BOB (from atlanta)

BOB began as a "post punk" trio in Atlanta in 1990 that would morph into an art, noise, folk-punk, dance, budget-electronic rock group by the time of their demise in 2000. Their first songs were simple and punkish like "California" about the big one hitting "eat(ing) avocado ice cream from my home, Nevada shores" and "Nasty" "heaven is in the dirt, we're going back to the earth". The songs on their last release "Pendulum" were fairly elaborate productions with guest musicians like Diana Obscura on cello for "Disco Murder", Harold on tribal percussion for "Meteors in Twilight" and Sicily Simpson with angelic backing vocals on multiple tracks including "Sexy". BOB, like the infamous Spinal Tap with their spontaneously combusting drummers, went through a few personnel changes over it's 10 year longevity. BOB enjoyed the talents of 3 very different bassists.

The Atlanta music scene in the 90s was thriving with hundreds of local bands. BOB's peers and friends included: Pineal Ventana, Tweezer, SuzyBeat, Flap, Heinous Beinfang, Harvey Milk (from Athens), Snatch, Liar's Club, The Stimulants, Baby Fat, 3d5spd….and many many others. BOB consisted of Rich Hudson (guitar/vocals), Eric Ingram (drums) and chronologically on bass, Ted Grauch, Ray Surinck and Katt Gass. Rich and Eric had been working together on various projects (like "The 9 Two 5 Curran Street Band" and "Paint Your Brain") since 1986 as students at Georgia Tech. When Ted joined, they called themselves BOB because "Ed" and "Stick It in Wendy" had been taken. No one in the band particularly liked the name BOB; it was simply what they called themselves for their first few shows. Eventually the name stuck. They began playing open mic nights at The Point and Avondale Towne Cinema in Atlanta. They got to play full sets at The Downstairs in Athens, GA. One Athens critic called them "a good fun band". With Ted, BOB did weekend tours to Gainesville and Pensacola, FL, Johnson City, TN, Asheville, NC, Augusta, GA. They often played at Sluggos in Pensacola, about a 5 hour drive from Atlanta. One time after a gig Ted stayed up late drinking with Nick, Sluggo's owner. Next morning: 90 Florida degrees/ Ted in the back seat/ Eric driving/ Ted's girlfriend, Annette, also in the front seat/ they stop for a nourishing McD's drivethru breakfast. Back on the highway/ 91 degrees/ Ted taps Eric on shoulder/ Eric looks in rearview/ sees Ted with the universal 2-finger-over-the-mouth sign/….too late! Ted unloads McD's on the backs of the head rests projectile style. They still had 4 1/2 hours to go! Rich, of course, found this immensely funny, especially since he wasn't present.

It wasn't until the release of their 4 song EP called "Peel Sessions" that BOB began to get headlining gigs in Athens and Atlanta and very favorable local press. The "Peel Sessions" was a joke title. BOB never expected to attain the level of notoriety to be invited onto John Peel's infamous BBC program, but hoped that they would. The EP included BOB staples like "Pope Is" and "California", which were often performed live, and was called "brisk and clear as a winter's day, partly due to the production" by the national publication "Maximum Rock 'n Roll". Ted quit BOB to focus on Athens' "The Go Figures". Rich and Eric performed as a duo for 9 months. They sometimes propped up a cardboard cut out of a would-be bass player. Amy Potter, general manager at 91.1 FM WREK Atlanta and founder of Half Baked Records, took a liking to the band. They played as a duo for the 1992 WREK Benefit at the Somber Reptile; Rich sang through a megaphone and pulled a stocking over his face while Eric carried the beats. BOB with Ted was featured on the cover of Wrekology, WREK's printed program and music guide. Ted was a big part of early BOB helping to broaden their horizons by playing regionally instead of just in Atlanta and Athens.

Ray Surinck joined late in '92 after seeing the duo at a couple of local gigs. Ray, standing 6'7", originally from Michigan, was already a well known fixture on the local Atlanta scene. Ray brought a welcome aggressive edge to the BOB sound. With Ray, BOB recorded 3 songs for the "Re-Fuel: 8 more bands from Athens, GA" compilation disc; 3 songs for their 7" vinyl release "Atomic Cafe"; their first full length CD "Complex Organism Blues", their sophomore release "Rounded at the Free End" and 2 songs for the "Compatibility of Dissonance" compilation. Once when Ray-BOB played at CBGB's in NY, the club reneged on a $50 guaranty; a beating ensued, Rodney King style, only the victim was a urinal and the assailant was 6'7". Arguably, the Ray era of BOB was the most popular locally. Like Spinal Tap, BOB henceforth would play for more select (read smaller) audiences. Ray moved with his wife, Alexa, to New Orleans, and still performs there in local bands.

Katt Gass replaced Ray and brought a very different, groove pop style. Rich began playing a cheap Casio keyboard more often than guitar. "Sonic Hedges", the first of two BOB-Katt releases was an adventurous departure from their earlier work, receiving mixed local reviews. The band enjoyed more success on the road playing several week-long tours from Atlanta to Boston from 1996-99. They played at a record label showcase in NY. They befriended and often stayed with the well known Boston band Bright. They enjoyed a homemade spaghetti dinner with 2/3 of NY's Blonde Redhead at Amadeo's apartment. They got a lot of mileage out of the BOB van, a used Ford Econoliner that Eric bought. Despite a couple of flat tires and a one time radiator hose leak, the van held up pretty well in the era before cell phones. DIY (do it yourself) in these days really was about pay phones, snail mail and word of mouth; about hanging out together face to face because there was no FaceBook, MySpace or cell phone to interrupt camaraderie. "Pendulum" was BOB's last full length release, and as previously mentioned, was more elaborate in terms of production and pop sound. The verdict in terms of local press is unknown regarding "Pendulum" since BOB disbanded.

Thanks to Amy Potter and Greg Brooks, entertainment lawyer, BOB had invaluable support. Although they never became nationally known, BOB did enjoy some popularity in the Atlanta and Athens music scenes during the 90s.

Where are they now?
Ted lives in Atlanta, is married, has a daughter, travels to Switzerland periodically for business, plays bass with Heinous Beinfang whenever this longtime Atlanta band does a reunion.

Eric lives in Atlanta, is married, has a son, and is into electronic music. He still occasionally bangs on his BOB drum kit set up in his basement. He designs electronic sound equipment for fun.

Katt went on to play with David Railey in Casio Nova. She now has a daughter, lives in Atlanta and plays with her guitar player husband Billy in a band.

Ray lives and gigs in New Orleans. He plays bass in a band called "War Amps" with Tom Beeman (ex-member of "Guzzard", an Amphetamine-Reptile band); and plays drums in a noise blues improv 2-piece called "Rajon".

Rich went on to form a garage electronic duo with Brian Cook (of Pineal Ventana) called Black Love. See the entry for their music on last.fm in the near future. Rich played bass for Atlanta band Envie for a year. His bass lines may be included on their forthcoming album. Currently, he's a married artist living in Switzerland, no kids but one ausgezeichneten Hund.