international news _ 20th January, 2006
!!! Drummer Killed In Bike Smash
Text by Jonty Skrufff (Skrufff.com)
Former !!! drummer and founding member Anthony Mikel Gius was killed in a car
accident before Christmas, when he was knocked off his bike on a road in
California.
!!! guitarist Mario Andreoni issued a statement about the accident on the
band's website last week, paying tribute to the drummer who he'd known since
childhood.
"I met him when I was 8 after a mutual friend told me I 'had to meet the
other guy in the neighbourhood with more Kiss posters than you'. We quickly
became best friends and went on to share the most significant times of our
lives together," said Mario,
"He had a unique, occasionally overwhelming style that coincided with the
way he lived his life. No matter what you thought of him, he made bands,
some ordinary, some not so, worth paying attention to."
"We grew apart as our passions led us down different paths. I still love him
like a brother and miss him terribly."
Chatting to Skrufff three years ago, Mario spoke fondly of the alternative
scene !!! grew out of, when the band were entirely unknown outside Southern
California.
"There was a scene in Sacramento centred around a venue called the Loft
which was a punk/ somewhat anarchist, pseudo-anarchist type environment and
!!! coalesced around there, playing in different bands," Mario recalled.
"We all played there because at its height it was the epitome of freedom,
you could get on stage and do things that are similar to what people are
doing with their laptops now, playing with noises and clicks, whether on
bass, guitar or drums and people would still pay attention."
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