Curt’s Big Fat Faux Fetus 40th

Ben’s photos on the windy sheet was a treat.

My first contact w/ Faux Fetus crew was when we met Ugh,God in May 2008 on the third day of the first Fat History Month tour. We played the Sex Dungeon with Florida=Death. The first thing Sean ever said to me when he opened the door was “I’m gonna fuck you on the carpet with my dog dick!” with a gleam in his eye and a shit eating grin and I knew we were among friends. There on the wall next to him was the immortal drawing of a dick sucking a dick’s dick.

Me and Sean in like 2011 or 12?

That was my introduction to the the loose group of tortured genius goofs called Faux Fetus. We ended up being friends for life, though I didn’t meet some of them until years later.

me havin fun

Here’s me and a squeaky chair on the roof at the show covering the first Sean song I learned “accept this one”.

From my understanding, they all met when they were like 18, some had been friends since 4th grade, they all had bands together and then started playing in each others bands in various combinations. Curt put up the Faux Fetus site to host all the music they were making, I assume because myspace only let you put up 4 songs at the time. The Pregnancy, Chamomile, some vast number of silly named Brian bands, The Beautiful Traps, Caw, a bunch of others, the website’s still up, you can check it out: fauxfetus.net

When I met Dan and Curt and Sean and James and Mike, they were already doing Ugh,God, which was sort of a supergroup of a bunch of them, coming out of the initial few years of Faux Fetus, built around Sean songs. Maximal to the max. Dualing drummers, double neck guitar, chain-smoking bassist with no strap, balanced relaxed on top of the full stack in the back, Sean and Mike, Mick-and-Keithing it back-to-back, wailing the harmony guitar solos in Chocolate and Peanuts, Curt burning and Dan slamming, hair and sweat slinging everywhere and Sean’s lunatic silliness singing loud into the mic. They were my favorite band.

adric rocked the flyer

he’s who painted this portait of the future from Dead and Loving It too (adric)

The initial Faux Fetus era was all before my time so for me it was already sort of a mythic thing, but casual. It was still a loose idea, just semi dormant, and we were riding in the wake of it. I’d hear stories about people I hadn’t met yet, “our friend Brian Reichart”, former members of Ugh,God etc, it took me a while to get the full scope.

I could tell they were like me, kids with huge ambition in the wrong direction, towards art and originality and fucking with the expected. Kinda bent. I imagine even just the loose concept of themselves as a “collective” probably gave them the narrative thrust and feeling of combined power to believe in themselves as real artists and go for it together. I’m sure they knew they had something special.

Ben hangs his screen

I got to experience that feeling of intense combined collective power when we did the Nyxy Nyx big band iteration in 2021.

Shit was fun and easy and felt like destiny. I imagine that’s how it felt for them in the early years too. I’m glad I got a dose. It saved my life. It rejuvenated me and made me remember the real heavy power and magic of music and friends and playing together, and collaborating in the studio, sending files backs and forth, recording all the time. Art life.

I walked inside during nyxy nyx’s set and there was Meg in her multitudes.

Anyway, someone will write a history someday. Since the ones of us still alive are all lifers still livin’ it, we had a big fuckin’ party for Curt’s birthday.

even good ol marky fartface made it down from maine.

It happened July 28th 2024. We’d done a few big art shows at Cambria House in 2021-3 and it is always awesome. All the old buddies came through, the Florida=Death dudes, even ol marky fartface made it down from Maine.

Old head brothers from CT, former Florida=Death and New Hawaiians(ct oasis show living room in the early years, initial home base of florida/neon leather drip, pre meriden exodus).

the order of operations

Here’s a nyxy nyx bootleg from the show, it’s spent a couple years as a file on my phone, on repeat in the van for the last hour of driving for the workday. it’s ok 2 cry. The heaviest. Hard to hear his voice, but if you sing along in your own Brian voice, it works nicely: