Rolling on... By this time, we were playing very regularly and needed someone on a full-time basis to help us put on the show. Fortunately, we were able to enlist the aid of another old friend from Portsmouth, Hoppy Bonniville. Hoppy came into the band and took over as our road manager, actually turning us, finally, into a small business. He set up a general ledger and handled all the details from driving the truck, to setting up and running the sound and lights. He generally kept us going for about two years. A massive "thank you" to you, Hoppy! A big thanks also for the able assistance of Richie, Bob Hockenberry, Pete Desnoyers, John Deeds, Rick Reeder, and Peter Ridley (who eventually took over for Hoppy when he finally left.) We absolutely could not have done it without you guys! Shortly after Mike and Jim joined the band, we started to play out of town more often, usually for fraternity parties at UVA, Va. Tech, Washington and Lee, VMI, JMU, VCU and other colleges around the state, or in the clubs nearby. There, we were pleasantly surprised to find many in the audience were the same people we had been playing for in Tidewater and who were now largely responsible for bringing us to their school. The whole college scene was like a rolling party, entertaining friends wherever we went. Night after night, we would launch into our first tune, our crowd would leap onto the dance floor while their other college friends would stand back and watch. Soon, more would join in and before long the whole place was a steamy, sweaty, free-for-all. Of course, we promoted this by structuring our sets to constantly build toward a climactic finish that would leave everybody (including us) physically drained but emotionally exuberant. Not a bad way to make a living. Back home, the band was causing club managers to re-think their nightly entertainment. Word spread that the X-Raves (the "the" became unavoidable) could pack a club on the very first night. Therefore, Whisper Concerts booked us in a lot of odd places under the old "throw it against the wall and see what sticks" theory. Sometimes this worked, sometimes not. While the managers generally loved the fact that there were now lots of people in their club, they were concerned that they mostly drank water, as they were there primarily to dance. This ate into bar profits while the waitstaff made even less in tips. Combine this with the crowd's "highly stylized" clothing and very physical behavior on the dance floor, and sometimes tempers would flare. Between the crowd and the club managers, we began acting as a go-between, smoothing over misunderstandings. If we eventually concluded the place just didn't understand or support the environment we were trying to promote, we would elect to drop the venue. We always wanted our crowd to be able to expect to have a good time. About this time, a local DJ at K-94, Doug Keefer, had decided the time had come for New Wave to have a "home" in Tidewater. He was able to convince the owners of a small Filipino disco bar in Norfolk, The Taj Mahal, to allow him to take over the club's management and convert the place into a venue dedicated exclusively to high energy, 80's dance rock. "The Taj" was an immediate success. Doug brought in such up and coming regional acts as Bad Brains and The Slickie Boys, as well as providing all the local bands with a place to play. He even managed to put together a compilation album featuring the local acts who played there. No Room To Dance has proven to be a wonderful time capsule of those exciting days in Tidewater. Thanks, Doug! Meanwhile, the X-Raves explored other options, as well. We had occasionally played at a dark, cavernous club in Va. Beach called The Pequod, but were looking for a more lively place a bit closer to the heart of the resort area when we got word that Country Comfort was interested in giving us a try. Now, I have to tell you, this sounded like sure-fire trouble. Country Comfort was considered (unfairly, I think) as a redneck hangout. It was actually more like the beach's version of The King's Head Inn, showcasing regional acts, although they were mostly southern and acoustic rock types. But then again, except for New Wave, that's about all there was at the time in Tidewater, Virginia. At any rate, placing our crowd in that environment would probably lead to fights and worse. So, almost as a dare to ourselves, we decided to give it a try. Much to our surprise, they liked us! They didn't love us, mind you, but they did like us. Even Roy, the man/mountain doorman liked us. Sure, there were lots of funny looks going back and forth but there wasn't any trouble. As it turned out, it proved to be a good place to see the band, with it's intimate environment, high stage, and a balcony overlooking the dance floor. We ended up playing there regularly for nearly a year, that is, until... well, let me set this up for you... As I've mentioned before, the band continually pushed its presentation to be ever harder and faster. Kelly was the prime proponent of this approach and he now had an ally in Mike, who was a big fan of "punk" music. Well, one day Mike came to rehearsal with an idea for a tune called "Gargoyles" that would capitalize on the latest punk fad of spewing beer on each other. Kelly loved the idea so he and Mike came up with a heavy pounding rhythm while Jimmy and I worked up some Gothic-sounding chord changes. The big feature of the tune was an extended break in the middle where Mike would recite a tale of being locked in a spooky old church late at night when, out of the shadows, leaps a gargoyle. Of course, this would be the cue for everybody to start spewing beer! We knew some people might be offended by all this, but hey, isn't that what rock and roll is all about? We tried the song out in a couple of clubs around town and the local rude boys soon got the message that this was their big opportunity to have some fun. Some beer flew and some eyebrows were raised, but everything was passed off with a laugh as we had intended. Then came time for our next scheduled date at Country Comfort and we heard that the rude boys would be out in force. Think of it... local punks cavorting at the Beach's #1 redneck bar... how glorious! We launched into "Gargoyles" late in the third set, and I believe beer sales must have suddenly shot through the roof! Everywhere I looked, there were guys just standing around the dance floor with at least one beer in their hands. When we got to the break in the middle, the band dropped the volume to begin building up behind Mike's recitation... the rude boys started eying each other... Just as Mike screamed "Oh no, it's a gargoyle!" all hell broke loose. Some people (like Kelly) had beer in their mouths and spewed it out, other people (like me) shook Heiniken bottles and squirted it past their thumbs in long columns that arched high through the air. Backlit by the flashing colored lights, it was quite a sight. In about 60 seconds, everybody and everything was half-soaked. We had to quickly wipe off the instruments just to continue into the next song. I looked out and saw everyone in the crowd was either laughing or in a state of shock. The club's management, however, was furious. Needless to say, that was our last night at Country Comfort! As for "Gargoyles," we continued to perform it a few more times at various gigs, but we were getting complaints from all quarters and the beer was starting to take its toll on the equipment. So, realizing the number was actually quite incompatible with financial solvency, we dropped it from our repertoire. X-Raves v.3 Around this time, which was probably the summer of '81 (I guess), Mike was feeling dissatisfied by what he felt was the band's over-concern for financial stability. He decided to leave the band and move to New York City to be closer to the action that could only be read about in Tidewater, Virginia. Sadly, within a year, Mike Maurer was claimed as a casualty of The City. |