In the late night/mid-morning of September 16th, 2000,
Jason Bellamy
and Ian Dickieson
got together and recorded a demo tape in Jason’s bedroom
using an old tape recorder and a couple of guitars. Absent was
drummer Tim
Klaas, who for undisclosed reasons could not attend the session.
They called it:
“I Found A Lump”, and it contained what came to be the roots of
the band.
Included on the tape were covers of Blink 182’s “Dammit”, The
Offspring’s
“Intermission”, a crude rendition of “Dueling Banjos”, and originals
“Lisa”
(later renamed Forever), “With You”, “The Concert Song”, and “Untrue
Lies”.
Two copies were made and Basket 12
was born.
The band began to practice more regularly, beginning by learning
covers by
bands such as The Offspring, Green Day, and Blink 182 and polishing
off some
of the originals from the tape. Due to having developed
a problem with
using a drum kit, Tim began to concentrate more on hand drums
and Jason’s
younger brother Dan was recruited to the drums. This didn’t
last too long,
as in most projects involving family members, and
Matt Moir
was brought in
to try the spot as the new drummer. He fit the job like
a size 10 shoe on a
size 10 foot, with his sexy body and awesome drum beats.
During this time
Jason also picked up a bass, and quickly learned how to play it,
thus making
Ian the lone guitarist and singer. Tim also expanded his
spread by
purchasing congas, and a larger, more bass type of drum.
The practices continued to happen thanks to the generosity
of Jason’s
parents, who let the band use their shed for jamming. After
a few months
they had originals With You and Forever down pat, and decided
that a show
was in order. Basket12’s first
show was at Knox Church for their
anniversary dinner and we played the above originals along with
Blink’s “All
the Small Things” and “Dammit”.
The lineup changed slightly in June of 2001 as Tim departed
from the band to
pursue separate interests. This cut
B12 down to a threesome but they
continued to play shows and write new songs. Later that
June, Basket 12
recorded
their first self-titled CD
in their friend Jon Cardy’s basement.
Only 35 copies were made and all 35 copies were sold. Included
on the CD
were: Pinky, With You, My Fake Tit, Forever, The Crazy Animal
Song,
Unbreakable Seal, School Sucks, Thank You, Duality, The Moral
is Oral, You
Know Who You Are, and hidden track The Ball Song.
In December of 2001, Basket12 journeyed to Oakville to The
Parkhill Project
Studio, where they recorded their second album entitled
“Feeling Flushed?”
It was recorded by Scott Komer over the course of three long days,
and
includes old tunes: You Know Who You Are, Pinky, Duality,
and the Moral is
Oral, and new tunes: The Meaning of Life, A Pit Your Shants
Situation, So
Simple to Bind, and Kevin. They released the CD at the Trasheteria
in
Guelph in April of 2002, and it is currently being sold for $7.
They still play shows frequently in the Guelph and Toronto
area, and have
received both a 4th and a 3rd place ranking in Battles of the
Bands. They
have had the privilege of sharing the stage with many acts that
include:
Gob, Grade (RIP), The Sloppy Meat Eaters, Not by Choice, Unsung
Zeros, The Imports, Lucky
Number Seven (RIP), The Gadjits, Whippersnapper, TOE, The Next
Best Thing, Mugshot, Good Time Charlie (RIP), Pureblank, Childproof, Farewell
to Freeway (formerly known as Freeway), Simpleton, Driven, Cage33, Subject
to Change, The Phonies, Admiral, Handheld, 30odd08, Gunned Down, Brut33, The
White Lights, Racecar, Dead Letter Dept., Inept, Sandcastle Theory, L.S.A.,
Makeshift, 7th Cross, Skateyate, Last Man Standing, Unit 404, Good Enuff,
Citizen Banned and The Johnny Law.
Contact the band
here
.
