Salamander was originally a five piece band consisting of Ryan Link on drums and lead vocals, Bennett Keasey on lead guitar, Brian Sullivan on rhythm guitar, Justin Cayou on bass, and Donovan Curry on percussion. Shortly after they formed, I joined on flute.
I should admit that I have the worst memory of anyone I know. Simply awful. Chalk it up to the weed, the firehose of alcohol, the relatively frequent use of ______ (fill in the blank with your favorite psychedelic), or my as-yet-diagnosed bipolar. Much of my misspent youth is lost to me, probably for the best. Forgive me if I misremember, tell half-truths, or outright lie herein.
I graduated high school in 1989 outside of Seattle and later spent a term at WSU. Brian and Justin were at both places and we hung out. I left after a term, backpacked around Europe, came back, and joined the Army (yup, enlisted during the first Gulf War. I just… I can’t even…). After my three-year stint, I got out in late 1993. My last duty station was Ft. Lewis. For months while I was there, I had been driving up to Seattle on the weekends. During that period, I had bumped into some friends who invited me to a house party where I caught Justin, Brian, Ryan, Bennett, and Donovan performing as Whirling Dervish.
I remember listening to them with my eyes closed and could, how do I explain this, visualize where flute notes would flitter and dance, skimming across waves, ducking into pockets. They were so good and I really wanted to jam with them. I had approached Justin and Brian a few times about maybe sitting in… but never got a committed answer. One night, I saw them at another house party and had brought my flute along. My plan was to burst in, start hip checking people out of the way, and jump behind a mic. Which I kind of did. God, it was amazing to be a part of those sounds. Afterward, Justin apologized saying, “Dude, I thought you were talking about piano. We just aren’t a keyboard band.” I understood the confusion. My instrument of choice in high school was the piano. I wasn’t a flute guy to them.
This is a typical house party circa 1994. You kids today just wouldn’t understand. We didn’t have phones in our pockets. There were no videos or photos or any of your silly social media. You couldn’t text your friends to say where you were. It was a simpler time, when people just got fucked up together and partied.
After I had sat in on a couple of sets with them, I remember we were chilling at someone’s house and talking music and Brian jokingly asked, “So what, are you like in the band?” As if the decision was mine. It was pretty funny. I said hell yeah. That was around the time the band changed its name to Salamander (deferring to the Whirling Dervishes who were already established).
We played out. We played in. We were legion.
Just prior to the release of Catalyst (1995), the band made what I now consider to be a terrible ‘beginning of the end’ decision to let Donovan go and continue as a five piece. Somewhere around that time due to who the fuck knows (creative differences – mental health issues), I departed the band as a member to become manager (while continuing to play with them pretty much as I had before). That decision also occurred before Catalyst was released – the CD liner notes clearly present a four piece band with me on guest flute.
Salamander: Catalyst album
You can find this bad boy on Spotify – or you can listen here and download the tunes if you wish.
Catalyst was the only album Salamander released. We recorded it over I think four days at Triad Recording Studios outside of Seattle (you know, where Queensryche recorded…). Mike Tortorello produced and engineered. All songs are © 1995 Salamander. “Real” was recorded for the album but didn’t make the final cut. Consider it a bonus track.
Salamander: Live performances
I still miss playing music with these guys. So many great experiences with them. Here are some vintage bits. Not sure where these were recorded. Colorbox, Moe’s, Crocodile maybe?
Salamander: Spare Time EP
Spare Time is an EP Salamander released after I left as both manager and player in 1996. Some really good stuff here. In the absence of cover art, I used an OG Podge drawing. Fucking Podge, man.