This Bike is a Pipe Bomb

i met TBIAPB in pensacola FL when they booked us a show at sluggo's (the old one downtown). Rymodee (guitar) played with a big straw hat and a huge fake butt. he also breathed fire on stage. DAVE DONDERO was playing drums for them back then and was dressed like a happy frenchman. Terry (bass) was wearing overalls and a flannel shirts which i later found out to be her normal clothes but at the time thought was part of their band costumes.

after the show Rymo had us follow him home on his bike. we got there and he made us mashed potatoes with nutritional yeast gravy (i was afraid to try them since i had never had n.yeast gravy before). while we were setting in the street in front of the legendary punk house, 309, with skott cowgill (later to sing for THE BLANK FIGHT) a van pulled slowly into the street. Skott said, "it's my buddy, watch this." and he stood up and blocked the street and pulled out his wiener and started waving it around. he then realized that it was not his friend at all but in fact, a stranger and put his junk away. the van pulled up and we expected them to be angry or at least upset but instead they driver leaned out an calmly ask, "do any of you guys want to but a parrot?" we paused for a few seconds and then someone said, "let me see it." it turned out to be a parakeet so we passed on the deal and the van drove away. it was a great night.

Later, samantha decided she would avoid xmas by spending it alone in key west florida so she got on a greyhound and went south. there, she bumped into rymodee totally randomly out side of a health food store. rymo and a few other people had just reached their turning point on a 10 day bike trip from gainesville to key west and were about to head out of town and start heading north when they met sam. they hit it off right away (mostly because of a 'zine sam gave them with a story about her passing out coal to all the banks in bloomington while dressed as santa claus and the cops coming....and, well, i will tell you that story later) and rymo asked sam to join them on their trip. sam bought a bike and went with them. she called me a few days into the trip and said, "i am on a bike trip now with the guy from TBIAPB, he is great, he is my vegan angel, i think we should put out their record." i said, "sounds great", and that was the beginning of a great friendship.

WHO ARE THEY?
Rymodee (ryan, Rymo) plays guitar
Terry johnson plays bass
Ted helmick play drums
Dave dondero played drums in the beginning

This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb is a folk-punk band from Pensacola, Florida, USA. Their first recording was released in 1997 on Ghostmeat Records. Their later releases have been on Plan It X Records and No Idea Records. This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb is rumored to have initially started as (or at least intended, but failed to start as) a tongue-in-cheek country band, but their punk roots were evident enough in their music that they became one of the premiere bands at the forefront of the folk-punk genre. They've done several US tours and been to europe.

DISCOGRAPHY
S/T 7" Ghost Meat Records , 1997 Out Of Print
Of Chivalry and Romance in a Dumpster 10" Fab Records , 1999 Out Of Print
Black Panther Party 7" Arkam Records , 2001
Dance Party With... CD Plan-It-X Records , 2001
Dance Party With... 10" Troy from Vancouver , 2004
Front Seat Solidarity LP Plan-It-X Records , 2002 Out Of Print
Front Seat Solidarity CD Plan-It-X Records , 2002
This Bike Is a Pipe Bomb/Carrie Nations Split 7" Shake/Plan-It-X Records , 2004 Out Of Print
This Bike Is a Pipe Bomb/The Devil Is Electric Split 7" Risk Records , 2004 Out Of Print
Three Way Tie for a Fifth CD Plan-It-X Records , 2004
Three Way Tie for a Fifth LP No Idea Records , 2005


THE STICKER THAT CAUSES SO MUCH TROUBLE
ATHENS, Ohio- A sticker on a bicycle that said "this bike is a pipe bomb" caused a scare Thursday at Ohio University that shut down four buildings before authorities learned the message was the name of a punk rock band, a university spokesman said. The sticker on the bike chained outside the university-owned Oasis restaurant near the center of campus attracted the attention of a police officer about 5:30 a.m., spokesman Jack Jeffery said.
Police blocked streets around the restaurant and the Columbus police bomb squad came from about 65 miles away.The bomb experts hit the bike with a high pressure spray of water, then pried it apart with a hydraulic device normally used to rescue accident victims trapped in cars, acting Athens Fire Chief Ken Gilbraith said. Once they had it open, they saw there was no bomb. The buildings, including some classroom facilities, were reopened after a couple hours.Dean of Students Terry Hogan urged students to be more careful when showing support for the band from Pensacola, Fla. University police interviewed the bike's owner then released him, Jeffery said. Police are still investigating. An e-mail seeking comment was sent to Plan-It-X Records, listed on a Web site for the band as its record label. The label does not have a published phone number.

I didn't write them back. This story was also on CNN!