Temper Tantrum
From The Secret History of the Cedar Valley
Band History
Temper Tantrum was realized in March 1997 by Jon Borom, Chris Vanderwall, and Colin McElligatt. The band was formed to perform at the Northern University High Middle School Talent Show. The three members converged to write songs at Borom's house in the weeks before show. In that time, they composed "Jake The Pink Rabbit", a surf-punk tune about a pink, surfing, punk-rock rabbit. They performed the song four times on the day of the April 1997 talent show, opening and closing both the afternoon and evening shows. The song was, by all accounts, a success among the pubescent student population. Thus, Temper Tantrum decided to continue writing. Their second performance came during a middle school band concert, where they performed "Herbie," an insistent but plodding space-rock song that utilised Borom's digital bass pedal. The band became a staple of the NU talent show circut, and performed a free afternoon show in May 1997, on the last day of school, in Vanderwall's garage. They played their only six songs, two times through, including "Jake the Pink Rabbit", "Herbie", "Fruit Snack Maker", and others whose titles are forgotten. The songs were committed to a single-mic tape recorder in McElligatt's basement. The whereabouts of the only-known copy of the demo is unknown.
As the band progressed, so did their sound. Borom took the songwriting reins, and fashioned the band into a progressively more abrasive hardcore group. This new direction lost them their faculty and student fanbase at NU, and it became harder for them to secure talent show spots. Their last performance was in September 1998 at the NU Homecoming Talent Show. In their audition, Temper Tantrum was told to turn their volume down to play. This directive was not heeded at the live performance, which did not include Vanderwall. Filling in was Ben Iversen, aka Dudeman, who had never heard the songs before. He didn't really need to. Borom went on to play in Worst Case Scenario.
John Kane
John Kane was the band's official go-go dancer. At the initial April 1997 performance, he danced in a Batman outfit. At the garage show, he danced in a Zorro mask and a lab coat.
Band Members
- Jon Borom - bass, vocals
- Chris Vanderwall - guitar
- Colin McElligatt - drums
- John Kane - dancer
- Ben Iversen - guitar (1998)
