Lame Claim To Fame

It is said most people have some connection to fame. It may be 15 minutes worth personally gained through some event or achievement, or it could be a friend or relative that makes it big in Hollywood or Billboard.

Mine is lame. I went to Gaithersburg High School in Gaithersburg MD from 1982-1984. I remember sitting in algebra class and meeting my next desk neighbor Doug. While getting to know him I learned he played guitar in a band that had neither a name, a sound, or any experience playing in front of anyone. I was in.

I told Doug I played keyboard and guitar (I didn’t include that I played them very poorly), and he invited me to hang with the guys. Later that week they invited me to join the band- they were fascinated that I could play a few chords while looking anywhere except the keyboard. Over the next few months we practiced several times a week getting to a point where we could play in front of people without driving them out of the room. We named ourselves Entranzit. I have no recollection why.

After almost a year of playing at house parties, Knights of Columbus halls and other sundry venues, we got our “big break.” We entered a battle-of-the-bands that pitted us against the fave band from rival Seneca Valley High School- “M.I.A..” We slaughtered them. They were horrible, and the only thing they did that was interesting was take an old acoustic guitar and smash it to bits on the gym floor at the end of their set.

That was pretty cool.

Fast-forward 10 years- Entranzit was long-gone, and I had just recently moved to Nashville with my family. On one fall night I was taking out the garbage when my wife ran outside excited and called me in the house. “Mark and Dean are on TV!” she said. My response was, “who?”

I went inside, saw that she was watching VH-1’s Artist of the Month, and the show was going on about a band I had never heard- Hootie and the Blowfish. There on the screen was Mark (guitar), Dean (bass) and a couple guys they must have met in college to complete the new manifestation of M.I.A..

That was even cooler.







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