The Cardboards

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The Cardboards were one of the first bands in the local independent/experimental/punk/New Wave scene in Pittsburgh,_Pennsylvania, from around 1979 till 1985. There were two Cardboards lineups. Originally, they consisted of a Drummer, Bill_Bored; a Synthesist, Ron_Solo; a Saxophone player, Keeth_Teeth, and Vocalist Max_Haste. When Kevin moved on, they replaced him with Ivan, another Synthesist. After Ivan left the band, she was replaced by Synthesist/vocalist Marie_Alexander. The band played two further gigs and then disbanded. There were backup singers on the recording Mary_Ann,_Maryann,_Kim,_and_Liz. The drummer, Bill_Bored (Bill_von_Hagen) had previously played in The_Puke, before he ever actually could play drums for real. He was also a member of the Pittsburgh band 24_Minutes. He later went on to help found The_Cynics, a popular garage band which is still playing today (2005). Ron_Solo and Marie_Alexander went on to form Hector_in_Paris, a quite popular synthpop/new wave band, along with Philip_Harris and Jim_Laugelli. Max_Haste (Joe O'Lear) was not only a singer but a gifted storyteller, and could frequently hold an unruly crowd's attention telling short stories and talks between songs, sometimes using props such as a box of oats or a "Pop-up Pirate" toy. He was studying medicine at the time, and always had a great disease-of-the-week based on whatever he was studying at the time (and which he frequently thought he was coming down with). Ron_Solo pioneered the unusual technique of taping his fingertips with electrical tape, to avoid injury when bringing his fingers down on his synthesizer keys rapidly from chin height. This rapid, aggressive technique can be heard clearly in their single "Gravity's Still Working". Since Ron's synth was an early Maxi-Korg, the Cardboards' most precious possession was Ron's book of settings, in which was recorded the setting of every knob, switch, and slider for all of the Cardboards' songs. Ivan also had a book of settings for her keyboard. When she left the Cardboards, she passed the book on to Marie and sold her the synthesizer. They released one album, "Greatest Hits Volume 2" (a 12" release that played at 45 RPMs), which included the songs "Mail Early", "Electrical Generator", "Gravity's Still Working", "On the Road in the Twilight Zone", and "Bill's Rap". ===External links=== * The Cardboards * The Cynics Cardboards