I saw the Bazookas a lot between 1980 - 81. Frank Mullen on guitar, Eric Engan on bass, and their drummer Chuck, who was only 13 years old. There weren't a lot of drummers interesting in playing punk in Gainesville in 1980, so Chuck was in. They used to practice at Chuck's house, right across the street from my house on 3rd Street in Porter's Quarters. I edited a really bad punk fanzine, and they would come over and give me material for the mag. Like the Roach Motel, they used to play Catch-22, a really nasty redneck bar. After one set, a drunk redneck told Frank to get the fuck out of the bar or he'd kick Frank's ass. Frank complained to the bar manager, who just shrugged and walked off. There were a group of girls up from Tampa to see one of their shows one night (Tampa had less of a scene than Gainesville at the time). One of the girls asked me to walk her to her car because of all the rednecks in the parking lot. She made it to her car OK, but I got sucker punched from behind by a drunk 'neck.

They played a lot of covers, Ramones and Sex Pistols. They played a few shows in Tampa. I don't think the Bazookas ever recorded. Eric moved to Seattle in about 1981 to play in a band; I wonder what happened to him.

Those were the days.

Hey Carl, to answer your question about Eric, he eventually went to law school and became a lawyer. He lives in Arizona now and is still playing guitar and bass. He played bass for the 2003 Roach Motel Reunion and should be back for the 2004 Roach Motel show @ Eddie C's on April 2. Cheers, BK