FIRST - A BRIEF HISTORY OF BUS 5
Bus 5 was, and still is, a real vehicle that transports kids to school from Kingston Twp. to the Dallas School District. The name of the Bus was adopted by this band. It was the Bus that took us to and from school. It is the most notorious Bus in the history of the Back Mt.
Stories exist of wild rides, snowball fights, smoke filled back seats, milk cartons, rockets, busted cigarettes, and childish stuff that occurred every now and then. This Bus made its way through its route each day to bring us safely to school and safely home again.
Most relevant to the name of Bus 5, is that no crap music ever played on the school bus cassette deck. No. We made sure that only great Rock came blaring through its speakers. It was then that we were exposed to, and learned to love, great Rock bands, the greatest of all; we don't need to mention artists here, those of you who know who they are, know who we're talking about, it's too long a list to list.
Then we picked up instruments and learned to play Rock. It was from there that we had to Rock. So, we evolved into getting together to jam on Fridays. Although the equipment at this time was limited to a 20 Watt Gorilla guitar amp with a bad wire (that we used for vocals), cracked symbols, and shitty amps, we would persevere and keep a rockin'. From there we evolved some more.....and since about late 99', we started to share our love of Rock with the people in bars, clubs, and parties here and there in the Wyoming Valley, and still today, we cherish the memories of childhood, and through these memories, and through the philosophy that you are as old as you think, and in this crazy, fucked up world that is everyone's reality, we just gotta Rock, and have a good time, and if that sounds good to you, join us sometime. We'd love to meet you!
LINEUP
CHEEKS -
BASS, RHYTHM GUITAR, VOCALS
He's immersed and in love with his wife, son, daughters, and family. Blessed with a baby girl, Meadow Rose, in February 2007, during the worst blizzard of the year. Baby girl Merryn, arrived soon thereafter in April, 2009. He needs to be outside nearly all of the time. He loves all animals, especially birds and horses. Loves water and fish, and fishing, kayaking, and camping out. Loves rivers, especially the Indian, the Delaware, and the Susquehanna. Many cultures believe that rivers symbolize endlessness and rebirth. That must be why he likes to be near them, on them, or in them. Quotable: "It really bothers me when opossums, raccoons, and porcupines get killed on the road. It's senseless killing."
FAVORITE BANDS
Led Zeppelin and The Beatles, and loves music by Neil Young, Pink Floyd, The Doors, The Who, Jethro Tull, Queen, The Talking Heads, Annie Lennox, Fishbone, Tori Amos, Concrete Blonde, Blind Melon, The Cult, U2, Peter Tosh, Pearl Jam, Nick Cave, The Guess Who, and many more.
LEAST FAVORITE BANDS
Kiss, ZZ Top, BTO, AC/DC, Boston, Blink 182, Limp Bizkit, and shit like that. He hates Country music - its stupid, just plain stupid. Quotable: "I'll listen to anything once."
LIKES
Rivers, children, animals, birds, horses, Jesus, Chief Tecumseh, Jeff Corwin, yoga, & Italian Ice
DISLIKES
War, violence, evil, racists, litter, pollution, global warming, big business, the raping of Mother Earth, & food left in the sink
FAVORITE MOVIES / BOOKS
Dead Man, River's Edge, & Adaptation, Dictionary, Field Guides, Bible, Panther In The Sky, Undaunted Courage
MISC
Quotable: "On stage we're all a bunch of hams, but Randy, he's a ham & cheese".
DALE ROOT -
LEAD GUITAR
It was in the mid to late 80s that Dale started playing guitar soon after meeting someone called "Cheeks" at the local landscaping company where they both enjoyed working. Cheeks would soon show him a song called 'Runnin' with the Devil'' by Van Halen - and that kick-ass riff was all that was needed.
Soon Dale played for the band 'Custard Pie' which included himself, Cheeks, Mike Shutlock, Schnee, & Randy. Rehearsal spaces varied from Randy's garage to Steve Shotwell's basement. Custard Pie would go on to tour the Back Mountain that summer playing various parties and the like for a couple of years or so.
After a good long break, the yellow Kramer guitar was dusted off, strings changed, and it was off again to meet up and practice with Cheeks, Mike Q, & Jamie for some Friday night jam sessions. This lineup would come to be known as Bus 5.
Dale currently resides in Trucksville, PA with beautiful wife and daughter.
FAVORITE BANDS
Pink Floyd, The Police, Rush, Blind Melon, The White Stripes, Nirvana, The Doors, Zep, Rage, The Strokes, Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, The Beatles, U2, Alice in Chains, The Who, Van Halen, Neil Diamond, Vampire Weekend, MGMT
LEAST FAVORITE BANDS
Kiss, country music
FAVORITE MOVIES / TV SHOWS / PEOPLE / ETC
Northern Exposure, Big Fish, Kingpin, Dead Man, Dead Poets' Society, Stephen King, Frank Lloyd Wright, Bill Maher, Rolling Stone Magazine, Hi Fi
LIKES
Photography, yoga, silence, animals, beer, woods, plants, laughter, the ocean
DISLIKES
Shouting, litter
RANDY KEMMERER -
RHYTHM GUITAR, BASS, DRUMS, VOCALS
Randy was born in the early 1970's in a hospital with no obvious physical deformities. He grew up in the back mountain area jamming with the likes of Cheeks and Dale Root. He was a full-on drummer at the time; inspired by the way his fingernails grew faster when playing the drums. Over the years, he picked up other instruments simply because they were in the way. This grew into a guitar style that is both enigmatic and shitty. He is currently part of a fairly large and very loving group of family and friends that does reportedly include some people. He co-habitates with two cats named Steve and Ozzie and is known to spend time with a big horse.
His formative music experiences include stints with the likes of Orange Barrel Sunshine, The Haig Administration, Funnelhead, and an early version of Bus 5 that included Dale and Cheeks. Orange Barrel Sunshine was his college band in Pennsylvania although he will concede that nobody really learned anything. After a four-year hiatus, Randy emerged as the drummer in the Cincinnati-based Haig Administration. “I got this job when their former drummer had a nervous breakdown and went insane”, Randy would later explain. Songwriting in the Haig covered such diverse subjects as Pork, Politics, and Matlock. They eventually became the house band at Arlin's in the University district of Cincinnati while quickly gaining a reputation as one of Cincinnati’s loudest bands. He remains close to the former members to this day. After slugging it out a few years in the punk rock underground of Cincinnati, it was on to North Carolina and the formation of Charlotte-based Funnelhead. Funnelhead was a heavier cover band conceived by Randy and cohort Jeff Fleming (Guitars). “The purpose of Funnelhead was to burnish a heavier set of covers on North and South Carolina audiences without really ever hurting anyone that much.” Jeff Fleming would later concede.
This brings us to present day and Bus 5.“I like that they really don’t yell at me that much and Mike doesn’t hit me,” Randy explains. Bus 5 also represents Randy’s first experience canvassing multiple instruments in a single band. It has been stressful yet educational and Randy looks forward upcoming shows and new experimentation. When asked about the best Bus 5 show thus far, Randy’s only comment is “The one we do tomorrow.”
BORN
In a hospital.
EDUCATED
Yes
OTHER OCCUPATIONS
Shit hoarding, stealing other peoples food
FAVORITE RECORDS
Ween – White Pepper, U2 – Joshua Tree, Edie Brickell – Ghost of a Dog, Dr. Dre – The Chronic, Cypress Hill – Black Sunday, Wings – Wings over America, Supersuckers – Motherf***ers be Trippin’
FAVORITE BANDS
Ween, Flaming Lips, Upper Crust, Foo Fighters, Supersuckers, U2, Beatles, Wings, Old Genesis, E Street Band
FAVORITE FILMS / TV / BOOKS
Films – Goodfellas, Pulp Fiction, Patton, Paths to Glory, On the Waterfront, The Deer Hunter, Little Miss Sunshine. TV – The Office, The Sopranos. Books – Anything by Hunter S. Thompson
FAVORITE LIVE PERFORMER
The Boss, honorable mentions to The Flaming Lips and Mike Quinn
LIKES
Snowboarding, pottery, fishing
DISLIKES
Ants
BIGGEST INFLUENCE ON MUSICAL CAREER
Not dying young
RESIDENCE
On Novicki mountain
WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE YOUR EPITAPH TO BE?
"Shhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
MIKE QUINN -
DRUMS, VOCALS
FAVORITE BANDS
The Doors, Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, The Cult, Queen
LEAST FAVORITE BANDS
Most country (except Johnny Cash and some Hank), most hip-hop (except Jay-Z and Tone Loc)
FAVORITE MOVIES / TV / BOOKS
Pulp Fiction, Kingpin, Family guy, American Dad, The Metamorphosis,
LIKES
Pretty much like it all
DISLIKES
When Randy hits me