‘(The) Mushrooms’ (photo from their split-7″)
(The) Mushrooms – Steve Erauw (vocals/guitar), Chris(tophe) Calmeyn (bass) & Patrick ‘Schimmel’ Gyde (drums) – were a street-punk band from Brugge/Bruges. Thy recorded a rehearsal (demo) tape in their rehearsal-room, at the end of the eighties or beginning of nineties… Probably one of the only excisting recordings of their whole setlist. In 1991 the Belgian punk-label Unity recs released their 7” (entitled Youth Of Today). Later there was a split-7” with Belgian Oi! Band ‘The Pride’ (with ‘Mushroom’-members)…
‘(The) Mushrooms’ (pic courtesy of Leslie Delacauw)
That night they started playing at midnight to make the bridge from New Year’s Eve to New Year’s Day. They probably weren’t the only band that night.
Apparently ‘Sloth’ (see also 91-02-08 & 91-10-05) – a local grindcore band with Dieter ‘Lord Moloch’ Roelstraete doing vocals, David ‘Spans Hrac’ Stubbe (guitar; later drums for ‘Neuthrone’, etc.), Fabrice Baclet (bass) & Jeroen Vanhandsame (drums) – played aswell.
Brob
Ha! My very first performance. First time stoned too, I guess. And I had the flu! Add some booze to that and a bunch of nerves (and the fact that I actually didn’t know how to play the drums)… and that makes a beautiful cocktail ;-). I was unstoppable that night. Usually the others had to turn down their amps to hear me but that night I went full speed ahead. I didn’t even stop in-between songs a few times (the rhythm stayed the same for the biggest part anyway :-). I think there must be a recording of it somwhere. I even know it circulated. Haven’t owned it or lost it afterwards… Would be fun to hear that back…without an audience because it must’ve been terrible!
Very vague memories: crazy enough music was just a side-issue. To me the distributions were very important! [Jeroen later started Tegenstroom (‘counter-current’) in Leuven; together with his brother Stijn & Filip Vandenberghe.] Much more than the music. Looking backwards: I should’ve enjoyed it more. And work harder. Because the music kept attracting. But I never got to it. Pity! The other guys did have a lot of patience with me. Always great meeting up with David… Fabrice was a great guy. Fantastic bassist. Missed him often. His clever humor. His smile.
Don’t have more memories. I do recall a gig later with ‘Sore Threat’ in the 4AD [venue in Diksmuide] ( I think). But that was our last ‘achievement’ if I remember well. The other guys were much better and cooler than me… They were better of without me. Dieter was already living in Ghent, had ‘grown up’ and started his ‘Anus Mundi’, etc. Too much doom/goth for me…
Jeroen Vanhandsame
additions wellcome!…
Vort'n Vis in the 90s 