Ghost Tapes 1987: The Torture Bugs

More recycled sermon tapes, fished out of church dumpsters.

The Torture Bugs “I’m Dead“. We were very preoccupied with dying in nuclear war in the Reagan Years…

Way back in 1987, when the Salt River still had water in it most of the time. About 10 years ago, that started being so rare that the city ran a temporary road through the bottom of the riverbed to reduce traffic on the overstressed bridge. Well, it’s still there and being used. Do I remember this guy’s name? Not a chance. Nor any of the other members of the band. That was kind of the way it was – you’d make a connection with a band that needed a bass player, and you make some music, then stuff happens and you move on to the next band, trying to find a match to your vision. I could make some crass joke about a promiscuous co-ed to illustrate the point, but you get the picture, I’m sure.

Updated: November 10, 2024 — 8:52 pm

5 Comments

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  1. Uh… Hrm. Your chronology on the Salt River seems to be a little off, I think. The “new” bridge was built in ~1994-1995. The riverbed crossing appears in a photo from the 1980 flood published in the Arizona Daily Republic. I suspect that the water you see was actually coming down from Scottsdale, via Indian Bend Wash. It tended to pool there after the rains were done but didn’t regularly flow. If you look at an overhead of the area, you can see at the tail end of the present lake where Indian Bend Wash merges with the Salt River

    I had an office in the top of the building south of Monti’s for a few years and put together a feature on this to post in the break room to intrigue people to start looking more at local history. Water flowed in the Salt normally during spring flooding but then only for a few days at a time when the Verde river filled both Horseshoe and Bartlet lakes and there was no where else for it to go but down the Salt River and through town. So as someone who loves the history of this area and has spent a good deal of time studying it, let me take this moment to take a chance to share and smile broadly while doing so!

    Find it here along with a picture of how it looked about 2015, before the two new buildings were constructed. (Taken from the 8th floor balcony on the north side.) Yes, I am a shameless promoter of my home state!

    http://www.typo.org/~web/sandbox/salt-river-floods-of-1980.docx
    http://www.typo.org/~web/sandbox/tempe-town-lake-panorama.jpg

    1. Yeah, but facts don’t serve the drama of the story, or anything else, if the mood of the nation is to be taken at face value. Ok, the road was already there in ’87, but I remember they had to rebuild it a lot and they don’t have to now. So there! Let mah drama LIVE! :D

      1. Yes, that’s one reason they are finally building a bridge at Gilbert road. SRP is tried paying to have the crossing repaired!

  2. I love the logo! And you were a bass player!

    I’ve got a cheap Ibanez GSR sitting in the front room that I’ve sworn I will master one day. Unfortunately, there always seems to be this bizarre “not dedicating the time” thing that keeps popping up…

    Love the reminiscences!

    Of course, you do realize you’re triggering serious waves sentimentality & nostalgia here… ;-)

    1. Heh, “Ghost Box of Tapes” is chonk full of nostalgia and ‘memberberries. :D

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