Cool Lot Tot Lot
From The Secret History of the Cedar Valley
1992-1997
Contents |
Band History
In what must have been the summer of 1992, Ben Wilson and Colin McElligatt sat down to watch a well-worn VHS copy of The Beatles' A Hard Day's Night. Bringing life to the old cliche, the two were emboldened by the film, and thus set out to form their own band. Though neither played instruments, they decided to learn how. Minutes later, Chris Vanderwall, who lived two doors down from Wilson on 19th Street, was recruited. It was decided that Wilson and Vanderwall would play guitar, and that McElligatt would play drums. The three decided that their mutual friend, Allen Guthart, would play bass. It was not until late 1993 that the four first converged at McElligatt's Tremont Street house to practice. This first session yielded no music, but the band was consolidated. Intermittent practices ensued over the next four years. The band managed to compose/perform a handful of songs (including a cover of Talking Heads' "Psycho Killer"), but only two were committed to tape. Cool Lot Tot Lot last practiced in 1997, and never performed live.
Recordings
On 1 January, 1997, two demos were cut in Wilson's basement, sans Guthart (see Lore section). The first song, "Craig J.", was a mid-tempo, swing-beat song about a dibetic Mormon classmate of Wilson and McElligatt. The second was "Nick Kollasch", a quicker-paced song indebtted to Nirvana's more playful b-sides and radio recordings. The next day, 2 January, 1997, the songs were recut with full drums in McElligatt's basement. One tape copy was made of both sessions, but it remains lost.
Name Genesis
The band's earliest known name was The Chickens. This was soon after changed to The Cows, and later to The Time Wasters. The group finally settled on Cool Lot Tot Lot, at the suggestion of Steve Wilson and Ragman Records' Joe Riehle. The name was a reference to a Cedar Falls playground frequented by Stephen Oulman.
Lore
- When the band was formed, Allen became the bass player by default because he was the only kid who had a bass. He didn't know how to play it, but pledged to learn how. However, Ben became impatient after a few months and saved up money to buy his own bass. Afterwards Allen was kicked out of the band.
Band Members
- Ben Wilson - guitar/bass
- Chris Vanderwall - guitar
- Colin McElligatt - drums
- Allen Guthart - bass (1993-1995)
