Center for Disease Control Boys

The Center for Disease Control Boys was a satirical Western swing band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1986. The band's premise was that a pandemic would usher a second Great Depression and that clinicians from the CDC would form a country western band to blow off steam between beleaguered shifts. Their performances thus included a blend of Depression era music by artists like Woody Guthrie, older tunes by artists like Bob Wills and Asleep at the Wheel, original compositions like "Mailin' In The Keys," which foreshadowed the Great Recession by 22 years, and populist artists chosen for their politically incorrect lyrics which were purposely out of step with the punk bands that dominated the pre-grunge Seattle music scene.
Their stage show employed a range of props and costumes such as bales of hay, stuffed roosters, rubber trout, wooden barrels and wads of self printed "country cash" which was tossed to the crowd to mock the Federal Reserve which they insisted would usher the demise of the dollar.
The band was only in existence for six months, but they are noteworthy for their ever-changing lineup of musicians and performers who went on to have a dramatic impact on the Seattle music scene including Chris Cornell of Soundgarden, Jonathan Poneman, founder of Sub Pop Records, and Ben McMillan, lead singer for Skin Yard and Gruntruck.
History
The CDC Boys were the first design and musical collaboration between Dean Wartti and George Hackett, and are widely seen as the precursor to the Non-Impressionist Movement. Wartti had a background in theatrical performance and design. He also managed and booked talent for the Ditto Tavern in Belltown which filled a void in the local music scene by providing a venue for folk, punk, art rock, and emerging grunge bands from the Northwest. Thus, he was in a perfect position to find musicians for the band and create their prophetic vision.
Hackett was an accomplished guitarist who shared Wartti's interest in cultural satire, diverse musical tastes and politics. Dean wrote the lyrics and led the band onstage. Together they assembled the props, including a weekly trip to a farm on Orrilla Road in Seattle where they purchased hay for their performances, and the graphic design. The cast of band members were found within the rotating roster of Ditto performers.
Rehearsals were held at the SKUD artists collective in Belltown, Seattle, Washington and an opening performance was booked at the Rainbow Tavern in the University District as part of a KCMU Showcase. Shortly after their first performance, The CDC Boys recorded their one and only single. A 7" 45 RPM record, "We're The Center for Disease Control Boys," was pressed in Canada on their own Fin De Siecle label. After nine live shows, the band held their final performance at Seattle's annual Bumbershoot Festival, where they debuted a stirring opus to the Kennedy Assassination entitled, "Grassy Knoll."
The collaboration between Wartti and Hackett didn't end there however. Neither did their conviction that a pandemic and Great Depression were coming. In 2009 they joined forces again to collaborate on an online newspaper, The Flubug Bugle, which created an entire town with hundreds of characters, bands, venues, business and storylines to serve as a virtual home for the CDC Boys who continued to play at virtual venues in the virtual town. Dean's memorial service was actually held in Flubug and hundreds of his virtual residents came to pay their last respects. Yet, although their collaboration on The Flubug Bugle took thousands of hours and lasted 11 years, they never received more than 111 subscribers.
On January 28, 2020, Dean Wartti died of "some strange disease," just two weeks after the first coronavirus victim was identified in Wuhan, China. He never lived to see the predictions he and George Hackett made some 34 years earlier. George Hackett went on to form Insect Family, a band based on the premise that super-sized insects would judge humanity harshly in a Nuremberg-style court, but the band never materialized. Bored with life, he had a sex change in the 90s, became a Vegas stripper and founded the , the first ever attempt to unionize strippers in Vegas.
CDC Boys Lineup
The line up for CDC Boys' debut at the Rainbow Tavern was:
*Dean Wartti: vocals, washboard, accordion
*George Hackett: Twelve string guitar, vocals, waders
*Ben McMillan (Skin Yard, Gruntruck): vocals, cowbell
*Tamara Jones (Brides of Frankenstein): bass, vocals
*Bob Maguire (The Subterraneans): vocals, guitar
*Gary Heffern (Penetrators): vocals, stage presence
*Chris Cornell (Soundgarden): drums, vocals, overalls
*They were joined onstage by accomplished Seattle instrumentalist Orville Johnson: fiddle, mandolin
The show also featured singing cowgirls who threw hay, Shake 'N' Bake boxes, and wads of 'country buckeroos' into the audience.
*Cowgirl No. 1: Juliana Wood
*Cowgirl No. 2: Debra June Connor
As the CDC Boys existed mainly as a side project for all concerned, the line up continued to change, and included at times:
*Jonathan Poneman, who went on to found Sub-Pop Records (bass)
*Artie Palm (mouth harp, saxophone, and guitar)
*Tim Bowman (accordion and musical saw)
*Ben Thompson (Clay Alien, The Fantods) drums, and hay bale procurement following Cornell's departure to tour with Soundgarden
Discography
Throughout their career, The Center for Disease Control Boys played only nine shows. They put out a 7" vinyl single on Fin de Siecle Records in 1986. The pressing was for 500 records of which some 60 or so were distributed to band members and their friends. A considerable number were lost in a fire in a loft above the Rendezvous Restaurant in the late '80s.
Side A: "We're The Center for Disease Control Boys"
Side B: "Who We Hatin; Now, Mr. Reagan?"

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