A short time ago I did a Google search using the name of the band I fronted in college back in upstate New York: "Balcony of Ignorance". What can I say? Idle curiosity and boredom (plus access to the internet) can lead you down some strange paths.

Not surprisingly, there weren't many hits; in fact, there were only two. One of them was this blog, and the other was a website written completely in Russian, with a few exceptions: the quotes "Balcony of Ignorance" and "Museum of Corruption". That's when it got really intriguing.

It's a long stroll down punchline path, but stay with me . . . . .

Balcony of Ignorance was our college band name. Museum of Corruption was the name of another band, and later a music/literary 'zine by my fellow bandmate Carson (I went by the name of Perry Neal -- that's a joke, ask someone in the medical profession what it means -- and Carson went by the name Patty O'Furniture). Anyways, this Russian website appears to be an interview of the various bandmembers of Brooklyn-based heavymetal/punk/rapcore group Biohazard. Could it be that one of our two "homemade" cassettes are still floating around out there? We were together for only about two years, and only played on two public occasions -- the German Club in Burlington, VT, and live on Plattsburgh State University's PSTV college television station. Some of us graduated, and in short order, we all pretty much scattered to the four winds.

I eventually found the Myspace page of the Biohazard bandmember making the quote (the particulars of which I still don't know, as the text is all in the Cyrillic alphabet, and Altavista translations can only offer so much). I wrote to him, and it turns out that, yes, he heard us/saw us/listened to us back in the day. In some small way, we offered an inspiration/influence of some sort. And I'd like to emphasize the word "small" in my observations and remarks, as there's no comparison between the weekend musical diversions of four college students who described their music both as "the sound of things falling apart" and "ranging from migraine blues to epileptic polka" and the accomplishments of a band that has actually toured the world, sold countless albums, and have made a career in the music industry.

But still. How freakin' cool is that?

By the way, a week later, I found yet another link: click on the photo below to see what Sound Choice magazine really thought of Balcony of Ignorance.

Ouch.