Dan Halligan. 10 Things zine

Okay, so I might have exaggerated a little when I said in my last post that listening to Pud changed my life. But they did become a musical staple for me — that tape rarely left my Walkman, which I wore frequently around my tiny hometown. (It was either them or the Descendents.) Once, I told someone at a party that I was listening to my band’s “new demo” and let him listen to it. He liked it, though I’m positive he never came to any of my shows, so my deception went undiscovered.

Pud were also to be the headliners of the first show I ever promoted and played.

The band members took two cars to the show — a tiny pickup and a full-size van. The tiny pickup carried the singer Gavin, his then-girlfriend whose name I forgot, and driver Jake Manny to my house in Richland, which is about four hours from Bainbridge Island.

In the van was the rest of the band and some friends tagging along; about 11 people, or so I was told. As they were about to enter Yakima, their van broke down. A tow truck was sent for them from Bainbridge Island.

I had the three over for a while at my house as the van drama played out. I didn’t hang out with them much since one of my neighbors kept complaining to the cops and I had to deal with that. In the little time I did hang out with them, I remember two things:

1. My mom had made a bunch of hot dogs for all the bands (I was 14) and when I offered Gavin one, he told me he was vegetarian.

2. When the cops finally shut down the show and left me feeling like a failure, Jake Manny was nice enough to give me a hug. I appreciated it.

I never did see Pud live, but my good friend Shawn moved to Olympia a year later and went to a party that Gavin was at. Apparently Gavin drank so much that he ended up looking “like Leo DiCaprio in ‘What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.’”

Later, Shawn would come back to Richland from college and bring with him a copy of Pud’s “Punk As Krunk.” The cover featured a pen-drawing of the back cover of Rancid’s “Let’s Go,” with the members of Rancid being replaced with the guys from Pud.

The recording was made a few years before the Breakout demo. It memorializes the band at a time when they were still fumbling with their instruments and trying way too hard to be funny. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were 14 when they made it.

(I understand if these tracks aren’t downloaded a lot, but please do yourself a favor and listen to What’s That (It’s Love!) at least once)

A year or two after the band released “Breakout,” they put out an album on Recess Records, one of my favorite labels in the ’90s. (I was a big FYP fan.) “The One On The Wall Is A Trout, I’m The Shark” really is as ridiculous as its title, but it’s worth a listen. I give them genius points for making music this over-the-top.

They also had a 7″ — “I Was Teenage Rancor” — as well as some tracks on a couple Recess compilations, but I’m not going to post those. I think if you care enough about the band, you’ll find those tracks on your own.

After fronting a few over-the-top rock bands in Seattle, Salvation and the Blessed Light, Gavin now fronts an L.A. group called “Winter Flowers.” They describe their music as “California Mystic Folk,” but I should let this video do the talking: