About 10 years a go a young girl named Jen picked up an acoustic guitar and started writing.  Through the normal frustrations of learning to play and building calluses, she began to put her voice over the chord progressions and writing songs about life, love and loss.  The music itself almost had a ‘matter-of-fact’, kind of ironic suggestion on its own.   Shortly thereafter, on the other side of town, a young man named Shawn Packer was finishing up a stint with a local cover band called Camp Bell Band to join Secrets with his friend Damien.  Secrets later became Ledbender and played out often before the band’s drummer, Jack, left for warmer weather in Southern California in 2006.  Around this time, Jen was in the wake of a band called I’m Not Her that consisted of several members of the late band, The Feathers. Eventually these two would be introduced to one-another, socialize at local shows, after-parties and different house parties and BBQ’s.  Through their interaction, Shawn would be exposed and get to know well, the music Jen had written so many years prior. 

 

     During this span of time Jon Cummings played drums for the Odd Numbers, as well as The Ronny Bower Experience, which apparently became New Mosquitoes and then Not Hot.  He began playing particularly for a band called Saturday Saints, which included Greg Croak and Shawn Packer.  Greg had various experiences in bands including Talky Tina, which was interviewed by SJRS in September 2009.  At the time of this interview, Greg announced that he has several children, had punched a cop the night before and wanted to reminisce about his time in Bolivia.  It was at one of Saturday Saints practices that Suicidal Barfly would begin. 

 

     “I never really heard a band behind it.” Shawn comments on his initial conclusions of Jen’s songs.  Shawn liked Jen’s music and had attempted to play bass along to it as well as guitar.  He knew Jen wanted to start a band and wanted to oblige but he particularly could understand how a drum kit would fit into the inherent folk undertones of the songs being played on an acoustic guitar.  Mike Belardes, a well-known saxophone player seen regularly with the Pimpsticks and more recently reunited band, The Kingpins even tried to come and put shapes around Jen’s music.  Jen’s musical introduction to the members of Suicidal Barfly was bittersweet.  Jen played a few somber notes during a get together for a dear friend’s passing.  Jon knew what to do.  ”The real key is knowing when not to play [drums].”  Sometime later, Saturday Saints was taking a break from practice and Jen just happened to be sitting in.  She took up a guitar and got in front of the microphone.  Jon began to tap casually on the drums to the rhythm and developed the taps into a tasteful beat.  Shawn finally heard potential for a rhythm section to a song that he knew in and out.  He direct Greg through the parts and they began to play together right then and there.    

 

     The newly formed group worked quickly.  They looked to Jen to uncover the songs she had written years prior.  They wrote together taking input from Jon who wanted to contribute and was able to hear different melodies to enhance the music.  “I really don’t know anything about drums.”  Jon says.  This must be facetious or a subliminal disregard for his talent and capability.  Shawn and Greg saw how Jon would constantly leave spaces open to allow for additional development of the sound and not crowd the music with any parts that demanded too much attention.  They played their first show at Fabers, a well-known landmark bicycle shop in the South Bay.  Then, as most bands don’t, they played Shoreline Amphitheatre, a Mecca for International talent and world-class musicians to play to tens of thousands of people.  There weren’t quite that many there for this particular show, but the occasion was celebratory nonetheless.  Shawn describes that night as “One of the coolest things ever.”  It was the end of year party for Shoreline employees.  The young band was graced with full lighting and sound engineering on the main stage where Shawn could recant the approximate position in the grassy field where he first smoked marijuana.  Jen gave consensus to the sheer awesomeness of the evening and also pointed out that the backstage area is as legendary as legend insinuates.  After that evening Suicidal Barfly gelled and began to play locally with uncanny ease and confidence on stage.  But Shawn heard more in the music.  In his mind he could hear more accents and melodies to make the music bigger and push Jen’s timeless, sultry crooning to the forefront.  He entertained the idea of looking for a second guitar player, but to know avail. 

 

    
In another neighborhood not too far away, Tomasz (pronounced TOM-eck) Mackowiak was carefully
explaining why he could no longer continue his lead role as singer/guitarist to his band mates in MoodRunner (SJRS interviewed MoodRunner in 2009).  Around this same time Shawn was confessing his frustrations with trying to find the right member to add to Suicidal Barfly to his longtime friend Damien from LedBender.  Damien had jammed with Tomasz many times prior and casually mentioned that Shawn should try him out.  Tomasz started playing bass guitar in his early teens.  His mother bought him a classical guitar later on and he continued to expand his capabilities with stringed instruments not excluding the piano.  Tomasz cut his teeth learning blues riffs from a local icon by the name of Phil Price who confessed that Tomasz played the blues like a white kid who studied jazz.  Nevertheless, Tomasz would continue to play in many different genre of bands until he began playing with his good friend Matt in a band they called Entertainment Committee.  The band had a stint and did well, but eventually fell apart.  Shortly thereafter, Matt approached Tomasz with an opportunity to play in what Tomasz called a ‘glam band’ lead by some jerk named Jimmy Sweet.  The band called themselves Mercy Mercy and was graced with several shows many other bands would’ve died for.  The results were in: Mercy Mercy was a hit and after a sold out show at Café Du Nord, Tomasz began to let his mind wonder with stardom.  But the next morning Mercy Mercy’s front man was on his way to Southern California and wouldn’t return.  Mercy Mercy was no more. 

 

 

     Tomasz’s addition to the band happened over time.  Shawn met with Tomasz and showed him some of Suicidal Barfly’s songs.  Shawn instantly liked the few notes that Tomasz tapped out on his white Clavinet, but still directed Tomasz with what melodies haunted him particularly for each part.  After settling in a bit, Tomasz began to clarify his role in the band, building new dynamic and unique sound to the band’s equity.  At this point the band went into a writing frenzy.  They constructed a new song nearly everyday.  They stopped only for a moment to allow Shawn to move into his new house.  This was blessing however as the house provided a place to not only practice and write, but also record live tracks.  “It’s almost unfair these days with these fucking tools … half these songs we would have forgotten by now.” Shawn says.   Suicidal Barfly seemingly picked right up where it left off.  At the time of this interview late last year, the band had 18 songs under its belt.  One of those songs was just recently made public on the band’s myspace page entitled “Bathroom Window”.  The song is familiar but different than anything else the band has done in the past.  It shows a collaborative effort by the full lineup versus the thoughts of one or two members.  “The overall main objective now is ‘Let’s write a good song.’” Jen says.  That might seem simple linguistically, but anyone in a band will tell you their closets run deep with skeletons of terrible songs they knew were bad when they wrote them.  Suicidal Barfly’s portfolio is chalk full of little pieces of delicious sin taken one after the other with a smile filled with guilt.  The product is a result of a consensus not often seen in most bands.  “Liking your band is a very important thing.”  Shawn says.  It is obvious that Suicidal Barfly enjoys itself.  Our interview of the band was filled with laughter and passive, playful jabs amongst each other.  “Everybody is hilarious.” Jen comments on her band mates. 

As this interview is finally being written, the story of Suicidal Barfly is coming to an abrupt end.  But this circumstance may be a rare one that is in fact bittersweet.  Often when bands fall apart, it's due to poor relations between members.  This time it's different.  Jen will be moving with her new husband out of the area and the future of the band is unsure.  They still have some events coming up and are still releasing new music.  Catch up with them on Facebook and Myspace!