The Micronotz were the backbone of the Lawrence music scene in the mid eighties. Their rancorous riffs coupled with their happy go lucky attitude epitomized the youth and the bands of the Lawrence scene at that time

The 'Notz (as they were affectionately known) were, due to their longevity and talent, were the first true Lawrence band to make a dent on the national music scene. Credit goes to the Fresh Sounds record label for this happening...they released several seminal records on that label.

But, lets backtrack a little bit. The Micronotz formed around the summer of 1980 while the original members were still going to Central Jr. High School. The band, in its original conception, was the brainchild of David and John. Stories abounded as the reason to why the band eventually took the shape it became. But what it came down to, it was a band called Pee Wee Graphite and the Mortal Micronauts.

To hear John tell it, the pre-Notz were more a wild rumor than anything else. "There were, like ten people who were supposed to be in the band. After several of those people moved away, we finally started the band after Dave and I had been playing instruments for two years. It started as a fluke because the Embarrassment had a show and I knew them from Wichita, because I had relatives there...I played my uncle a tape of me and David and this drummer jamming in the basement. He played it for the Embarrassment." The Embos needed an opening band for an upcoming show at OTWH, and they inquired John about the possibility of his band doing the job. Problem was, they didn't really exist. They hurriedly got a drummer (Graham Reece, who had built up quite a roster of high school bands he played for). The next problem was trying to find someone to play the Pee Wee part...it turns out that a good friend associated with the band took on that responsibility.

Dean Lubensky originally was the manager of the band. "One night the bass player got me drunk and got me to sing", Dean says. "Turned out I could hit a couple notes so they decided I'd be the singer."

The first show was a four song set opening for the Embos, on December 12, 1980. They had dropped the "Pee Wee" part of the band name by then, and not long after that changed the spelling so that they do not get in trouble with the original trademark holders, in the vein of Red Cross (Redd Kross) and the Salvation Army (the Three O'clock).

(It's kind of funny...who remembers the original Micronauts? It's kind of like, who has ever played the board game Husker Du?)

Not long after that, the band began to jell, and after solidifying their lineup with the acquisition of drummer Steve Eddy (Graham fell off the face of the earth, I still cannot locate him) began playing parties, warmup slots and the (rare) headlining show. The spring of 81, they caught the attention of local record label magnate Bill Rich.

I was involved in putting out this Talk Talk fanzine, and we got several calls from people that were saying "put the Mortal Micronotz in your next issue." After a couple months...we were putting out a tape compilation, and we asked them to submit some stuff for the compilation cassette.