Hooray For Music

  A brief history of 86 the band

I guess 86 all began when Jason and Joel's old band, Paddlefoot, broke up somewhere around 1998.

When that happened, Jason had a lot of time on his hands because he was only working part-time and giving fiddle lessons on the side. So he wrote a bunch of songs and recorded them on his 4-track. After a while, Jason played the tape for Joel to see what he thought. Needless to say, Joel liked the tape, and they started practicing the songs. In the beginning, Joel took a minimalist approach and played a one-string bass made by this guy named Dave Ardito. Anyhow, Joel brought a few of his songs to the band and a short set was born.

Before long Joel's brother, Tom, came downstairs to see what was going on in the basement, and ended up sitting in on the drums. In October of 98, Joel and Jason met Andy at a Halloween party and just like that you had the original 4-piece version of 86.

In 1999, 86 hired Joe Rut to record and enginner much of the first album, True Life Songs and Pictures. By 2001, he was a full member of the band, bringin in his own songs and everything, and 86 had entered its five-piece era. During this magical era, 86 played a lot of shows and recorded the second album, Hooray for Music.

Shortly before the release of Hooray for Music, Andy decided to leave the band to pursue some other types of quieter music and to spend more time with the wife and kids. Who can blame him? The rock and roll life isn't as glamorous as most people think. Anyhow, he still lets us practice in the shed behind his house, which is nice.
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