| It was the summer of 2003 and MP3.com's active message board community was heating up as well -- with flame wars.
Along came Chaz Fanaro, looking to cut through the negative noise. He began to interview many of the musical artists who pitched a tent on the popular indie music forum. Others pitched in with questions of their own. July of 2003 could have turned ugly, but thanks to the interviews blanketing the forum, it became a home for insight and mutual respect.
The forums were wiped clean by Vivendi in December, 2003. The interviews live on.
Poised for the Worm
Artist description
Poised for the Worm offers up some unique, fast-paced, hard hitting rock that can slow down to a more 70's kinda groove. With smart lyrics and even smarter arrangements, every song has its own message and feel. You'll be able to hear the eclectic influences of this band shine through on every track.
Music Style
Rock/Pop
Musical Influences
Alice Cooper, Cheap Trick, STP, Monkees, Sloan, Tragically Hip, Rush, Our Lady Peace, I Mother Earth
Similar Artists
STP, Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, The Who
Artist History
Founded by members who met in college in Toronto, current lineup solidified sometime in 98. There first studio recording "With Baited Breath" is complete and set to be released this spring.
Group Members
Al Grego, aka Zeus -- Howler Monkey & Ivory Tickler, Travis Watts, aka Paco -- Bucket Puncher, Steve Brown, aka Honey Brown -- Big 4 String Wallop, Gerald Fratzl, aka RevFear -- Thin String Growler
Albums
With Baited Breath
Location
Toronto, Ontario - Canada
Chaz the Spaz
How was the band name Poised for the Worm was selected?
PFTW
Let me just start by saying, Gerald (RevFear) has a srange sense of humour. We had been writing and rehersing for a couple of years but never settled on a name because we weren't playing live so we didn't need one. We threw a bunch of them around and someone always so said no for one reason or another.
We were almost called "Coyote Morning", I think I vetoed that one. We even went online to one of those sites that would randomly put together words and thought that would be as good a way as any. Finally one day Gerald just blurted out, "How about Poised for the Worm?". Noone said anything, so it stuck. We probably didn't say anything because we thought he wasn't serious. It turns out he was.
Ted Lehman
I got a question for you Al.
Does anyone really live in Canada? I think the whole country is a big hoax. Like UFO's and crop circles....
How the hell ar ya Al? It's been a while.
PFTW
Well Ted the answer is yes some Canadians actually do live here most of the time. Canada is more of a waiting area for stars, once they hit it big, or retire, they move states-side. It keeps our population young, hungry and creative. That's why we don't mind if you have Celine Dion, or Brian Adams, or Jim Carey. We have to make room for the future.
I'm doin fine Ted, the wifey and I just moved into our first house, and now we're knee-deep in renovations. How are you keeping up down there in Hotlanta?
Terry Shea
Didn't you hear the news Al? The Devil Went Down To Georgia!
PFTW
Terry, if the devil lives in Georgia then he/she is one of the friendliest, warm, inviting evil demons ever. I had a good time in Georgia, and everyone was uber-nice.
Ted Lehman
Hey Al congrats on the new digs. Owning a home is a very cool thing, it's paying for it that gets old.
Things in Hotlanta have been medocre at best. I had physical problems with my shoulder, had to have surgery and was unable to play for over 6 months. I'm doing much better now. We've been having serious monsoons here for most of the spring and summer, not a lot of nice weather.
Glad to hear y'all are still plugging away making music. I rarely post to this place any more but I lurk occasionally and thought I'd say hello.
Stay in touch. Keep rockin'...
PFTW
I'm sorry to hear about the shoulder Ted, I'm glad you're feeling better.
Summer here has been as hot and humid as Georgia. We finally got a bit of a break this past week with some rain to cool things down, but today is hot again and I'm sure the smog warnings are going to begin again around T.O.
Yes buying the first house was an exciting and scary proposition. I'm finding myself now caring about things I never did before like how green the lawn is. I guess I'm living that old Monkees tune "Pleasant Valley Sunday".
Terry Shea
Really Al? It's been cool if not downright cold for most of the spring and summer here, and we're not that far apart. Maybe I should move to Canada.
PFTW
It's probably due to that nice big hole in the ozone over Toronto, but yes, summers here can get unbearable. This year it started later than usual, we had a cooler than average spring too, but when the heat came, it came with a vengence.
Chaz the Spaz
What's the music scene like in Toronto and is PFTW currently gigging?
PFTW
Toronto is very much a trendy city and people only want to see the "best" entertainment. By "best" I mean signed. Very few come out to see new bands any more which makes it difficult to grow a fan base. This is why most bands you see coming out of Ontario aren't from Toronto, they're from the outskirts like Avril, Sum41, BNL and so on. Gigs are hard to come by downtown, the booking agents aren't concerned with promoting talent (which is true everwhere else I know) and none of us really have the time to do the footwork. I would love to find management that could do it for us, but getting good management is as difficult as getting signed nowadays.
The only ray of light is one of the radio stations here called edge 102 that try to promote new music, but they can only do so much and they're slowly being taken over by the corporate machine and are playing less edgy music than they once did.
We've done some gigging this year. Nothing is lined up right now. We're just taking some time to write the new album and rehearse it so we can go back into the studio. There was a promise of some shows in the northern states like Michigan, Ohio and Minnesota, but nothing has come of it so here we are.
Chaz the Spaz
Al, how did you first become interested in music?
PFTW
When I was a kid, my parents moved into new house, the former owners had both a piano and an old Wurlitzer organ. They took the piano (unfortunately) and left the organ, so My brother and I had to take lessons for 3 years. that's when I learned I had an ear and interest in music.
Later on in highschool, My best friend was learning how to play the drums and became very good at it. He askd if I wanted to join his band and play the keys so I did. Then I switched to bass, then guitar. Finally, not being good enough on any of those instruments, but enjoying performing, I opted to sing.
After highschool, I went to college for audio engineering. There I met Travis (our drummer) and Gerald (guitar). We hooked up and started writting. That was 6 years ago.
Chaz the Spaz
What are your goals and what do you have planned for your music?
PFTW
We love writing, recording and performing. Our goals are to continue doing that. Fame and fortune are fleeting, but if we make music that we can be proud of, that's all we want.
We have half an album written, I'm really excited about it and we're all anxious to get back into the studio.
If there was a way that we could make a good living just making our music, I think we would all jump at the chance, but for now, we have to stick to our day jobs and do this as a hobby.
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