The Late Arrivals

Just Gum It

- As Told by Soda Popinski - The actual formation of The Late Arrivals is kind of sketchy to me, but I remember most of the key elements. Matt and I came from a previous band called After Hours. That five-man band lost its drummer to different musical aspirations, one of its guitar players to another country, and its bass player to schoolwork and employment. Matt and I found a schoolmate who had his own drumset and wanted to be in a band. Enter Allen. Allen had never played with anybody before and didn't know too much on the drums, but was eager to learn. For awhile it was just Allen and I who would practice. During those sessions, many songs were created with the help of Allen's computer recording availability and his dad being cool about letting us play whenever we wanted. That was great, but we needed a bass player. Enter Alexander. Alexander had his own bass, along with a huge bass amp that is a pain to transport. Alexander had never played bass before in his life or even picked one up for that matter. He wanted to learn though and I was willing to teach him. Alexander surprised me with his skill and ability to learn and play as fast as he did. I couldn't have been happier or asked for anything more with a new person coming into the band than I was with Alexander. All that was missing was the dreaded band name. Luckily, it was fairly easy to decide on one. There was about four to choose from, so we unanimously chose to become The Late Arrivals.