There's A Storm-A-Brewin'

1991 has been written into the history books as a pivotal year for music.

Following the marginal success of bands such as Alice In Chains, Jane's Addiction and Soundgarden, Nirvana truly broke through to the mainstream in the fall of that year, and ushered in a new era, bringing with it an impact that was far-reaching.

In a flash, all that had once been considered atypical suddenly became the ordinary.

The music underground that had been building in Huntington, West Virginia over the preceding couple of years benefitted from this changing climate, and the triumvirate of Davidson's Music, WMUL 88.1 and Gumby's now comprised the perfect storm that helped to shape the city's scene.

(This changing of the guard was evident as early as the spring of 1991, when Jane's Addiction, with openers the Rollins band, performed at the Huntington Civic Center.)

(Jane's Addiction/Rollins Band flyer, May 8, 1991)

By 1991, Davidson's owner Jay Mitchell had begun to capitalize on this groundswell of activity, and focused almost exclusively on the heavy metal and burgeoning grunge markets, which included many disaffected youth possessing a sudden urge to buy records by artists to whom they could finally relate.

Over at Marshall University's WMUL 88.1, student program directors Russ Fox and Erik Raines would not only spin records by bands like Corrosion Of Conformity, Prong and Tad, but also used their platform to educate an ever-growing consortium of listeners by playing regional bands such as Black Cat Bone, Electric Lullaby (of which Fox was a member) and Stranglmartin.

To their credit, Gumby's owner John Kerwood and booker Brian Barlow also recognized the potential of this increasing audience and began booking both nationally-known and local bands to perform at the club multiple times per week.

Although Gumby's had already started hosting live acts as early as 1990, the club did not feature an adequate stage or sound system to realize Kerwood and Barlow's ultimate vision.

(The demolition of the Gumby's stage, June 1995)

In order to broaden the club's appeal to bigger possibilities Kerwood, Barlow and a few others constructed a proper stage in the back room of Gumby's, and began renting a formal public address system from a local independent dealer.

With this setup now in place Gumby's began to build its reputation as a viable option for bands that, until then, had completely overlooked Huntington when mapping out touring plans.

In 1992, Gumby's would play host to a number of nationally-recognized acts, chief among them The Mentors, Skankin' Pickle and Nobody For President (featuring celebrated 1960's hippie Wavy Gravy), but in spite of Barlow being Gumby's primary booker, two of the more noteworthy shows that the club hosted that year were largely the doing of Russ Fox.

(Afghan Whigs flyer, August 12, 1992.)

Utilizing his connections at WMUL, Fox was instrumental in bringing The Jesus Lizard and Afghan Whigs to Huntington within a week of each other that summer, and helped to cement Gumby's stature as a genuine West Virginia music venue.

(Lexington's Groovezilla, Born Cross Eyed and 10 Foot Pole also began to appear frequently at the club in 1992, and this marked the year in which 1318 4th Ave. established its long-running relationship with Chicago's Jagermeister-fueled rockers The New Duncan Imperials.)

Most importantly, around this time, Gumby's became the home to a pair of Huntington's most respected acts - Electric Lullaby and Guru Lovechild.

Electric Lullaby consisted of vocalist/guitarist Brian Lusher (formerly a member of Huntington's mid-1980's glam metal band Maliki), bassist Russ Fox and drummer Mark Harlan, and became one of the first Huntington bands of this period to record and release an album of all original material, 1992's 'Kindred To The Snake.'

(Electric Lullaby's 'Kindred To The Snake', 1992)

Following in the footsteps of Lexington's Black Cat Bone, the band recorded the album at David Barrick's studio in Glasgow, Kentucky, and self-released it on their Freak Show Records label.

Electric Lullaby would be one of the more durable local bands during this time, making numerous appearances at Gumby's as both headliner and opener (for acts like Brainiac, The Leaving Trains and Hasil Adkins), and also appeared at all-ages showcases such as Huntington native Chris Trainor's Flat-Chested Fiesta.

Within a few short years, the band would change its moniker, become known as Cretin Hop and release its second full-length album in 1996, entitled 'High On Gas.'

(Electric Lullaby flyer from the collection of Denton Anderson)

Unfortunately, both Lusher and Harlan would relocate to Nashville, Tennessee later that year, effectively ending the band.

(Russ Fox would continue to be a presence within the Huntington scene, and join up with local band Seven Day Jesus, as well as Bleach, establish his own studio, Broadmoor Recording, and continue to release music as a member of The Carrie Crash, The Red Velvet and Sinks Of Gandy. Ironically, he would also reunite with his former Electric Lullaby/Cretin Hop band mates under the name Heavy Me and they would release a third album, 'Maximum Ramrod', in 2004.)

Guru Lovechild was formed in 1991, by Davidson's Music employees John Lancaster (vocals/guitar) and Chuck Nicholas (drums), and also included bassist Barry Smith.

(Barry Smith, Chuck Nicholas and John Lancaster, Guru Lovechild)

The band was largely influenced by prominent three-pieces like King's X and The Police, and in addition to multiple appearances at Gumby's, also played at The Wrocklage in Lexington on occasion.

Guru Lovechild's music was a complex mix of varied arrangements, heavy riffs and melodic vocals (that would foreshadow Lancaster and Nicholas' next band), not unlike that of their musical heroes.

The band recorded a series of demos in 1992-93, and though never officially released, these songs earned Guru Lovechild a reputation as one of Huntington's most-promising acts.

(Guru Lovechild flyer from the collection of Shelley Napier)

The band's exposure to enthusiastic Lexington audiences prompted Nicholas to move to the Bluegrass State, and resulted in his leaving Guru Lovechild in 1992.

(Nicholas' affiliation with Guru Lovechild brought him to the attention of David Angstrom, and he would become the final drummer for Black Cat Bone, as well as a member of Angstrom's next unit, Control Freak.)

Nicholas would be replaced by Brian Myers and Guru Lovechild would last for a few more months, before disbanding in late-1993.

John Lancaster re-emerged only months later with a new music project (eventually involving Nicholas as well) that would, ultimately, put Huntington, West Virginia on the musical map.