Lifter Puller

For the first few years that I lived in New York, I didn't have a bank account. I tried to open one right after I moved here, but was denied because my passport had just expired and I didn't have enough identification (a valid driver's license and social security card were not sufficient for some reason). So I was told to take my American currency elsewhere.

Thus I operated on a cash only basis. I had several friends who worked at Insound, and they would let me come in and pay cash as I had credit or debit card to use. This was nice because I got to peruse the shelves and check out odds and ends that may or may not have been properly inputted.

Brad Shanks was one friend who worked at Insound for a while. I am impressed by the fact that after giving his two weeks notice, he failed to show up for a single day. Why bother giving notice? It seemed to be a running joke at the office, as the days went by and he continued not turning up. When asked about it his response is generally laughter.

One day I found an early Lifter Puller record that I had not seen or heard of before. I also discovered their first compact disc (this was before Soft Rock came out). Both of these discoveries pleased me, despite the fact that my friend Matt initially discouraged me from checking out this band, citing the fact that they didn't really live up to the dangerous persona they created for themselves. Then my roommate Andrew played Fiestas + Fiascos for me and I decided that I didn't care if they didn't seem particularly dangerous. I got to see them twice at Brownie's -- once when they were still an active band and then again as one of two reunion shows they played. Amazing. I still wish I had purchased a "LFTR PLLR" shirt, but that was during my not buying band t-shirt period, apparently. I don't seem to have many band t-shirts from that era, so I can only regard it as a "period".

I had the pleasure of meeting and hanging out with Craig on several occasions after he moved to Brooklyn. One time he told me that he had been meaning to check out my band because he heard that I did the splits whilst playing the keyboard. I was flattered, but I wonder if I would still be able to pull of that feat today.

Ladies and gentlemen, for your listening pleasure, the first single from Lifter Puller.

Prescription Sunglasses b/w Emperor (Crisp)
1. Prescription Sunglasses
2. Emperor