1985. I had just returned to Spokane from one year on the road with The Gayle Rose Band (bottom right in photo) when, in a discussion with Hidde Hanenburg about his new band, I mentioned I was gearing up to play in another band. He mentioned this new band might be open to adding another drummer. Years earlier, in the late ’70′s (the legal bar age being 19 at the time in Idaho) I had seen a band called Sideshow perform with 2 drummers, not two simultaneous kit players (i.e.Doobie Brothers, 38 Special), and not a kit player and a conga player, but a kit player and multi-percussionist. I was mesmerized by the intricate patterns and endless possibilities. So I phoned Jeff and he was open to fronting the band (I also knew it would free him up to concentrate on lead vocals and boy did he ever kick-ass at it and played beautifully too!). I thus joined The Exploding Fifis with no audition. They had already played a couple gigs but the only bar gig they’d played before I joined was at the Red Lion Tavern. By the first rehearsal I met the others and realized how truly talented and special everyone was, AND… they had NO egos (a rarity in this biz)! The repertoire was quirky, danceable "New Wave" with a touch of funk. Uniquely, they played only what they loved and not just what was marketable.

We clicked. I assumed we probably wouldn’t  get many gigs or have any fans ( I would later be proved very wrong about this!). But I knew a big sound system would help. So we got in touch with my old friend Howard Coon to supply it and to be our soundman. He proved to be a vital part of our show. We soon developed an ever-increasing, loyal and varied fan base and were playing more venues. My favorites were O’bender’s, Red Lion Bar & Grill, and especially Ahab’s Whale. We picked up some sponsors: Rock Bottom clothing and a hair stylist. We even performed on a live TV show broadcast from Cheney called "You’re In Good Company". We had very favorable press reviews and articles.

1986. Funny, I don’t recall a decision to break up the band-we just stopped calling each other. Later, some members of the Fifis played together in other bands but I think they’d agree that it never clicked the same way. I never thought I’d see these guys together again, but thanks to Karl’s initiative, and recent work by all the rest of us (mainly Cherie), we’re planning a reunion! We have some new material to go with the old crowd favorites! I even purchased a vintage Simmons V analog 1982 drumkit just for Fifis gigs (see photo above)!

There was nothing like The Exploding Fifis back then, and that still holds true today!

Well I do remember getting a call from Jeff and Cherie. I was playing with some buddies of mine at the time I can’t even remember the name of the band. I guess that they got my name off the wall at the Union. 

Now here’s the funny part.  I walked into the basement at Jeff’s sisters house and I had my hand wrapped up in an ace bandage. Yeah I was a dumb ass and decided to hit a door and big wooden doors don’t give very easy. Needless to say that was the last time I ever did anything like that but the look on their faces when I had the bandage on. LOL!!! I told them that it was cool and I can still play. They threw a few songs at me and I learned them on the spot and I just loved Jeff’s drumming so that was a no brainer and then this other cat Hidde had this guitar synth that was just out of this world.

Then there was Ms Cherie. She was like way cool with the way she laid down her keyboard parts. The cool part is that I wasn’t really very familiar with some of the stuff they were throwin at me but I’m crazy like that. We hit it off and it was so cool and rather refreshing to say the least. A few months later we were talking about having Jeff go out front and we added rick to the mix.

I don’t think that any of us had any idea just how cool of a project this would turn out to be. We had a lot of fun. Drank a lot of Little Kings too!!!

As every struggling band has learned, the power of social viagra can’t be ignored. It’s been fabulous reconnecting with so many of our Fifis fans over the past month here on our website and on Facebook.

To make these connections even easier, we’ve added Facebook integration to all of our web pages. Just scroll down, click the Like button, and you’ll be forever Fified. Have fun.

Now let’s backtrack a bit. Jeff and Cherie were playing in the band “Ice” somewhere on the road in Alaska. Funny thing happened.

The bass player Roger Nelson (Napolean Dickhead) decided on a Wednesday to quit the band and fly home! We found out Thursday nite at the gig. We scrambled, did the best we could….but We ULTIMATELY GOT FIRED.

We had management in LA…Don Tunnell and he seemed to side with this bass player or something… Thanks a lot, Don. Apparently Roger bent Don’s ear and was not getting his “pussy” stuffed with all he thought he deserved because we didn’t like the songs he wrote or the direction he wanted to go. His stuff sucked, he knew it, was called on it and split like a bitch. Little make up wearing faggot that he was…I wish I coulda smashed him. Did I say that out loud?

Cherie wound up doubling on bass or key bass as we had 2 keyboard players. Before the Alsaka gig my old “partner” Rennie wanted back in the band as he was dissatisfied with his decision to go play with UVU ala Dave Cebert and Kevin Dodson. I had hired Cherie as a keyboard player then fired her because Rennie wanted back in (as he owned half the gear) then hired her again wanting to go with multi keyboards players options etc… Perhaps the problem was with me!

Oye…I was a confused young man. I was pissed at Rennie in the first place because before Cherie came along they UVU (Rennie, Cebert and Dodson) lined up this HORRIBLE keyboard player and tried convincing me that this would work. They brought him over to my mom’s house with this Rhoades Chroma synth and yeah they could play it but he was lost and played POLKAS on everything… He quit in Denver. I’ll spare the details. UGGGHHH.

I was power hungry… monster… and that’s unfortunately or fortunately the way it was. I guess I had to have control. Sorry for the long story here but it will make sense. Maybe.

So limping along we tried to salvage the Alaska gig and spent time & money trying to appease the situation and all Don Tunnel was worried about was his commission. Oh well…

There was something good to be gleaned for the Alaska Disastah! Check this… I got to watch our sound man Lance Roller leave a Jim Beam bottle half full of piss….(No, no hear me out) out on one of the tables. You see drinks were expensive in Alaska so we’d bring it in & just get cokes…. He placed it in sight of the “henchman”; The Doorman for the club named Phillip Chandy. Do I have a memory or what? Some pencil lead colored fucker from Turkey with a messed up lower lip….anyhow…grabs it and he says with a heavy accent What’s theees? Opens it, smells it then takes a nice pull off of it! We were saying NOOOOOO DON’T!!!!! But being the SCUM that he was, he did. You see every chance he got he was pinching, ogling and elbow-titting the girls in the band, ie. Cherie & Stacy. He RAN for the bathroom and could be heard hurling. Oh Yeah.

So that was our “load-out” from Alaska and it put the band “On Ice” on ice. Sort of. We took some time off I think we played a gig in Yakima then Rennie & I threw in the towel. We sold the Moving Van PA and Light Show to another of Don Tunnels “working bands”. Funny thing is they NEVER paid us for the gear.

Maybe Rennie got paid but there was a rift in our relationship so who knows!!! I did keep the Green Dodge Van in the transaction so I had a “home”. Thanks again, Don.