Loaded Deck was a Chicagoland rock band that rose to prominence during the early 1990s. They were influenced by a variety of musical forms that were popular at the time, especially glam metal and classic rock.
History
The band saw its genesis in May, 1989 when schoolmates Chris Sernel and Lars Christiansen performed two sets together in a variety show called Titanium. The line-up included Matt Rubino (vocals), Jerry Scafa (guitar), Lars Christiansen (bass), Jeremy Ichen (keyboards), and Chris Sernel (drums).
By the following winter, Sernel (by then having switched to guitar) and Christiansen found themselves in a band called Loaded Deck that never progressed beyond practice sessions. Summer 1990 saw the addition of drummer Paul Castelli to the tandem, and the trio called themselves No Parking and then, Triumvirate.
By this time, Sernel and Christiansen (who had assumed singing duties in addition to playing bass) had developed into a capable songwriting team, collaborating on songs like Come Back, The Serpent, Lost in Time, and Cow Tippin’ Blues. Castelli co-wrote Only One and Lost, But Not Forgotten with Sernel during this interval, and the three together penned Soundwaves, the band’s traditional opening number in the early-going. Without a dedicated singer, however, the band never rose above the occasional house jam or street party.
Triumvirate auditioned a number of candidates, but it wasn't until Christiansen suggested Runnels, a friend of his, that a fit could be made. He brought with him a Haight-Ashbury sensibility and appearance with his penchant for print shirts, sandals, and leather jackets that became the trademark of the band’s live performances.
With the addition of Runnels, the quartet began the debate over a new name. Some suggestions included No Shame, The Jackals, and Dime Store Indians, but when no consensus could be reached, they called themselves Loaded Deck, more out of desperation than affection for the name. At that point, the Deck went from playing neighborhood festivals to prominent Chicago-area clubs like The Gateway Theater and The Thirsty Whale.
In between dates, the band spent their time writing songs such as Summer Daze and Hannibal, a dark, bluesy-metal song that marked a dramatic departure from the band's usual pop- and classic-metal fare.
By the late summer of 1991, Runnels started drifting from the band musically, and in the fall of that year, he called Christiansen to tell him "it just isn't groovin' anymore". The band had already secured the services of Sean Knowles to sing in a limited number of dates that Runnels couldn't attend, so in the short term, the band was stable. However, after months of trying to find a permanent replacement for Runnels, the band went on a brief hiatus, with Sernel and Castelli committing to a rival band named Liarhead featuring guitarist Rob Kleiner.
A few weeks later, Loaded Deck was reconstituted by Sernel, Christiansen, and Castelli, this time with Sernel handling the singing and Kleiner playing guitar. Kleiner's creativity brought a spate of new alternative-sounding songs to the setlist, including Let's Get High, Do You Feel?, and Manual Emission, which he co-wrote with his new bandmates.
While this was perhaps the most successful period in Loaded Deck history, creative differences and personality clashes forced their premature breakup.
Loaded Deck performed its last live performance at The Thirsty Whale in River Grove, Illinois on June 7, 1992. Sernel and Christiansen then concentrated on recording music, with their last collaboration being the Christiansen-penned Time By The Fire in 1997 under the Majesty moniker.
History
The band saw its genesis in May, 1989 when schoolmates Chris Sernel and Lars Christiansen performed two sets together in a variety show called Titanium. The line-up included Matt Rubino (vocals), Jerry Scafa (guitar), Lars Christiansen (bass), Jeremy Ichen (keyboards), and Chris Sernel (drums).
By the following winter, Sernel (by then having switched to guitar) and Christiansen found themselves in a band called Loaded Deck that never progressed beyond practice sessions. Summer 1990 saw the addition of drummer Paul Castelli to the tandem, and the trio called themselves No Parking and then, Triumvirate.
By this time, Sernel and Christiansen (who had assumed singing duties in addition to playing bass) had developed into a capable songwriting team, collaborating on songs like Come Back, The Serpent, Lost in Time, and Cow Tippin’ Blues. Castelli co-wrote Only One and Lost, But Not Forgotten with Sernel during this interval, and the three together penned Soundwaves, the band’s traditional opening number in the early-going. Without a dedicated singer, however, the band never rose above the occasional house jam or street party.
Triumvirate auditioned a number of candidates, but it wasn't until Christiansen suggested Runnels, a friend of his, that a fit could be made. He brought with him a Haight-Ashbury sensibility and appearance with his penchant for print shirts, sandals, and leather jackets that became the trademark of the band’s live performances.
With the addition of Runnels, the quartet began the debate over a new name. Some suggestions included No Shame, The Jackals, and Dime Store Indians, but when no consensus could be reached, they called themselves Loaded Deck, more out of desperation than affection for the name. At that point, the Deck went from playing neighborhood festivals to prominent Chicago-area clubs like The Gateway Theater and The Thirsty Whale.
In between dates, the band spent their time writing songs such as Summer Daze and Hannibal, a dark, bluesy-metal song that marked a dramatic departure from the band's usual pop- and classic-metal fare.
By the late summer of 1991, Runnels started drifting from the band musically, and in the fall of that year, he called Christiansen to tell him "it just isn't groovin' anymore". The band had already secured the services of Sean Knowles to sing in a limited number of dates that Runnels couldn't attend, so in the short term, the band was stable. However, after months of trying to find a permanent replacement for Runnels, the band went on a brief hiatus, with Sernel and Castelli committing to a rival band named Liarhead featuring guitarist Rob Kleiner.
A few weeks later, Loaded Deck was reconstituted by Sernel, Christiansen, and Castelli, this time with Sernel handling the singing and Kleiner playing guitar. Kleiner's creativity brought a spate of new alternative-sounding songs to the setlist, including Let's Get High, Do You Feel?, and Manual Emission, which he co-wrote with his new bandmates.
While this was perhaps the most successful period in Loaded Deck history, creative differences and personality clashes forced their premature breakup.
Loaded Deck performed its last live performance at The Thirsty Whale in River Grove, Illinois on June 7, 1992. Sernel and Christiansen then concentrated on recording music, with their last collaboration being the Christiansen-penned Time By The Fire in 1997 under the Majesty moniker.
"Insta-Check" the backbone of America's Gun Control Laws was created by Fred E Robinson Jr.. Robinson, after watching political leaders attempt to address the Gun Control issue in the mid to late 1980s, began drafting of his own gun control proposal, titled "Insta-Check," that he submitted to President George H. W. Bush in early June, 1989. The White House responded with a vague letter signed by Shirley Green dated June 29, 1989 with no mention of his proposal to the former president.
Robinson's "Insta-Check" System has been adopted by many States as the primary system for instantly checking potential firearms buyers, as well as checking for potential criminals within their states.
"Insta-Check" has proved to be very successful in preventing the purchase of weapons by undesirables.
Robinson's "Insta-Check" System has been adopted by many States as the primary system for instantly checking potential firearms buyers, as well as checking for potential criminals within their states.
"Insta-Check" has proved to be very successful in preventing the purchase of weapons by undesirables.
The electronic underground community is a closed culture grown around electronic/computer security.
It includes:
*Hacker community
*Phreaker community
*Virus coder community
The people of this community share a near-obsession for technology, and some are very paranoid. They usually gather around their own ezines, see Underground ezines, and usually like BBS and Mailing lists and the Usenet.
There are some other communities surrounding the underground community, but not part of the community itself, for example, the script-kiddie community.
It includes:
*Hacker community
*Phreaker community
*Virus coder community
The people of this community share a near-obsession for technology, and some are very paranoid. They usually gather around their own ezines, see Underground ezines, and usually like BBS and Mailing lists and the Usenet.
There are some other communities surrounding the underground community, but not part of the community itself, for example, the script-kiddie community.
Hollow House Syndrome is a descriptive term that encompasses the dark side of what real estate professionals promote as "Holiday Homes". It appears to have originated in England, but has shown up on a local -type web site in New Zealand called www.waihekepedia.com. .
Hollow House Syndrome is the purchase of a second or third home for part time use by the owner, usually in "prime" season, or holidays or weekends. During the time the owner is not in residence the home is locked up empty (not rented and occupied), therefore creating a "hollow" in the economic, social and cultural life of the community. Typically the community is in an area of exceptional character... perhaps in bucolic countryside, by the sea or on an island. Typically the natural and physical environment is attractive with better weather (warm in summer, snow in winter, or invigoratingly bracing).
The term is used with a medical connotation, as in The China Syndrome or a term used in British and ex Colonial countries, the Tall Poppy Syndrome, because it suggests that it is toxic for the community.
As homes owned by full time residents whose earnings power is based on a local economy are purchased by (usually urban dwelling) outsiders who are beneficiaries of the global economy of high salaries, larger bonuses and liberal taxation favoring capital gains, the local community sees its stakeholders displaced by part-time residents. Because these part timers live primarily somewhere else, they cannot participate to the same level in the local economy, its social structure or its culture. Because they displace someone who was full time and did make a local contribution, gradually the community suffers.
Economically, when not in residence they don't support local stores, services, cafes & bistros, so during off seasons these businesses suffer. If the ratio of hollow to filled homes becomes too great the local businesses fail and the locals have to drive long distances to accomplish the mundane chores of daily life. If this happens the community's local economy can hit a critical mass where it collapses, almost all its people sell up to hollow home buyers, only leaving service personnel who look after or market the hollow homes.
Socially, in some cases, the hollow home residents form their own colony and do not associate with the locals. However, if there is enough commonality, they do, but only during prime time when they are in residence. This creates a bond-break, bond-break relationship between locals and part timers, eventually weakening the social network. It also can create a psychological weakening if the part-timers convince the locals that except for prime time, the centre of the universe is somewhere else. The social fabric also weakens as key people, the glue that hold a community together move away. Volunteerism suffers and again, if a tipping point is hit, the community implodes and is destroyed.
Culturally, usually it is the artist who moves away first. The creative class tends to seek out beautiful, inspiring, low-cost places to live and create. They often tend to be what causes the privileged class to notice the location in the first place. This is akin to Gentrification except that in Hollow House Syndrome the gentrifiers are part time, not full time residents. Never the less for the creative class the outcome is the same. They are priced out of the market and the local culture suffers. The same thing occurs for other aspects of local culture - if, for example there is an indigenous class that has a strong cultural identity but lacks the earning power of the hollow home buyers.
It is reported (further documentation needed) that Hollow House Syndrome began in Switzerland in the 1970s when urban dwellers began to buy up ancient homes in Swiss mountain villages. In Devon England locals threatened to paint black spots on homes that were hollow homes . Cornwall is reported to have whole villages where locals are displaced although now squatters are moving into some of them. In France, Peter Mayle's book A Year in Provence seems to have inspired a whole generation of affluent English to buy hollow homes to the point where some villages are empty (this is based anecdotal reports and needs further documentation). In the Basque part of France, they don't use paint, they use bombs to make their point that hollow homes are not welcome.
Hollow Home Syndrome is a term that appears to have emerged since the year 2000. It seems to be a condition that has emerged from changes in the fundamental structure of the western economy in which two classes are emerging out of what was in the 20th century one class - the middle class. One part of this class continued unchanged - effectively based on wage earning, while a new class emerged from it - in which it has gained access to new sources of capital that it has used to buy luxuries. After the new luxury car, overseas travel, branded clothing and products, a symbol of this success is the second home. Unlike the other status symbols, second home purchasing has adverse effects as communities become "hollowed out". Thus, a new term appears to have emerged to describe this change in society.
Hollow House Syndrome is the purchase of a second or third home for part time use by the owner, usually in "prime" season, or holidays or weekends. During the time the owner is not in residence the home is locked up empty (not rented and occupied), therefore creating a "hollow" in the economic, social and cultural life of the community. Typically the community is in an area of exceptional character... perhaps in bucolic countryside, by the sea or on an island. Typically the natural and physical environment is attractive with better weather (warm in summer, snow in winter, or invigoratingly bracing).
The term is used with a medical connotation, as in The China Syndrome or a term used in British and ex Colonial countries, the Tall Poppy Syndrome, because it suggests that it is toxic for the community.
As homes owned by full time residents whose earnings power is based on a local economy are purchased by (usually urban dwelling) outsiders who are beneficiaries of the global economy of high salaries, larger bonuses and liberal taxation favoring capital gains, the local community sees its stakeholders displaced by part-time residents. Because these part timers live primarily somewhere else, they cannot participate to the same level in the local economy, its social structure or its culture. Because they displace someone who was full time and did make a local contribution, gradually the community suffers.
Economically, when not in residence they don't support local stores, services, cafes & bistros, so during off seasons these businesses suffer. If the ratio of hollow to filled homes becomes too great the local businesses fail and the locals have to drive long distances to accomplish the mundane chores of daily life. If this happens the community's local economy can hit a critical mass where it collapses, almost all its people sell up to hollow home buyers, only leaving service personnel who look after or market the hollow homes.
Socially, in some cases, the hollow home residents form their own colony and do not associate with the locals. However, if there is enough commonality, they do, but only during prime time when they are in residence. This creates a bond-break, bond-break relationship between locals and part timers, eventually weakening the social network. It also can create a psychological weakening if the part-timers convince the locals that except for prime time, the centre of the universe is somewhere else. The social fabric also weakens as key people, the glue that hold a community together move away. Volunteerism suffers and again, if a tipping point is hit, the community implodes and is destroyed.
Culturally, usually it is the artist who moves away first. The creative class tends to seek out beautiful, inspiring, low-cost places to live and create. They often tend to be what causes the privileged class to notice the location in the first place. This is akin to Gentrification except that in Hollow House Syndrome the gentrifiers are part time, not full time residents. Never the less for the creative class the outcome is the same. They are priced out of the market and the local culture suffers. The same thing occurs for other aspects of local culture - if, for example there is an indigenous class that has a strong cultural identity but lacks the earning power of the hollow home buyers.
It is reported (further documentation needed) that Hollow House Syndrome began in Switzerland in the 1970s when urban dwellers began to buy up ancient homes in Swiss mountain villages. In Devon England locals threatened to paint black spots on homes that were hollow homes . Cornwall is reported to have whole villages where locals are displaced although now squatters are moving into some of them. In France, Peter Mayle's book A Year in Provence seems to have inspired a whole generation of affluent English to buy hollow homes to the point where some villages are empty (this is based anecdotal reports and needs further documentation). In the Basque part of France, they don't use paint, they use bombs to make their point that hollow homes are not welcome.
Hollow Home Syndrome is a term that appears to have emerged since the year 2000. It seems to be a condition that has emerged from changes in the fundamental structure of the western economy in which two classes are emerging out of what was in the 20th century one class - the middle class. One part of this class continued unchanged - effectively based on wage earning, while a new class emerged from it - in which it has gained access to new sources of capital that it has used to buy luxuries. After the new luxury car, overseas travel, branded clothing and products, a symbol of this success is the second home. Unlike the other status symbols, second home purchasing has adverse effects as communities become "hollowed out". Thus, a new term appears to have emerged to describe this change in society.