Tuesday, September 27, 2005

It was nice while it lasted

It lasted 10 years. And it was a wonderful ride.

Lawsuit started in 1986 and ended on New Year's Eve in 1996. During that time it grew from 4 guys to 10 (sometimes exactly 12). It produced 3 terrific CDs and a tape. It played up and down California, always to excited crowds. Record companies were interested, but their music was so varied and esoteric that they couldn't fit into any niche so they never got offered a recording contract. It was a terrific ride and I wouldn't have missed it.

We went to as many concerts as we could. I genuinely liked the music. Grandmothers liked the music. Little kids liked the music. College kids liked the music. High school kids liked the music.

I don't have a way of copying videotapes well, other than just recording them with a camera off of the television set. But I did want to share a couple of Lawsuit numbers because I'm still, nearly 10 years later, so damn proud of what the kids accomplished (Paul was the lead singer; Ned was the drummer; Jeri played sax, clarinet and flute; Marta played trombone and did some vocals). This isn't the best quality video, but it is from my favorite concert, where they filled an area that included people climbing up into trees and hanging off the balconies on the three story building. I took this video and spent more time filming the crowd than the band itself. But if you stick with it, it will give you a feel for what it was like to be at a Lawsuit concert.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I wonder if it would be OK to point our local college radio station (WKNC) to the website for possible airtime. Lawsuit is incredible, and deserves a larger fanbase, even if they're NOT around anymore.

Bev Sykes said...

By all means. Lawsuit has always had a large college fanbase, even now.