Paroxis was a live music event sponsored by Real Life zine and hosted in the basement of our friend Mike’s parents’ house. This was the third and last Paroxis, and our first ever show as Captain Three Leg. Nobody in our town knew what we were doing and I’m sure they thought we were making it up as we went. For reasons unknown, the power to the PA was cut towards the end of our set. I’m still friends with Mike today and he’s never offered an explanation even when asked about it directly.
The added live tracks on the tape came from a benefit show we played for a guy who worked at the local record store in Ottumwa who underwent an operation to remove a brain tumor. The store owner asked our old band Threeskin to play because we had somewhat of a draw with the high school crowd. Threeskin had already broken up, but we told them we would play, and then decided amongst ourselves that we would play as Captain Three Leg instead. We were told as we took the stage that we had 30 minutes to play. 10 minutes into our set we were told to wrap it up. We played Ottumwa only once more after this.
“Paroxis Live ‘96” was one of our best selling releases. It’s impossible to know how many tapes were sold because I don’t know how many copies Vomit Halo sent out, but I dubbed at least 300 copies myself. 15 years later it’s still one of my favorite releases. Years after I stopped dubbing copies of this, Mike (one of the guys who set up the Paroxis show) gave me a soundboard recording of the show. I wasn’t aware that a soundboard tape existed until that moment. I still think the version from the handheld tape recorder sounds better, but it’s nice to have another version for comparison. This expanded deluxe version of “Paroxis Live ‘96” contains both versions, along with the rest of the benefit show we took the bonus tracks from.
credits
released 15 February 1996
Brian - Vocals
Andy - Guitar
John - Bass
Chris - Drums
