Hey guys, an old friend and bandmate of mine, Dan, posted these pics on Facebook earlier today, thought I'd share them with everyone here. These pics are from circa 1996, from a Novembers Doom gig at the Thirsty Whale. I'll give a brief backstory for y'all.....
In 1995, there were two doom/death metal bands in the southside Chicago area, Novembers Doom and Dead Serenade. By this point, as you know, ND had released their debut cd "Amid It's Hallowed Mirth", with the core members being Paul Kuhr, guitarist Steve Nicholson, and female vocalist Cj Hejna. Dead Serenade had released two demos, and the core members were vocalist/guitarist Jerry Koziol, bassist Brian Whited, and me (Larry Roberts) on guitar. At this time, Jerry and Brian were also doing double-duty with ND on 2nd guitar and bass.
A tragic accident in mid-1995 resulted in the death of Jerry Koziol, ironically the day before we (Dead Serenade) were supposed to sign a record deal no less. Needless to say this put an end to the band, with members being in disagreement about whether to carry on or not. I wound up quitting music all together for a brief period of time, due to disillusionment and the loss of my close friend. Meanwhile, the other members of Dead Serenade (bassist Whited, drummer Emmet Hall, and 2nd guitarist Jason Armelius) were absorbed into the lineup of Novembers Doom. This is the lineup that lasted throughout 1995 and 1996, and is most closely associated with the "Her Tears Drop" 2-song sampler. In fact, the song "Seasons Of Frost" (which can now be found on the re-release of "Amid...") was co-written with Jerry Koziol shortly before he died.
Around 1997, this lineup ended, with only Paul and CJ remaining to restart the band again after a short hiatus, with new members Eric Burnley, Mary Bielich, and Abbas Jaffary, and I didn't join up with them finally until February 1999. Steve Nicholson is currently the guitarist in THESE ARE THEY. But that's another story for another thread.
Anyhow, picture and video evidence of this period is kinda rare so I thought I'd share it here, hopefully Dan doesn't mind my stealing his pics lol....
Look at this young guy! Paul Kuhr.
Guitarist Jason Armelius
Bassist Brian Whited
Drummer Emmet Hall
Guitarist Steve Nicholson
Female vocalist Cathy Jo Hejna
Steve, Paul, and Emmet
A shot from the crowd....you can't see me but I was in attendance at this show, actually.
In 1995, there were two doom/death metal bands in the southside Chicago area, Novembers Doom and Dead Serenade. By this point, as you know, ND had released their debut cd "Amid It's Hallowed Mirth", with the core members being Paul Kuhr, guitarist Steve Nicholson, and female vocalist Cj Hejna. Dead Serenade had released two demos, and the core members were vocalist/guitarist Jerry Koziol, bassist Brian Whited, and me (Larry Roberts) on guitar. At this time, Jerry and Brian were also doing double-duty with ND on 2nd guitar and bass.
A tragic accident in mid-1995 resulted in the death of Jerry Koziol, ironically the day before we (Dead Serenade) were supposed to sign a record deal no less. Needless to say this put an end to the band, with members being in disagreement about whether to carry on or not. I wound up quitting music all together for a brief period of time, due to disillusionment and the loss of my close friend. Meanwhile, the other members of Dead Serenade (bassist Whited, drummer Emmet Hall, and 2nd guitarist Jason Armelius) were absorbed into the lineup of Novembers Doom. This is the lineup that lasted throughout 1995 and 1996, and is most closely associated with the "Her Tears Drop" 2-song sampler. In fact, the song "Seasons Of Frost" (which can now be found on the re-release of "Amid...") was co-written with Jerry Koziol shortly before he died.
Around 1997, this lineup ended, with only Paul and CJ remaining to restart the band again after a short hiatus, with new members Eric Burnley, Mary Bielich, and Abbas Jaffary, and I didn't join up with them finally until February 1999. Steve Nicholson is currently the guitarist in THESE ARE THEY. But that's another story for another thread.
Anyhow, picture and video evidence of this period is kinda rare so I thought I'd share it here, hopefully Dan doesn't mind my stealing his pics lol....
Look at this young guy! Paul Kuhr.
Guitarist Jason Armelius
Bassist Brian Whited
Drummer Emmet Hall
Guitarist Steve Nicholson
Female vocalist Cathy Jo Hejna
Steve, Paul, and Emmet
A shot from the crowd....you can't see me but I was in attendance at this show, actually.
I have actually looked around a bit for some dead serenade demos but to no avail. Is that something you would ever be willing to share?
