HEAD

Probably the first of the really great bands I was part of was HEAD. My brother, Charles, was our drummer. Gregg Dobbs played guitar. I was the bassist, the vocalist and the man primarilly responsible for the songwriting.

I'd wanted to call the project "Head Found Under a Bed". I got that from a work of art by Man Ray. I liked it's surreal quality and I also thought that a band name of that length would set us apart from all the typical one and two word names. The other guys weren't quite as enthusiastic about that idea, but they did like the "Head" part. It worked well on many different levels, not the least of which was a tip of the hat to the cult classic Monkees movie of the same name.

HEAD was a re-union of sorts. The three of us had played together in the early 80's. Back then we called ourselves Nine Stories. Later we changed it to Little America (after I became entirely fixated with R.E.M.), but we broke up not too long after. This was the first group I'd ever been in that concentrated on originals just as much as cover versions.

We took the same approach with HEAD. The main difference was that we only did a scant few covers. The songs we wrote ourselves were the ones that our audiences seemed to like best. With maybe one exception...they always seemed to go bananas when we played the old Kiss song, "Cold Gin". Other than that, I can only remember doing one other rendition of someone else's song...Nick Drake's "Place To Be".

HEAD played out quite a bit, mainly at Kelly's in Norman. Once we played a fundraiser for NORML. I didn't even use marijuana at the time. It was a lot of fun, though. Those NORML folks are a hoot.

The apex of our short career came when we were asked to open for the legendary British band Echo & the Bunnymen. We were first on a three band bill along with former Chainsaw Kittens frontman Tyson Meade, who was doing an all acoustic set.

The two things I remember the most about that night were:

Tyson's set didn't go over all that well. I'm not sure why, unless it was a matter of the audience gathered for the Bunnymen were clueless as to his status in the local music scene. Or it could have been that they simply weren't impressed with the lacklustre tone of his performance. These people were there to hear electric music. A guy sitting down playing acoustic guitar in between two full-on rock bands just doesn't cut it (trust me, I know this from experience).

The other thing I fondly recall was the appreciation our band recieved from the crowd. There were people lined up on the floor directly in front of us. They were really getting into the music, I could see it in the look on their faces. And the applause, of course. It seemed that the majority of those in attendance were impressed with us. Which was no small accomplishment for an opening act.

At some point, after we'd been together for about a year, I decided that we needed a drummer with a more "alternative sensibility". My brother was a fantastic drummer, but at the time I felt that he was more from the "classic rock/John Bonham school. Looking back on it now I can see what a fool I was...not only did he have more of an "alternative sensibility" than I gave him credit for, it turned out that his style was integral to HEAD's sound. It became painfully evident very shortly after we brought in the new drummer.

Gregg, though he kept it to himself, was pissed at this development. I don't know if he was more angry with me for dumping Charles or for the bullying manner in which I did it. It wasn't exactly a democratic move. Likely it was both of these things that irritated him. With good cause, I might add. I've been an asshole on many occasions in my life, but I don't think I've ever been such a big one as I was back then.

And so, HEAD was history. What a bummer.

Charles wouldn't speak to me for a long time. I couldn't blame him. I can't remember what Dobbs wound up doing after we broke up. I breezed through a succession of shitty bands, making a little money every now and then.

But eventually we all gravitated back together. First in a country cover band, WinterFire, and then back to the original 3 piece line-up for King Tongue (photos of which were posted here a few days ago). King Tongue was much more of a money-making cover act than HEAD ever was. But we did write a few more songs in that incarnation. A couple of them are as good as the old stuff...


HEAD know a bargain when they see one.
Left to Right: James Arthur Casey (vocals, bass), Charles Casey (drums), Gregg Dobbs (guitar)