A Mystery I Must Unravel

Haywood is, well, was one of my favorite bands.  And tonight I discover a reference to my obscure hometown, Mechanicsburg, PA, in the "final thanks" section of their memorial site (link's at the bottom right.)  Now, technically, I lived in Hampden Township as a kid, but my mailing address said "Mechanicsburg," and I can attest that at no time from 1973 to 1985 was that locale likely to attract the likes of Haywood, and I'm confident that remained true during the band's lifespan, from 1992 through 2000.  But not only did they venture to the 1705x, it apparently made a meaningful impression on them.  Uh, WTF?

Comments

[Alec]

Hey, MBurg is the birthplace of "Poison!" So anything's possible in CPa!

[Matt]

Hmm, I don't recognize any of the names in the band. But, the third on the list is Chris N. a guy from over by hershey, friend to Jon M., if you remember him. Chris started a record label, the self starter foundation, which may or may not have put out an early Haywood record. There are plenty of Philly references there and they even thank Yuengling Beer. My guess is one of these five went to HS in that unsung hotbed of indie rock, Mechanicsburg, PA.

[Ed]

Dude! It's all coming together. I believe almost everything Haywood released came out on Self-Starter. They also played around Philly before moving to NYC. So there are a number of CPA connections. But I don't think they reference any other towns on the list, do they? Why just Mechanicsburg? Besides its status as an indie rock hotbed, of course.

[Matt]

They started as a high school cover band in Radnor, PA, just outside Philadelphia. Why they would then single out M-burg remains a mystery. To tell you the truth I've never even heard a Haywood song! Hmph.

[Ted]

We played one wonderful poorly (nearly un-) attended show at some giant empty hall-ish space (teen dance club) in Mechanicsburg in the late-early-nineties. I think the show was put together by the guys who ran proteen records. When we put together our thank you list, we tried to remember every good thing that ever happened to us, which included that jaunt to M'burg.

[Ed]

Hi, Ted--many thanks for clearing that up, and welcome to my humble site. I didn't spend much time in Mechanicsburg in the '90s, but it's good to know that the "giant, empty, teen dance clubs" I remember so well from the '80s were still going strong in the Clinton years. If it's any consolation, poorly attended indie rock shows are a longstanding CPA tradition.

And since (at least some of) your colleagues from Haywood are still making music, I have to wonder if you're doing the same. If so, would love to hear it--if not, I hope you take some well-deserved pride in making some of the best music of the late 20th century. Thanks again.