the curious case of myself a living torch
Somewhere around 1990 or 1991 we got woke.* That is, sometime in the early 1990’s, guitarist Eric Schulz (aka Harlan T Bobo), bassist...
a train track rusted
“A smokestack grey is laughter in the rain / A train track rusted won't carry me away” Dayton's post-industrial ghost haunted my early...
depresso
Growing up in rural small town Ohio in the 1960s and 70s, coffee was something that came in a red or blue tin. It was either Folger’s or...
for the love of a girl in black
Inherently, The Pleasures Pale was a band for misfits. Whether consciously or simply in the course of our individual habits and...
aren't you playing with me?
The cruelness and savagery of children can be astounding. Growing up in small-town Ohio, I was a firsthand witness. For a period of...
as pleasures pale
The Pleasures Pale sprouted in late 1985 with a series of songwriting sessions and loose band rehearsals. These initial assemblies...
rust belt gothic
With the rust belt states playing such a conspicuous role in the U.S. presidential election, I've been thinking about my own roots — and...
instant karma cannot get you
Like it has with a lot of people, an event this past week here in the US of A has my thoughts spinning — and my better self wrestling...
only half bad
If we could time travel back to Dayton, Ohio 1987, we’d see The Pleasures Pale reaching a creative peak. After drummer Jeff Keating left...
vote me in
As it does every four years, the US political circus is reaching fever pitch. In 1992, another election year — one that seems almost...
