AFTER THE NOTZ broke up for good after their March 22, 1986 "final" performance at the Outhouse, they went their separate ways. All band members took a few months off, probably an after-effect of the suddenness of their breakup. The best way to do this would be by each individual band member.

About a year ago, I received an email from Carl Sandin from Houston, and it was funny. Carl was a bandmate of Steve's down in Houston, and he mentioned to me that Steve might not have ever mentioned that he was in the 'Notz--Carl found that out from an obscure book that was about the 200 greatest rock albums of all time--of which "Beast" was included!

Steve is currently married and living in Kansas City. His wife had a child, named Jack, about a year ago. Steve owns a small yet burgeoning roofing company, and also plays drums for the local band the Mahoots. The Mahoots are essentially a derivation of the early band Thumbs. The Mahoots practice weekly, but they haven't played in public in a while. I see Steve about once or twice a month.

The last time I saw Dean was at David's funeral in Feb. of 93. Word has it that Dean works in the graphics department of a major music television channel located in New York City. I maintain contact with him sporadically through email.

Jay lives in a large house in East Lawrence--actually about a golf-ball drive from the old VooDoo Manor, where he first met and joined the Notz fourteen years ago. He works at Liberty Hall downtown, and I see him on a regular basis. He's the only member of the Notz that doesn't have an email address. Although Jay has a reputation amongst people who know him for being bitter about his past, I find him easy to talk to, and in our conversations, we occasionally slip into talk about the Notz. He's hilarious in a "young-old bitter man" kind of way.

Jay sang "Run My Life" with Sugar Freek at the Replay Lounge on July 5, 1998. It was an early celebration of his 39th birthday, which was on July 24th. Next year (1999) Jay will be the first 'Not to turn 40.

Jay has told me in the recent past that he's willing to join another band, but he wants to just sing--none of the guitar duties that he had in the Notz. I wouldn't doubt we see a reversion to ol' Crazy Legs Jay--the bar band singer who pulled in $500 in a weekend. His girlfriend has told me that he still plays guitar by himself occasionally, however.

John hooked up with Steve Buren, Rob Fitzgerald and Kurt Mangold of the wonderful Dolls/Stooges-influenced band "Brompton's Cocktail", and also David Dale to form the BC5, a one-time only supergroup whose only public performance was at Teresa Lee's birthday party at the Outhouse on April 17, 1986. (It marked the first time David ever played guitar--not bass--in public.) Soon after that, John hooked up with Steve Buren and Rob Fitzgerald to form the Hayseeds. The Hayseeds were together for about six months before suddenly breaking up--due to theft of band equipment.

After the Hayseeds, John joined the Pedaljets, which featured local legend Mike Allmayer. John was in the Pedaljets from 1988 to 1990. He toured with the band, and played on the album "Today, Today". He broke off from the 'Jets to re-form the Hayseeds in Jan of 1990, along with Steve and Rob. Shortly after that, they recorded a three song demo tape--two of which wound up on local compilations--"Evening Whirl" on Fresh Sounds #5, and "Carousel" on "Another Fine Product from Pig-Dog" compilation tape. The Hayseeds broke up a second time in May of 90 when Rob moved to San Francisco.

John went back in hiatus for about a year and a half, and then in 1992 he re-joined the Pedaljets. He played sporadically with the Pedaljets until that band broke up for good in 1994. Before that, however, in the May of 1993, he joined Five-O, which initially consisted of Johnny Stanko and Randy Fitzgerald (Rob's brother) of Joe Worker (see David's section below) and Steve Buren on bass. After a very brief hiatus while Johnny Stanko, Eric McKee and Randy played in the post-Joe Worker band "HOOF" during the summer of 1993, John rejoined Steve and Randy as Five-O in the fall of 1993. They band played locally and regionally that fall, winter and spring, and recorded six songs, five which made it to a demo tape and the sixth, the old Notz tune "Push it Out" which made it to the "Micronotz Tribute CD" released in January 1995.

Five-O's last public performance was at my KU graduation party on May 15, 1994. Earlier that day, John proposed to his girlfriend, Cheryl, and they got married that fall. That was also the last public performance of John Harper. Shortly after my graduation party, Five-O added a second guitarist, the young Chris Tolle, and John practiced with the four-piece a couple times before dropping out. Chris took over all guitar duties, and the band renamed themselves Action Man.

These days, John and Cheryl live in a house in North Lawrence. I see John about once or twice a month, and we exchange emails regularly. John works in a downtown restaurant, and just recently received his "sous chef" certificate. He still has his old Gibson SG that was his primary guitar in the Micronotz, and plays acoustic guitar by himself regularly.

Earlier that fall, David attended a show by the local band "The Worthless Pukes". Although the band was less than memorable, the onstage performance by the band's singer--Dan Nicely--was certainly remarkable. Dan was an engaging, outgoing, physically active front man, and David approached Dan and asked him if he could sing for the KG's. Dan accepted, and jammed with the band a couple times.

I can't remember the exact date, but it was the winter of 87 when I went to the Outhouse to check out David's new band. I had just finished serving my 3 years in the military (of which I missed a good chunk of the Lawrence scene) and just started getting back into the local scene--meeting people, seeing bands. David introduced me to Dan out there, and at the time I didn't know he had joined the band. Dan and I stood together about fifteen feet away from the stage, chatting while the band was playing. Then, one song, Steve announced that one of the audience members was going to sing a few songs with the band. Dan, who was standing next to me, jumped on stage, took the microphone, and wailed through the next five-six songs of the Kelly Girls' set. From then on, Dan was a full-fledged member of the Girls.

The Kelly Girls quickly became one of the raging party favorites of Lawrence. Through numerous house parties, gigs at the Crossing, and at the Outhouse, the KG's gained a reputation as one of the best good-time bands in Lawrence. All the band members were outgoing and popular, and many a house party at 1223 Ohio (a legendary residence in the Oread neighborhood that had its very own stage in the backyard for bands to perform) turned into a gathering of the KG's and 150 of their friends. Truly everybody knew everybody else, and everyone had a good time. The KG's headed into the studio in the summer of 1988 to record a seven-song demo tape. That demo included the signature tune "Evil Seed". David's guitar playing became distinctive, at times a trademark punk chunka-chunka, and at other times a twangy, almost melancholy wail that contrasted in an oddly fitting way with the steady punk beat of the rhythm section. All four band members also participated in lead vocals--basically whatever songs the members wrote, they sang. The song "Waiting Around", written and sung by Dave, was probably the KG's at their best. It has a staccato, syncopated beat, with the plaintive vocals of Dave making this song sadly attractive.

(Dan still remembers the words to this song--they will be printed here shortly.)

The band recorded another six song demo tape in the summer of 1989. Although the band had a large following on a local underground basis, their appeal never crossed over to the mainstream local music fan. By this time, the local music scene had grown enough to split into factions--with the more successful bands pulling down good money at the Bottleneck, formerly the site of the old Off-the-Wall-Hall, and bands like the Kelly Girls, who could pack a full house of 100 people inside the tiny Crossing--barely drawing 20 people to the B-Neck (which holds 350). The Kelly Girls were included on the four song compilation 7" title "Rant and Rapture", released by local artist Jim Barnes. The KG's song, "What's That", is a true story of the singer having a panic attack while driving a busload of KU students. The KG's also submitted a tape to Fresh Sounds--the label that was responsible for all but one of the Micronotz' releases--for inclusion on the local compilation LP "Live from Lawrence", released in 1989. While the KG's performed at the accompanying "battle of the bands" show (known as "Quest for Vinyl") they were not selected for the compilation LP.

The summer and fall of 1989, the KG's practiced rarely, relying on the memory of over 100 live performances for their gigs. About Sept of 1989, it was apparent that the KG's was going to pack it in, and David began playing with Johnny Stanko and Randy Fitzgerald, of the Fitzgeralds, and Chris Moseby, of the locally popular band Love Squad in a new outfit called Comatoast. (Ironically, the Fitzgeralds shared a practice space with the Hayseeds in 1986--and they also got their equipment stolen at the same time as the Hayseeds, ending the band!) I attended Comatoast's first practice at 1301 Connecticut, in David's dining room, in Oct of 89. The band was very rough and very loud, and the only song I could remember was a cover of the Replacements' "God Damn Job". But there was promise.

The Kelly Girls were still together, but all the band members were headed in different directions, Steve and Rob off to re-form the Hayseeds with John Harper, David with his new band (shortly to be renamed Electric Wench) and Dan off to the Fishstix, featuring young bassplayer Eric Mckee. (Keep that name in mind for reference shortly.) The Kelly Girls' final show was in December of 1989 at the Bottleneck, to about 50 souls. I have a tape of that show, and there is a definite spirited finality to the performance. The KG's was the first band I'm aware of that parted on a truly friendly basis--although there was much bickering and dissension amongst the band members during their heyday.

(Kind of funny but sad: The KG's were known for featuring the former bassplayer for the Micronotz. Many times during gigs, Steve, the bassplayer for the Kelly Girls, was approached by well-meaning, but unknowing, fans mistaking Stevie B as the Micronotz' bassplayer. Steve gently redirected them to David, the guitar player for the KG's. Steve did play bass for the Notz a few years later--under drastically different circumstances.)

Electric Wench had already played in public a few times with their new bassist Todd Risely, who idolized David. (Todd was in the local straight-edge band "No Difference" in 1987-1988, along with Gil Bavel, who played in Jay Hauptli's band "2-Mile Death Plunge". Todd was hugely influenced by the Micronotz and David, and he was on top of the world playing bass with David's band!....I think you can see by now that every musician I've mentioned so far is connected with the Micronotz, many in more ways than one!) Shortly thereafter, Todd's girlfriend, a feminist-type who objected to the name "Electric Wench", talked him into getting his band's name changed. The band had already incorporated the Mats' "God Damn Job" into their live set, and had also wrote a song called "I've Got a Job", so the band brainstormed and came up with the name "Joe Worker".

Joe Worker took the party-ish camaraderie of the Kelly Girls performances to another level. Following the tradition of over-run, frequently busted house parties along with packed houses at the Crossing and the Outhouse, (and yep, sparsely attended shows at the Bottleneck) the KG's set the precedent for, Joe Worker became party favorites locally. An early favorite show of mine happened in April 1990 when they played the Delta Upsilon fraternity's "Thrash Party." You know, the cliched party where all the frat boys and sorority sisters get spiky and mean for one night a year. However, Joe Worker, who insisted they be paid in full BEFORE their performance (something like $400 and three cases of beer) shoved it right back in their faces. It was truly memorable and fun for the five Joe Worker fans in attendance--and painfully harsh for Joe and Janie College.
Early on, JW mixed fast paced metal-punk with more slower, sinister songs. Johnny Stanko--a guitarist who was influenced by metal bands like Slayer and Motley Crue, as well as the standard punk rock fare--gave JW a abrasive, metallic-twinged sound. (The band early on coined the legendary description of their sound as "Slayer crashed into the Replacements' tour bus!") Dave tempered their sound somewhat with his guitar style I mentioned before. Also, Dave broke out an acoustic guitar sometimes for his performances of his song "Country", which would be later named "We'd be Just Fine". The band would head into the studio in the summer of 1990 to record a seven-song demo tape featuring standards as "Frozen Embryos" and "Bright Lights Big City". (The latter was included on the Fresh Sounds #5 compilation CD, along with the Hayseeds and 2-Mile Death Plunge--three Notz members on the same CD! The Note, a local weekly, derisively called the last 7 songs on FS #5 "just a bunch on Micronotz clone bands.")

In late 1990, the band snatched Eric McKee from the Fishstix--Dan Nicely's band--and Eric, then a youthful 19--added a carefree, almost reckless zest to the band that amplified their stage presence.

In 1992, the band began to peak, booking mini-tours through the Midwest--shades of the early Notz--and talking to record labels. They recorded a second demo tape in the spring of 1992, featuring punk ballads such as "Sheila", "We'd Just Be Fine", and "Joe Lives", the latter which appeared on Danny Smith's "Another Fine Product from Pig-Dog" compilation.

However, in an odd replication of the Kelly Girls 3 years earlier, Joe Worker began to run out of gas, possibly stymied by the lack of success on even a local level. Like the Kelly Girls, Joe Worker had an intense core following of 150 fans or so. Beyond that, support was scarce, and the band's frustrations was growing. Arguing and bickering preceded a slack time in mid-to-late 1992 when the band probably needed to keep it going the most. In a deja-vu of the Kelly Girls, Joe Worker rarely practiced, relying on the repetition of 200-plus live performances to get them through gigs. On December 31, 1992, Joe Worker played a house party at 1642 Tennessee, which was to be theirs (and David's) last performance in Lawrence. The band had already agreed to break up, but they had one last obligation to take care of--a January 23, 1993 show at Hairy Mary's in Des Moines, Iowa that was booked a couple months prior. The band let it be known locally that it was going to be their final show ever. Approximately 25-30 of the band's most devoted fans made the 3 and a half hour trek from Lawrence to Des Moines for the show. They got their money's worth, for sure. I traveled with the band to the show, and it was an incredibly crazy culmination to over three years of drunken debauchery. I had a blast, while it was sad to see the band break up, it was good to see them go out while having fun.

One week later, on Saturday night, January 30, 1993, after a night of drinking and reminiscing about life, David went home, tied a few guitar cords together and took his life.

David's funeral was February 3. At the end of the service, which was also the last time all four of the other Micronotz were in the same room, the three remaining members of Joe Worker lugged their equipment in and performed one song--the old JW song "We're Pissed".

There was a memorial service at the Outhouse that Saturday, February 6. All of David's old bands played. The Micronotz, with Steve Buren on bass; the Kelly Girls, with John Harper and Johnny Stanko sharing duties on guitar, and the three surviving Joe Worker boys themselves....and technically, that was the last time that those three bands played. But David wasn't there.

David was cremated, and his ashes was scattered in the small pond on the Kansas University campus known as Potter's Lake. It is well known throughout the years as a make-out spot for college students, and David's mom confessed to me that Potter's Lake is probably where David was conceived. From whence he arrived, David left.

The obituary mentions the David Dale Memorial Fund--which was a fund designed to specifically draw up a memorial to David's life. The artist in charge of the memorial project, Trey Parker (not to be confused with another Trey Parker who created an extremely mediocre, but successful animated comedy show) envisioned a bronze guitar at the foot of an ever-growing tree. It took nearly a year of redesigning, broken molds (literally) and artistic frustrations, but Trey poured the guitar the first week of May 1994. The bronze guitar made its first appearance in public--carried in by three people because of its weight and 12-inch long anchor legs--at my graduation party at 1115 Tennessee on May 15 1994. (Yep, the same one where John Harper played in public for the last time.) After a couple months residency in that house, the guitar found its permanent home in July 1994 at Oak Hill Cemetery, in East Lawrence. A tree was planted at the same time.

FIVE AND A HALF YEARS LATER, time has lessened the immediacy, but not the impact, of the loss of David to myself and my friends. Some still refuse to speak about it, others talk about it obliquely, but it's there. The question has been asked--would there have been a Micronotz tribute CD had David not died? Who knows. I probably would have still done this web page regardless--in tribute to my all-time favorite band, and the most influential band in Lawrence music scene history.