My first proper band. Started with friend and early mentor, the brilliant, Goffrey Moore. Originally we were meant to play live versions of My Field Trip To Planet 9 in support of the album, but after hanging out in guitar shops and Goff’s garage learning to play and write songs and not just programming an SP1200 & Akai S950, I could feel myself moving away from making hip-hop and moving towards the classic rock of my youth, as well as other stuff I was absorbing at the time. Some great, some not-so and which doesn’t age very well. (Can you say, Grunge?). We did actually play one or two shows doing acoustic-ish Planet 9 songs, but after writing a few new songs with Goff, a new project was born. Segueing from hip-hop to fronting a live band and playing guitar didn’t come easy for me. Fresh off of rhyming, limited guitar playing ability, and could barely sing in key, somehow, through sheer force of will and some great musicians around me (Joe Moore, and Gianni Garofalo), I pressed on. Stylistically confused, jumping from classic rock to pop-rock and everywhere in between, it’s a spotty album with a few moments that hold up, but ultimately, it doesn’t work, but that’s through no fault of my contributors. I was a year from throwing away my Seattle records for Sebadoh, and realizing I couldn’t write and sing like Redd Kross (and didn’t have the foresight to rip The Verve and was half a year from hearing Oasis), so this is really the class photo of puberty with dirt-stache, zits, and ill-fitting clothes. That said, it features incredible production by legendary New York City engineer, Rod O’Brien. A gem in every sense, I just wish the songs and singing were more deserving of both his and the musicians time and expertise. But live and learn, and I did very, very fast.

supernaut 1994-1995

Recorded at the legendary recording studio A&M (now Henson), a food budget that exceeds what most records cost today, and way too much freedom (along with Keith Richards’ bong), and no one saying, “no”. Someone should have taken away the Bushmills bottle, forced me to write better songs, find a cohesive style, and wait to record rather than rush in and spend 6-figures. Had I remained in the rehearsal room 3-4 months longer and not recorded, One Inch Punch would have emerged. (As it did following the band split). Or would it have otherwise? Live and learn. No regerts. (That was not a typo). As my then girlfriend and Tim Simenon (Bomb The Bass) told me at the time, I should have followed up Planet 9 with another rap album, but, I was 21, stoned, and you couldn’t tell me shit. Had I listened to them, I would not be writing this today or living the life I have now, but in an alternate universe somewhere, either this album doesn’t exist and One Inch Punch made 2 LPs, or I’m a huge fucking rapper and never stopped. Or maybe there’s a door #3 that’s actually much worse than having an album I’m not-so-low-key embarrassed about.

But like Lou Reed said, I was “growing up in public”.

Whatever the case may be, as videnced by the Amazon review above right, Chris didn’t like it.