John Fay - Tryfles:
Of the evening I
remember how crowded and how much fun it was. What I really remember though, was being upset with my amp; it was an old Tremolux
that would at times lose output power and it chose that night to sound flat.
I think that was the night Bruce Planty proudly
spun his newly acquired, insanely rare Ugly Ducklings LP. What a kickoff to the summer of '84!
David John Herrera - Cheepskates:
About a week
before the show I bought a U.S. Marine dress coat from a shop on 2nd Avenue. I thought it would be really cool to wear
and asked the others in the band to also wear some type of military coat. All three showed up with differing versions
of the armed forces and the four of us actually had a themed look that evening. I think it was the only time we ever did that.
We nailed our set and I must have lost five pounds sweating under that jacket.
Jordan Tarlow - Outta' Place:
That was the only Outta'
Place show which I played a Gibson ES something or other guitar. I had hurled my Vox Starstream VI Teardrop across the room
at a previous Dive show at the end of our "Batman" encore. Carlo Robelli of 48th Street fame eventually pieced it all together,
although it weighed a ton after that. The next year I found a replacement and still use it to this day. Don't remember
much else about the evening other than that the Portnoys had planned and promoted the whole thing.
Paul Martin - Vipers:
I contacted Pat
(Vipers drummer) about memories of the night. He just remembers wanting to get the fuck out of there after the show.
As for me, one look as the camera pans toward me and you might be able to tell I was stoned out of my mind. The
only recollection I have is drinking seltzer with lime due to previous consumption of Quaaludes. Boy, I really miss Quaaludes!
Ognir - Master of Ceremonies & "Caveman
Host:"
When I think about that night
I think "what talent" and how primitive it was. It was strictly Tribal. When I sit here and think about that night the hairs
on my arms stand up.
One thing that sticks
out was how hot it was man. I was hanging out in the kitchen with the musicians because there was no food
that night and it was cool in there. It was also where the thermostat was and the cheap owner kept coming in and
turning the air conditioner off. And as soon as he would leave someone would turn it back on
Dino Sorbello - Mad Violets:
The Mad Violets weren't asked
to be in FuzzFest even though we were one of the original bands on that scene (1981.) I clearly remember SOMEONE making some
sort of comment to the effect that we weren't "good enough." Being a very young person at the time that hurt and I felt left
out. Besides, bands that were actually worse than us were included. So FUCK FuzzFest! I should mention that I still had fun
that night.
Bill Kelly - WFMU Radio DJ:
I must be getting f*ckin' old.
I simply don't remember. Maybe that means I was there and had a GREAT time getting wicked drunk. Not blind
drunk, but still drunk.
Blair Buscareno - Editor of "Teen Scene:"
Being part of the Long
Island crew, I got there quite late. We'd gone
to see The Mosquitos play an early set at Sparks in Huntington, then
6
of us jumped into my friend Tony's flourescent yellow Bug. This worked
out quite well, as three of the car's
occupants were lovely young ladies
I'd never met before. Two were in the back with my friend Chris and me
and
one had to sit on my lap for the entire ride into the city.
We got there in time to catch some
of The Fuzztones and then see The
Mosquitos again. I think that might well have been the first time I saw
The
Fuzztones, although I wouldn't swear to it. I can say that I was
pretty blown away by them...And the music in between
bands and
afterward. For that matter, it was incredibly cool seeing all those
people so into it all. I'd
only been to a few garage shows in the city
at that point, but this was the truly WILD one that really baptized me
in
the spirit. For me, this was the true beginning of what I've been
referring to as The Summer of Fuzz ever since.
If my first experience seeing The Mosquitos in early '83 was a tentative
step towards a life of rock'n'roll rapture,
this - even if I didn't
truly know it myself yet...this was the deciding moment.
Tom Miller - Audience member:
I was there, though I
don't think I have much more to say than it was a great show. I'd been to a few garage shows and had seen most of the groups
playing there, but it was a kick to have so many garage groups on one bill, especially since this was back before it was normal
to have half a dozen bands playing in one night.
Oh yeah, and I'm still kicking myself for losing the single the
Cheepskates were giving away at the door. I had left it at a table where I was sitting with some friends. They didn't
realize I left it there and they also left the table. Oh well.
Lach - Legendary NYC antifolk artist:
I was there and it's true, it
was one of the coolest nights in NYC ever (and I've been to over ten thousand music nights in this town!)
