Fantasy

	Our first live show, at the second annual Lonesome Pine Amateur Talent Show, November 22, 1986.  Left to Right: Me, Dwayne Edwards, Joe Arrington, Michael Puckett (partially obscured), Eric Counts.

Lineup: 
Joe "Jody" Arrington - Guitar, Vocals
Eric "Rags" Counts - Bass, Guitar
Dwayne "D-Train" Edwards - Vocals
Brian "Herb" Hearl - Keyboard, Guitar, Bass, Vocals
"Mad Dog" Michael Puckett - Drums

Fantasy was my first band.  It was born after long conversations with my friend Joe C. Arrington, Jr. (who we called Jody) about the possibility of forming a band.  At the time, I could barely play a little keyboard, and while he was experienced at playing stand-up bass in a bluegrass context, he was relatively new at the electric guitar.  Well, being 15-year-olds, we didn't let little things like that stand in the way of our dreams! 

The other members were recruited from among our friends.  Eric Counts was another old friend who actually had a bass and an amp, and newly-graduated Mike Puckett had played drums in the high school marching band, but didn't have a kit of his own. Sometime in July, 1986, Jody, Eric, Mike, and I converged in the Haysi High School band building in Haysi, VA, where there was a set of drums, and made some noise.  Literally.  We did manage to play the old surf instrumental "Wipe-Out"--or rather, they did; my inexperience at the keyboard kept me from contributing much to the band's sound for a couple of months or so.  Jody and I both sang, but neither of us was very confident, so we decided we needed a lead singer.  We recruited another old friend, Dwayne Edwards, to fill that role.  Like the rest of us, he was inexperienced, but had great energy, charisma, and enthusiasm.  Meanwhile, Mike bought an electronic drum device called Synsonics Drums so he would have something to play.

After some months of practice, we were actually sounding OK enough to enter a talent show in nearby Clintwood.  We didn't win, but got our first dose of live playing, and were hooked!  We quickly landed a second gig a Sandlick Elementary School as the opening act for a benefit show.

By the spring of 1987 we were sounding much better.  Everyone had gotten new instruments, including a real drum set for Mike and and a real synthesizer for me.  We landed our biggest gig, playing a concert during school hours at the Grundy Junior High School (in Grundy, VA, naturally), where we impressed the audience enough to get autograph requests!  We were expanding our abilities, too; I had learned enough guitar to start playing on a song or two later that summer, and also began to switch off on bass so Eric could play guitar on a couple of tunes.  We even had some original songs: "Go With the Feelin'," written by Dwayne and Jody, and "Busted Heart Blues" and "Rags," written by the band.

Our "busted heart" logo, designed by Michael Puckett, drawn by me

Of course, it had to end eventually.  Our last practice with the whole band was in January 1988; after a disagreement about a possible gig, Mike and I became disgruntled, and we formed another very short-lived band with Eric and a couple more local guys.  Then, Mike moved across the state, but the rest of us did play one more gig at our senior talent show as "Mange Moi" with 7th-grader Jeremy Ratliff on drums.

Over the subsequent years Jody, Eric, Mike, and I got together a few times to play again.  Dwayne never joined us, having seemingly hung up his microphone for good.  Well, you can never go back, but it's good to remember every once in a while what it was like to be very young and hungry to make music.

A portrait of the band, designed and drawn by Michael Puckett.  L to R: Rags, Jody, Mad Dog, Herb, D-Train

Busted Heart Blues cassette cover, designed and drawn by Michael Puckett

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