The End of Death Ledger

Now that the band is over and I have perspective on everything that happened, its almost surreal thinking about how Death Ledger began and how it ended. Nick and I were working on another project with Corey from The Babs Johnson Gang and Jason Gardner from The Lee Baby Sims Show, where Nick was singing and I was writing all the instrumentals. A few days before Halloween, Nick was playing drums and I was singing; bouncing back and forth between keyboard and guitar. We played "Jetboy, Jetgirl" and my roommate suggested that we start a band and play it live. We ran with that idea and decided to play only cover songs and keep the personnel to the two of us. The idea was to have the easiest band to play in; free of conflict and the trouble that comes with writing original material. On Halloween night we played "Jetboy/Ca Plane Por Moi" after The Babs Johnson Gang and Princess Die and the Car Crashers put on great sets. Our one song set was a train wreck because Nick was nervous and tried to drink away the apprehension.

Over the next few months, I went in and out of the hospital receiving more chemo; growing more hopeful and growing more hair. It wasn't long before I lost both. The other band Nick and I were working on fell apart and in the aftermath he and Jason started The Lee Baby Sims Show and I continued working on my as of now, untitled project with Corey from The Babs Johnson Gang and Dan Warner from G. Green. With both of us happy to have our separate projects, Nick and I were able to get more work done and to start booking shows for ourselves rather than filling in when The Babs Johnson Gang found room on a bill. Among the many shows we played in a few short months, I was most proud of The Hodgkin's benefit show at the Town House with Sasha & The Shamrocks, The Babs Johnson Gang, The Howling and the ever popular Keith Lowell Jensen. We helped raise over $400 for Hodgkin's research and showed a few people what's what. My Dad was drunk and beaming with pride, shredding air guitar and running through the crowd to spread his joy.

In the end, we got to do everything we set out to do and more. We played with The Babs Johnson Gang as often as possible and watched with glee as their set evolved by leaps and bounds at every show. We got to play with Dog Party twice and perform a song with them which was made all the sweeter by having an intimate crowd of friends and family there to watch. We became closer friends with guys like Sam Giles, Roger Carpio and Jerry Perry who believed in the band and helped us accomplish all of these things. Most importantly, we both grew as musicians and learned more about entertaining everyone who was goodly enough to come out and enjoy our sets. Though a few people have told me they would love us to keep going, this is the best place to end everything.Thanks everyone.