2. A Cymbal Player?

Kurt's basement was a maze. Aisles of floor to ceiling shelving filled with sheet music, LPs, 78s, 33s, 45s, reel-to-reels - his father's more than ample not to mention priceless music collection. Amid these invaluable classical recordings, with the notes of Beethoven, Mozart, Bach and Shostakovich engulfing us, The Six and Violence had their earliest rehearsals.

At the first rehearsal, down one aisle was Kurt sitting with a black faux Les Paul wearing dark glasses. Sitting just across from him - a foot or 2 away Jim V and beside him J. Dave set up borrowed drums down another aisle. The drums consisted of a kick, two mounted toms, a snare and maybe one bent crash cymbal. Dave brought sticks, his snare and a ride cymbal. He forgot the kick drum pedal.

I was an innocent bystander. I was there to hang out. I was the band's first groupie. The band was unnamed. Kurt was prepared with lyrics and some guitar riffs. There may've been others there, I don't recall but the core group was there: drums, guitar, bass and vocals.

It was on subsequent rehearsals that Sorge would join in along with more groupies but by then I'd graduated to band member.

It was at that first rehearsal, I mentioned the fact that Dave forgot his kick drum pedal. He had to play without. If I recall he didn't like the way the toms sounded or they were too loud for the others to hear themselves. So he played on a cardboard box.

I remember very clearly, he sat in a rickety folding chair, the ride cymbal in his lap. I stood in front of him on the other side of the drums. I was wearing a green beret. He said "Ken, you'll have to play cymbals. I can't play cymbals and drums without the kick pedal. I'm going to have to play it by hand." Or something to that effect. He handed me his ride, the dented crash, the broken hi-hat stand on which the dented crash would wobble and his own cymbal stand for the ride. I set up in another aisle of the basement; I couldn't see anyone except maybe Dave's arm. I vaguely recall reading on one shelf, Beethoven Piano Sonatas or something equally "classical."

I played those cymbals like I knew what I was doing. I suppose history was made that night. If it weren't for Dave being Dave-like, i.e. a drummer, forgetting an important piece of hardware, we would probably never have been called "The Six and Violence" much less have 2 percussionists who stand during live shows.

During that rehearsal, we sat. I may've gotten up a couple times to stretch but I was blocked in. Had there been a fire, I'd have been stuck there, left to burn very quickly with all that old paper and vinyl around me.

I don't recall what we played that night but I'm pretty sure "I'll Kill You" was among the songs. I do recall playing a couple bars of Rush's "Limelight" because Jim would launch into that during lulls. That also may've been the night "I Got Kicked in the Head" was first performed. Jim came up with the riff though he couldn't really accept all the credit - he watched Bonanza like the rest of us...

That was 1984. Reagan beginning his second term. New wave was all the rage as well a band from Ireland - U2. The Who had bid farewell once. A bunch of self-important artists asked "Do they Know It's Christmas?" There was still a Communist menace and the threat of nuclear war...Eddie Murphy was a Beverly Hills Cop and Harrison Ford was Indy...Bill Cosby wore too many sweaters and folks cared too much about Dallas and Dynasty...in the midst of all that culture, The Six and Violence were born in a basement in Queens, New York.