I Love Justin Smith

Decade.
Ten. Years.

It blew my mind when Dan told me.

Our band was Failing Gym. Dan, the lead singer, myself, and Justin Smith, the guitarist, were scheduled to meet in Dan's garage and write a song. Our first song. We didn't have any songs.

Justin Smith never showed up. It must have been, at least relatively commonplace, as we became mad enough to compose a number entitled "I Hate Justin Smith". The lyrics were mean spirited, but the chords & form were simple enough that we could all play it. And we did. At every show. It was our big closing number.

Justin Smith never gave a shit, and he shouldn't have, because it was a stupid song that we wrote in twenty seconds.

I realize (now) just how really awesome that was of Justin Smith, to not torpedo the gag. We never even had to explain ourselves, he was just down. He got it. He gets it.

He was (and remains) smart & funny, quick & dry. Stood up there with us rocking out, not bitter or angry, certainly not a jolly Louis Armstrong either, just being himself, in the moment...

Most high school kids are weak and would have been depressed and needed medication & counseling thereafter such an incident, but not Justin Smith. Justin Smith is a rock.

It's been ten years since our high school punk band. Gross.

The cover of the demo is the three gym teachers from the movie PORKYS but their heads have been replaced with Castro, Stalin & Hitler. I need to admit here (to cleanse my soul) that on the bottom of the inside cover reads, in big capital letters, RAPPERS ARE SHOT FOR A REASON and I feel like that was my idea, but I'm not sure Why? and I'm not proud of my sixteen year old self.

I question his motives. I shake my head & fist at him in Shame, and with the bitchiness of Hindsight.

I like to think that I've achieved higher levels of consciousness in ten years, and that we're past hate songs & condoning violence. But that shit was pretty fucking punk...

at the time.

to us.