Re: Re: Re: Mike Guis R.I.P.
Posted by cha on 2005-12-19 2:39:44pm
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this is something dj larry wrote on myspace. i dont think he'd mind me reposting it:
Mike Gius, one of Sacremento's best punk drummers died Saturday night. He got hit by car while riding his bike.
Mike was a good fucking dude. I always liked him and enjoyed his company whenever he came up to my attic. We'd smoke pot or drop acid and listen to music all night. Sometimes go to shows. I would lose touch with him for long periods of time, but it was allways good to see him around.
I first met him, Bert & maybe James & Curt through Indian Joe & Laurie Altizer round 89 or 90. We were all pretty young, and just starting to get a feel for adult life.
Mike, James & Bert formed an early version of the Popesmashers in thier Oak Park living room on 2nd ave. where unfortunately they experienced a near fatal home invasion. The incident did leave some scars, however they trudged on.
The singer at the time was this white rasta dude who ended up being a wife beater. I used to joke that they should be called the "Rasta Wifebeaters". They sort of disbanded after that.
Then Mike & Kendon Smith formed a band called "HIV +" with Kendon on bass and my little brother Aswut on guitar (who was only 15 at the time). Aswut was seven or eight years younger than them, so my parents were a little leary of letting him go off with them. What didn't help was that Mike & Kendon kind of gave off that "larry's druggy friends kinda vibe", which made the situation difficult from the get go.
A week or two later they invited me to the basement to check them out, and holy shit, these fuckers were ready to take shit over. i knew that once they started to play out, people would shit thier pants. Imagine hendrix jamming w/ the stooges with the punk intensity of the minutemen. it was that good and I was excited for them.
All three of them were happy. they had great chemistry and they were ready roll. They had thier first gig coming up the next week at Humboldt State, then my fucking parents pulled Aswut out of the band. A combination of bad grades and the prospect of him going to a notorious pot haven made them snap. Snatched from the jaws of victory. haha.
A little later, the Popesmashers reformed. I saw them playing @ the loft, this time with bert singing, and it was the loudest, noisiest, fucked up punk rock that I've ever heard from a sacto band. they ended the set with Sonic Youth's "Brother James". It was very untipical of the scene at that time. Mike's playing was really raw and intense. He was one of the greatest drummers in this scene, and I'm sorry that we'll never get to see him in action again.
Seems like death is having a pretty good month for itself.