Yeah, Greg Pierce played with Psy Vi for a few gigs at the end of '87 and maybe, MAYBE early '88 -- I saw him with them at The Bar and at an outdoor gig at the Sun Center. He was more of a power drummer than Billy 'BeeWee' White, though less syncopated. I never saw 'em live with Dave Dickey.

Yeah, Greg Pierce played with Psy Vi for a few gigs at the end of '87 and maybe, MAYBE early '88 -- I saw him with them at The Bar and at an outdoor gig at the Sun Center. He was more of a power drummer than Billy 'BeeWee' White, though less syncopated. I never saw 'em live with Dave Dickey.

Psy Vi was originally called "Village Virus". This was before Pinion, when Shawn Gross (original singer) was with them. Their first (and only) gig with Shawn was at the Gville community center with Mutley Chix, Scared of Stares, Hellwitch, Corrosion of Conformity and DRI. They opened the show and absolutely ROCKED!!

I think most people were kind of stunned because it wasn't the usual Gainesville type sound. Mostly the locals just kind of stood there with there mouths hanging open. This one crazy guy was skanking all over the place in front of the band while they played, yelling at everyone to join in. No one did. Sam's guitar playing was absolutely brilliant, as was Dave's drumming. It was obvious that these guys could play. Shawn was fun to watch too as she got into it pretty well. It was fun to see this REALLY skinny goth chick up there with such a big voice! Anyway, after the show the band were happy but a little disappointed at the crowd response. I just told them not to worry about it as they were a completely new band and no-one knew them. Shortly after that I heard Shawn left the band and suggested a replacement, her boyfriend "Chuck" who also had been her teacher at GHS. Anyway, Pinion joined the band and was the singer from that point on till they finally called it quits around '87 or '88. They did one original "Village Virus" song with Shawn's original lyrics throughout the life of the band "Mother, Mother". I think this might have been as a tribute to Shawn, as I know that Sam, especially, liked her alot.

So anyway after Pinion joined Psi Vi, things kind of took off viusally. He used to do all sorts of funky things with his appearance to add another dimension to the live performances. I remember at one of their totally packed Vatican shows he shaved his head and painted himself up like a skull/skeleton. The band was very much into the visual aspects of live performance and didn't just want to be a bunch of guys standing there playing. As such they often incorporated intresting visuals into their sets, especially if the venue was conducive to it. Their numerous Vatican and later The Bar shows were musically AND visually interesting. The band even extended this to the dozens of parties they played, which, I think was in part responsible for the popularity the band enjoyed. As I recall, their gigs were always packed with people, those who had seen the band many times before, and many who were just curious. Anyway Psi Vi's shows were NEVER boring, even after the band got tired of coming up with something new visually, and just played. The main focus was, in the end, the music anyway, especially for Sam/Jorge/Dave. After awhile I think they just let Pinion worry about the viusals and focused on the tunes.

I don't think there was ever any question among the band members about a musical "direction". For the most part, Sam Gough wrote the music, Pinion came up with the words. It was always a case of just playing whatever happened to "come out", without regard for the genre.Each member of the band seemed to have distinct musical tastes and diverse musical backgrounds: Dave Dickey was basically into "rock" but with a technical edge, Sam Gough was into just about any kind of music around: jazz,blues,ragtime,rock,funk, you name it, he had probably heard it at one time or another. Pinion was also into many different things musically, traditional and otherwise. Cervera was into everything from indie to commercial. There was alot of musical background for the band to draw from, which helped to contribute to the diversity of the band's tunes. As a listener I can say that the variety of sound heard at a Psy Vi gig made for a more fun, and less predictable experience. This I believe, also contributed to the band's popularity in certain circles.

Interesting no one mentioned Pinon's flick ( actually a video) "Twisted Issues" which had a pretty good portrayal of the Gainesville music scene at the time and also had a sound track released. I remember Charles telling me that he would never put the words of his songs on an album again after he saw some yuppie types mouthing the words to Mayberry at an outdoor show in 87. This was also the last time that Dickey played with the band. I still have a copy of Twisted Issues the video and photographs of the Violents and several other bands from that period if anyone is interested.

When is Twisted Issues gonna Be avail on DVD? And where can we buy it? Last I saw Pinion, he was in a weirdo NY magazine with his cocl pierced and a chain coming from it attached to some leather chick's breast; his girl friend I hear. Where his he now? And has his penis healed?

In an era when it was very uncool to be showy or theatrical ("Sellout!"), Charles always put on a gut-wrenching and cathartic show that owed more to performance art and off-broadway than it did to punk rock. A brave, no-holds barred entertainer, Charles was never afraid to go against expectations. A talented and charismatic artist and one of Gainesvilles' most mythologized figures.

yo, this may be the inappropriate place to reply to IstedTissue's question, but I didn't see an email address. (WAIT a second, what kind of name is IstedTissue??!). Anyway, I will be making a DVD of TWISTED ISSUES and burning/packaging by hand (DIY ain't dead, y'all). There'll be outtakes and all the usual things people expect from DVDs these days, and maybe more stuff because I always liked the packaging part. That being said, anybody know who would carry such a thing in Gainesville? I've lost touch with Bill Perry. I know Hyde and Zeke used to rent videos but stopped. I'd appreciate any input. - Charles

YEAH! I SAW THOSE DUMBASSES A BUNCH OF TIMES. THEY WERE ALL BUDDIES OF MINE (THEY STILL OWE ME MONEY) THOSE HOUSE PARTIES THEY PLAYED WERE SOMETHING I'LL NEVER FORGET. I THINK I KNEW EVERYONE IN THE SCENE, I THINK EVERYBODY KNEW EVERYONE. IT SURE SEEMED THAT WAY. PINIONS MOVIE IS A TOTAL RIOT, I THINK I'M IN IT SKATEBOARDING. THOSE WERE THE DAYS. WHERES MCGUIGAN?

GO GO GO with yo DYI DVD self Pinion! Outakes and "commentary" would be great! or some interviews from the artists these days all bald and wrinklly///////// Let us know where and when it would be available. as for Gville places to carry it, is there anyone left in Gville? Advert it thru this joint or thru your website if you have one. I would be curious as to how your art looks these days. I used to eat liquid light and stare at your twisted shit on the walls bleeding. NOW, I've found God. HAVE you? anyway, i'd be interested emailmeat jwh@crazyland.com