Dana Ehrlich (now Boulé) and Matt Bixby were looking for bass and drums for their band, The Sobs (in my opinion and infinitely better name than Stupid).
Ben Hoyumpa and I were living in Brooklyn, working as hired guns around NYC at the time. One cold rainy night we auditioned.
I thought we nailed the audition, but when we didn’t hear from Dana and Matt, I began to realize we hadn’t made the cut. Under the impression it was a money issue, I called Dana and offered to play bass for The Sobs if in exchange she would play accordion for me. She (unenthusiastically, I though) said, “Sure. Send me some songs.”
I didn’t bother. I moved on.
Weeks later, Ben and I were setting up for a gig one Friday night in Williamsburg. An enthusiastic Dana called. A mutual friend--the one who introduced us--had played Me, an old CD of mine for Dana. She said she loved it and she’d love to work with with me.
Fancy that.
By this time Matt and Dana were no longer working together, so Dana and I agreed to create an accordion/guitar song-writing duo of our own. We each brought in songs previously written, and immediately started rehearsing...earnestly.
One of the several incredible songs Dana brought in was Stupid. It was our first recording together, and Dana,--the go-getter that she always has been--got the song placed in a short film, Whittle, almost immediately.
The Whittle premier was to be our first gig. We put together a full set of songs, hired Ben to beat the skins, and got to work promoting...but we didn’t have a name. Dana’s then boss, Albie Hecht suggested we call ourselves Stupid. Inexplicably, we thought that was a good idea.
Although Matt was no longer in the picture, he had contributed some great material for many of Dana’s songs, so she wanted him to join us for the gig. I fought tooth and nail but in the end consented. Matt turned out to be the genius of the group. Although I played a lot of guitar on both Stupid albums, all the best guitar work is Matt’s. Original.
Our first album, Cotton Candy Candy Apples, has some gems. Kurt Loder (although never publicly) was enthusiastic and supportive. He especially liked Stupid’s version of Bombs Away. In fact he gave me a bit of a hard time over the Bug Fights version.
Jan and I celebrated Thanksgiving of 2001 at Kurt’s home along with his girlfriend, Niki (who eventually married Charlie Gillingha of Counting Crows--a band I hate--and never spoke to me again) , Fuel singer, Brett Scallions and his VH1 host girlfriend, (I can’t remember her name).
Inevitably the guitars appeared and the boys went out to the deck to trade songs. Kurt encouraged me to play Bombs Away for Brett, and I played the down-tempo Bug Fights version. I think Kurt thought that was and idiotic choice. I mean here was this MTV, Rolling Stone Icon encouraging me to play my song for a guy who could conceivably help. but I played the wrist cutting version.
The thing is the wrist cutting Bug Fights version was a direct result of a Kraftwerk LP (The Man Machine) Kurt pulled out one night during a visit. After that I listened to a lot of Kraftwerk. Bug Fights takes a lot from Radio Activity and Radiohead’s Everything in it’s Right Place. I’m not too proud to admit it.
Anyhow I never had a chance with Brett. Just like me, he was more interested in playing his songs than hearing to mine. His were crap.
To the best of my knowledge Kurt never endorsed me or Stupid. I thought (and still think) he was a great guy. I had a great time visiting with him and Nikki and listening to the coolest records. No matter how hard I tried I couldn’t think of a record he didn’t have. The man is encyclopedic.
