members from the two bands; added with Dan's own special charisma and my tweaked past, we forged a kind of scene in the Western Suburbs. The drugs and drinking took precedence at some point and the rest is history... Rest in Pieces.<br><br>

	----		----

Gantry: Category:Western Suburbs

2006-06-19T17:08:40Z

Category:Western Suburbs

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:08, 19 June 2006
Line 34:		Line 34:

	[[Category:Bands]]		[[Category:Bands]]
			[[Category:Western Suburbs]]

Gantry: bands category

2006-06-19T00:36:47Z

bands category

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:36, 19 June 2006
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	== External Links ==		== External Links ==
	[http://www.spontaneous.com/images2.html Photos at Spontaneous Combustion]		[http://www.spontaneous.com/images2.html Photos at Spontaneous Combustion]

			[[Category:Bands]]

SenorCitizen at 20:01, 18 June 2006

2006-06-18T20:01:16Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:01, 18 June 2006
Line 1:		Line 1:
	'''The Happy Toons story as told by [[Keith Lyons]] and [[Brooks Smith]].'''<br><br>		'''The Happy Toons story as told by [[Keith Lyons]] and [[Brooks Smith]].'''<br><br>

	'''Keith:''' The best I can recall is that after the breakup of [[Negative Element]] - the move of the [[Steppe]] brothers to Peoria IL, [[Tom Faulkner]] and I wanted to continue playing music. First I went and started playing drums for the first line up of [[Life Sentence]]. ~~Erik~~ was a good friend and a mentor but it was just too far for my brother or friends to drive and too much for him to do every other night. Tom and I got together also about the same times and I had a number of ideas for songs that were too psychedelic and weird for [[Negative Element]]. Strange enough, I wasn't really into ~~Hardcore~~ but freaky music. Hell, I liked Black Flag and the Circle Jerks and all the current music from 80-82 but I was literally buying Fugs albums and Sandy Nelson albums at the Salvation Armies. My mind was elsewhere. It must have been [[Mick Calhoun]] who introduced me to Robert, so Robert, Tom and I rehearsed some. Faulkner wanted to be more of a Chicago scenester so it only worked out for a little while with him. I knew Cheeze Romano from the pop, new wave band Kidz and I knew that [[Bryn Zellers]] was on his way out. He was and always will be a great musician. So eventually it was Robert, Bryn and I. We started to learn a number of weird country/psychedelic songs. Through the relationship of [[Mick Calhoun]] and [[Robert Byrne]] (both of [[Dead Fink]]) I started hanging out with Dan and some others like Ross Vondersmith and Jamie Munroe and I started skating again. We needed a singer and Brooks popped up around that time. Brooks started showing up with this cool guy Mike, ~~I forget his name, but he~~ ended up being one the first promoters ~~for~~ stunt ~~Freestyle Bike~~ events in the USA. There was a connection there because of skating and BMX/~~Freestyle~~ bicycles. Brooks was this kind of mysterious dude from 'California'~~. Pismo if I remember correctly~~. His claim to fame was doing the longest wheelie in the world~~. So~~ we asked him to sing.<br><br>		'''Keith: ''' The best I can recall is that after the breakup of [[Negative Element]] - the move of the [[Steppe]] brothers to Peoria IL, [[Tom Faulkner]] and I wanted to continue playing music. First I went and started playing drums for the first line up of [[Life Sentence]]. [[Eric Brockmann]] was a good friend and a mentor but it was just too far for my brother or friends to drive and too much for him to do every other night. [[Tom Faulkner]] and I got together also about the same times and I had a number of ideas for songs that were too psychedelic and weird for [[Negative Element]]. Strange enough, I wasn't really into hardcore but freaky music. Hell, I liked Black Flag and the Circle Jerks and all the current music from 80-82 but I was literally buying Fugs albums and Sandy Nelson albums at the Salvation Armies. My mind was elsewhere. It must have been [[Mick Calhoun]] who introduced me to [[Robert Byrne]], so Robert, Tom and I rehearsed some. Faulkner wanted to be more of a Chicago scenester so it only worked out for a little while with him. I knew Cheeze Romano from the pop, new wave band Kidz and I knew that [[Bryn Zellers]] was on his way out. He was and always will be a great musician. So eventually it was Robert, Bryn and I. We started to learn a number of weird country/psychedelic songs. Through the relationship of [[Mick Calhoun]] and [[Robert Byrne]] (both of [[Dead Fink]]) I started hanging out with [[Dan Schneider]] and some others like Ross Vondersmith and Jamie Munroe and I started skating again. We needed a singer and [[Brooks Smith]] popped up around that time. Brooks started showing up with this cool guy Mike Carruth, who ended up being one the first promoters of stunt/freestyle bike events in the USA. There was a connection there because of skating and BMX/freestyle bicycles. Brooks was this kind of mysterious dude from 'California'. His claim to fame was doing the longest wheelie in the world, so we asked him to sing.<br><br>

	I can't remember our first show but I'm sure it was a party in ~~the garage~~. We played all the clubs in Chicago and we became a regular attraction at [[West End]]. The manager of that bar was the coolest bar manager I've ever met. We had quite a few early admirers from the 'old' school hipsters of the late seventies. I think Shrub's ([[Robert Byrne]]) guitar skills for a 14 year old were unprecedented and at first we were doing really bizarre music - at least for Chicago. We played dozens and dozens of shows. [[Jeff Pezatti]] even used us to introduce [[Big Black]] to Chicago youth. Ain't that funny? I have to say that the highlight was playing at a Mothers Day Peace Festival in ~~downtown~~ Chicago in front of 40,000 people. We played Bryn's song "Suicide Trap".<br><br>		I can't remember our first show but I'm sure it was a party in [[Keith Garage]]. We played all the clubs in Chicago and we became a regular attraction at [[West End]]. The manager of that bar was the coolest bar manager I've ever met. We had quite a few early admirers from the 'old' school hipsters of the late seventies. I think Shrub's ([[Robert Byrne]]) guitar skills for a 14 year old were unprecedented and at first we were doing really bizarre music - at least for Chicago. We played dozens and dozens of shows. [[Jeff Pezatti]] even used us to introduce [[Big Black]] to Chicago youth. Ain't that funny? I have to say that the highlight was playing at a Mothers Day Peace Festival in Chicago's Grant Park in front of 40,000 people. We played Bryn's song "Suicide Trap".<br><br>

	I think after [[Dead Fink]] started we became more of a cult - the two bands combined with Dan's own charisma and my tweaked past we forged a kind of scene in the Western Suburbs. The drugs and drinking took precedence at some point and the rest is history... Rest in Pieces.<br><br>		I think after [[Dead Fink]] started we became more of a cult - the two bands combined with Dan's own charisma and my tweaked past we forged a kind of scene in the Western Suburbs. The drugs and drinking took precedence at some point and the rest is history... Rest in Pieces.<br><br>
Line 9:		Line 9:
	----		----

	'''Brooks:''' In 1983 I took up drinking and started throwing nightly parties at my mother’s rented home in Downers Grove. The normal cast of characters included all the members of [[Dead Fink]] as well as a number of classmates and their friends. Keith started showing up at these soirees and it was at this time that he and [[Robert Byrne]] were starting what would become [[Happy Toons]].<br><br>		'''Brooks: ''' In 1983 I took up drinking and started throwing nightly parties at my mother’s rented home in Downers Grove. The normal cast of characters included all the members of [[Dead Fink]] as well as a number of classmates and their friends. [[Keith Lyons]] started showing up at these soirees and it was at this time that he and [[Robert Byrne]] were starting what would become [[Happy Toons]].<br><br>

	One night Keith brought [[Bryn Zellers]], who I had know from the BMX world, to my house and they ~~sprung on me~~ that they needed a singer for Happy Toons. I met those guys at ~~Keith’s house~~ to "try out" and after nearly a case of Black Label beer I worked up the courage to scream into the mike. Apparently it worked because we started practicing on a regular basis from there ~~in the now legendary "[[Keith Garage]]~~."<br><br>		One night Keith brought [[Bryn Zellers]], who I had know from the BMX world, to my house and they told that they needed a singer for [[Happy Toons]]. I met those guys at [[Keith Garage]] to "try out" and after nearly a case of Black Label beer I worked up the courage to scream into the mike. Apparently it worked because we started practicing on a regular basis from there.<br><br>

	I’m not sure how long it took us, it couldn’t have been more than a couple of weeks, but we played our first real show at [[West End]] with Killdozer and Die Kreuzen.<br><br>		I’m not sure how long it took us, it couldn’t have been more than a couple of weeks, but we played our first real show at [[West End]] with Killdozer and Die Kreuzen.<br><br>

	We put on ~~two~~ shows at "[[Keith Garage]]", one of them was written up in Maximum Rock and Roll. Legendary skater Steve Caballero's band, The Faction, was on tour and made a point of stopping ~~in Downers Grove~~ to play that show.<br><br>		We put on a few shows at [[Keith Garage]], one of them was written up in Maximum Rock and Roll. Legendary skater Steve Caballero's band, The Faction, was on tour and made a point of stopping to play that show.<br><br>

	We somehow ended up on a lot of good bills opening up for the likes of The Exploited, The Dicks, D.R.I., A.O.F., Adrenalin O.D., Toxic Reasons and too many more to remember. I suspect Keith’s trailblazing with [[Negative Element]] opened up quite a few doors for us.<br><br>		We somehow ended up on a lot of good bills opening up for the likes of The Exploited, The Dicks, D.R.I., A.O.F., Adrenalin O.D., Toxic Reasons and too many more to remember. I suspect Keith’s trailblazing with [[Negative Element]] opened up quite a few doors for us.<br><br>

	Most importantly, we found ourselves at the center of a really powerful suburban scene that spawned a lot of great and very active bands~~. And~~ cemented our places in drinking history!		Most importantly, we found ourselves at the center of a really powerful suburban scene that spawned a lot of great and very active bands and cemented our places in drinking history!

	== Members ==		== Members ==

SenorCitizen at 19:21, 18 June 2006

2006-06-18T19:21:35Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:21, 18 June 2006
Line 1:		Line 1:
	'''The Happy Toons story as told by Keith Lyons and Brooks Smith.'''<br><br>		'''The Happy Toons story as told by [[Keith Lyons]] and [[Brooks Smith]].'''<br><br>

	'''Keith:''' The best I can recall is that after the breakup of [[Negative Element]] - the move of the [[Steppe]] brothers to Peoria IL, [[Tom Faulkner]] and I wanted to continue playing music. First I went and started playing drums for the first line up of [[Life Sentence]]. Erik was a good friend and a mentor but it was just too far for my brother or friends to drive and too much for him to do every other night. Tom and I got together also about the same times and I had a number of ideas for songs that were too psychedelic and weird for [[Negative Element]]. Strange enough, I wasn't really into Hardcore but freaky music. Hell, I liked Black Flag and the Circle Jerks and all the current music from 80-82 but I was literally buying Fugs albums and Sandy Nelson albums at the Salvation Armies. My mind was elsewhere. It must have been [[Mick Calhoun]] who introduced me to Robert, so Robert, Tom and I rehearsed some. Faulkner wanted to be more of a Chicago scenester so it only worked out for a little while with him. I knew Cheeze Romano from the pop, new wave band Kidz and I knew that [[Bryn Zellers]] was on his way out. He was and always will be a great musician. So eventually it was Robert, Bryn and I. We started to learn a number of weird country/psychedelic songs. Through the relationship of [[Mick Calhoun]] and [[Robert Byrne]] (both of [[Dead Fink]]) I started hanging out with Dan and some others like Ross Vondersmith and Jamie Munroe and I started skating again. We needed a singer and Brooks popped up around that time. Brooks started showing up with this cool guy Mike, I forget his name, but he ended up being one the first promoters for stunt Freestyle Bike events in the USA. There was a connection there because of skating and BMX/Freestyle bicycles. Brooks was this kind of mysterious dude from 'California'. Pismo if I remember correctly. His claim to fame was doing the longest wheelie in the world. So we asked him to sing.<br><br>		'''Keith:''' The best I can recall is that after the breakup of [[Negative Element]] - the move of the [[Steppe]] brothers to Peoria IL, [[Tom Faulkner]] and I wanted to continue playing music. First I went and started playing drums for the first line up of [[Life Sentence]]. Erik was a good friend and a mentor but it was just too far for my brother or friends to drive and too much for him to do every other night. Tom and I got together also about the same times and I had a number of ideas for songs that were too psychedelic and weird for [[Negative Element]]. Strange enough, I wasn't really into Hardcore but freaky music. Hell, I liked Black Flag and the Circle Jerks and all the current music from 80-82 but I was literally buying Fugs albums and Sandy Nelson albums at the Salvation Armies. My mind was elsewhere. It must have been [[Mick Calhoun]] who introduced me to Robert, so Robert, Tom and I rehearsed some. Faulkner wanted to be more of a Chicago scenester so it only worked out for a little while with him. I knew Cheeze Romano from the pop, new wave band Kidz and I knew that [[Bryn Zellers]] was on his way out. He was and always will be a great musician. So eventually it was Robert, Bryn and I. We started to learn a number of weird country/psychedelic songs. Through the relationship of [[Mick Calhoun]] and [[Robert Byrne]] (both of [[Dead Fink]]) I started hanging out with Dan and some others like Ross Vondersmith and Jamie Munroe and I started skating again. We needed a singer and Brooks popped up around that time. Brooks started showing up with this cool guy Mike, I forget his name, but he ended up being one the first promoters for stunt Freestyle Bike events in the USA. There was a connection there because of skating and BMX/Freestyle bicycles. Brooks was this kind of mysterious dude from 'California'. Pismo if I remember correctly. His claim to fame was doing the longest wheelie in the world. So we asked him to sing.<br><br>

SenorCitizen at 19:21, 18 June 2006

2006-06-18T19:21:10Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:21, 18 June 2006
Line 5:		Line 5:
	I can't remember our first show but I'm sure it was a party in the garage. We played all the clubs in Chicago and we became a regular attraction at [[West End]]. The manager of that bar was the coolest bar manager I've ever met. We had quite a few early admirers from the 'old' school hipsters of the late seventies. I think Shrub's ([[Robert Byrne]]) guitar skills for a 14 year old were unprecedented and at first we were doing really bizarre music - at least for Chicago. We played dozens and dozens of shows. [[Jeff Pezatti]] even used us to introduce [[Big Black]] to Chicago youth. Ain't that funny? I have to say that the highlight was playing at a Mothers Day Peace Festival in downtown Chicago in front of 40,000 people. We played Bryn's song "Suicide Trap".<br><br>		I can't remember our first show but I'm sure it was a party in the garage. We played all the clubs in Chicago and we became a regular attraction at [[West End]]. The manager of that bar was the coolest bar manager I've ever met. We had quite a few early admirers from the 'old' school hipsters of the late seventies. I think Shrub's ([[Robert Byrne]]) guitar skills for a 14 year old were unprecedented and at first we were doing really bizarre music - at least for Chicago. We played dozens and dozens of shows. [[Jeff Pezatti]] even used us to introduce [[Big Black]] to Chicago youth. Ain't that funny? I have to say that the highlight was playing at a Mothers Day Peace Festival in downtown Chicago in front of 40,000 people. We played Bryn's song "Suicide Trap".<br><br>

	I think after [[Dead Fink]] started we became more of a cult - the two bands combined with Dan's own charisma and my tweaked past we forged a kind of scene in the Western Suburbs. The drugs and drinking took precedence at some point and the rest is history... Rest in Pieces.~~<br><br>~~<br><br>		I think after [[Dead Fink]] started we became more of a cult - the two bands combined with Dan's own charisma and my tweaked past we forged a kind of scene in the Western Suburbs. The drugs and drinking took precedence at some point and the rest is history... Rest in Pieces.<br><br>

			----

	'''Brooks:''' In 1983 I took up drinking and started throwing nightly parties at my mother’s rented home in Downers Grove. The normal cast of characters included all the members of [[Dead Fink]] as well as a number of classmates and their friends. Keith started showing up at these soirees and it was at this time that he and [[Robert Byrne]] were starting what would become [[Happy Toons]].<br><br>		'''Brooks:''' In 1983 I took up drinking and started throwing nightly parties at my mother’s rented home in Downers Grove. The normal cast of characters included all the members of [[Dead Fink]] as well as a number of classmates and their friends. Keith started showing up at these soirees and it was at this time that he and [[Robert Byrne]] were starting what would become [[Happy Toons]].<br><br>

SenorCitizen: /* Happy Toons */

2006-06-18T19:20:27Z

Happy Toons

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:20, 18 June 2006
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	~~== Happy Toons ==~~
	'''The Happy Toons story as told by Keith Lyons and Brooks Smith.'''<br><br>		'''The Happy Toons story as told by Keith Lyons and Brooks Smith.'''<br><br>

SenorCitizen: /* Members */

2006-06-18T19:20:05Z

Members

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:20, 18 June 2006
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	* [[Robert Byrne]] - Guitar<br>		* [[Robert Byrne]] - Guitar<br>
	* [[Bryn Zellers]] - Bass<br>		* [[Bryn Zellers]] - Bass<br>
			* [[Dave Lyons]] - Bass (replaced Bryn Zellers, 1984)<br>
	* [[Kevin Folta]] - Guitar (2nd guitar, 1985)<br>		* [[Kevin Folta]] - Guitar (2nd guitar, 1985)<br>
	* [[Dave Lyons]] - Bass (replaced Bryn Zellers, 1984)<br>
	* [[Chris McCracken]] - Bass (replaced Dave Lyons, 1985)<br>		* [[Chris McCracken]] - Bass (replaced Dave Lyons, 1985)<br>


	== External Links ==		== External Links ==
	[http://www.spontaneous.com/images2.html Photos at Spontaneous Combustion]		[http://www.spontaneous.com/images2.html Photos at Spontaneous Combustion]