Kurt loved punk rock from the start. The first punk songs he ever heard were "Neat Neat Neat" by the Damned and "I Wanna Be Me" by the Sex Pistols (b-side of the Anarchy In the UK single). "Punk was all we could ask for in music: Loud. Fast. Just pounding idiotic music. Super kick-ass. Great. Cool." For the first few years that Kurt played electric guitar he was mostly discouraged by the sophistication of the guitar players he admired. Axe slingers like Robert Fripp, Brian May, and Ritchie Blackmore seemed so out of reach for him, both in terms of being able to play what they were playing, as well as being able to get the same kind of sound our of his guitar and amp.  Punk, however, was so simple that it

Growing up, Kim was somewhat of a reckless attention seeker. Being an only child until her teens, she was used to getting her way and being the center of attention. She has some GREAT stories from her childhood. As far as her musical development is concerned, her first influences were artists who had TV shows, such as Bobby Sherman, the Monkeys and David Cassidy. Later on she became an avid fan of more kick-ass rock (Queen, AC/DC and Blue Oyster Cult), along with other forms of pop and glam music (the Jackson 5, Roxy Music and David Bowie). The Runaways, however, were probably the one that band that she loved the most.

Kim got her first guitar and amp for her 18th birthday. In actuality, these were purchased as a 30-day rental, probably due to the fact that her parents knew that Kim's attention span for things was probably less than reliable during her adolescence. Soon after she received it, Kim's little Fender Champ amplifier was promptly blown out by Kurt and Al (Kurt's younger brother, and future frontman of My Favorite Martian). But Kim stuck with the guitar, mostly because of the Runaways, but also because of the Ramones (when all is said and done, the Ramones and Queen are the two bands that really made the Fastbacks possible). With the Ramones and the Runaways, Kim found bands that in her estimation were not very good at their instruments, but who were getting popular. She figured she could do it too. Her first impression of the Ramones debut LP, however, was less than earth shattering. She remembers hearing Rodney Bingenheimer describe the first Ramones LP as a 'speed trip on vinyl'. But when she put it on for the first time, she didn't hear any guitar solos. Back then, the rock music she loved always

had guitar solos. She vividly remembers moving the needle from her record player and skipping from song to song, trying to find a guitar solo.  None would be found. Eventually, however, the record began to sink in, and she took a fondness to it's simplicity and irreverence. To this day Dee Dee Ramone remains her biggest influence as a bass player. Kim has never cared for playing complicated bass lines, and in Dee Dee Ramone she found the basics she loved about playing bass. She never has, and never will care about playing anything more, or anything less, than that which is simple and direct.

Once Kim started listening to punk, she would attend all the punk rock shows that came through town. According to Kurt, the litmus test for a Seattle punker was whether or not he/she attended the Ramones show at the Olympic Hotel (later to be the Four Seasons Hotel). Kim and Lulu were at this show, Kurt was not. Kim remembers also going to see bands from England such as Magazine and the Buzzcocks. The loudest show she ever saw was the Clash at the Paramount Theater during the Give 'Em Enough Rope tour. She remembers sneaking up the fire escape to get into the show (a common practice for admission to shows and movies for all three Fastbacks). She also remembers laughing at Mick Jones when he told her that the next Clash record would be a double album. To her, no punk band would ever make a double album. She thought he was joking! Little did she know that he was talking about what was to be London Calling.

The first band Kim ever played in was a new wave punk band called the Radios. This was her first exposure to playing bass (her first bass was a Gibson Ripper). The Radios are mostly notable due to her inclusion, as well as the fact that the drummer, Chris Utting (later Criss Crass), would go on to join L.A. pop punkers The Muffs.

MICHILU SUZETTE GARGIULO - Born in Seattle at N.W. Hospital, 10/12/60
Robert Gargiulo was a merchant marine stationed in Japan when he met his future wife Michiyo. They ended up moving to the Pacific Northwest and starting a family. Lulu is the youngest of 3 kids, with an older sister (Maria) and brother (Tony). Comprising of half Japanese and half Italian ancestry (with also a mixture of Swedish, French and Irish blood) the Gargiulo household was a modest blue collar family. Robert was a streamroller operator who paved asphalt, while Michiyo became a waitress after Lulu was born. Although her parents were very affectionate people, they also had their own dysfunctions which ultimately led to Lulu becoming an extremely independent person. This DIY ethic would prove itself both an asset and detriment in the years to come.

Although younger than Kurt and Kim, Lulu began her musical studies before either of them. She took classical guitar lessons at the age of 7 (which she refers to as lessons in 'Pauper' music) which mostly centered around scales and music theory. As we would discover later, her learning scales on the guitar would prove practically useless as it pertained to her role in the Fastbacks. Lulu also took night school group lessons in folk guitar with her cousin Shannon Wood (Lulu's best friend during childhood who only lived 12 blocks away, as did most of Lulu's relatives on her fathers side). After these lessons ended, Lulu didn't really practice or continue playing guitar with very much enthusiasm. In fact, once she joined the Fastbacks, playing the guitar was just like learning from scratch all over again. She remembered how to play open A, E, and D chords, but bar chords were unfamiliar to her. Lulu's first electric was purchased just prior to the formation of the Fastbacks. It was a crappy sounding Moserite copy which she played through a little Fender Champ.

In school, Lulu tended to get into trouble often for talking in class. She also had an advanced fashion sense, often incorporating suspenders and big hats into her daily outfits. She also had somewhat of a big afro. Her favorite class in high school was photography, a class she was able to take for 2 consecutive years. After her first semester of photography, Lulu stopped attending the lectures and would immediately head for the darkroom, much to the dismay of her teacher, Mr. Hoy. She also used to 

bring in a little portable tape player to class and listen to loud music while working in the darkroom. To say Lulu was a character would be an understatement. At the time she met Kurt, she wasn't really into hard rock, but liked music more along the lines of teeny bopper pop music. But the bands she had in common with Kurt were Queen and The Ramones, and she would often come to photography classto develop pictures she took at rock shows, which would inevitably lead her to meeting Kurt. After Lulu graduated from high school, she moved to Portland to work at a racetrack (Portland Meadows). Her job involved caring for and

cleaning up after the horses. With aspirations to become a jockey, Lulu lived out of the stables and worked 7 days a week (starting at 5am). She did this for about 6 months and then moved back to Seattle. In Seattle, she worked at another racetrack (Longacres). After she finally quit a few months later, Lulu ended up renting a house with Kim and another friend Randy "you're so full of fire" Fehr.

THE CHEATERS
Formed the summer of 1978, The Cheaters were Kurt's first real band. Previous to that point, he had tried unsuccessfully to put together a band that would actually do anything. The Cheaters consisted of Kurt on guitar, Al Bloch on bass, Scott Dittman on vocals, and Dave Shumate (pronounced Shoe-mate) on drums. Scott was someone who just wanted to be in a 'punk rock' band. He was a boy who loved to act New York tough; dressed in straight legged jeans, leather jacket and sunglasses, he tried to be as punk as possible. In contrast, Dave was just someone who wanted to be in a band. Not exactly a fan or follower of punk rock, Dave sacrificed his personal musical tastes just to be part of a band. Just a year apart, Kurt and Al both grew up loving rock music and learning instruments together. Collectively, the four of them created a band that was "1/3 Sex Pistols, 1/3 Blue Oyster Cult, and 1/3 terrible."

The Cheaters were a band that didn't really know what they were doing. The one thing they all had in common was a desire to be in a band. As a result, they learned how to be a band by hanging out and trying to play together. No one knew how to write songs, let alone proficiently play their instrument. In order to write songs, they would sit around in the basement of the Bloch house, play some chords and have Scott sing something over the progression. There was no defined vocal melody, there was no mapped out chorus or bridge, it was all impromptu since they weren't even aware of what these devices were to begin with. The first Cheaters original was a song entitled, "Johnny Get Your Gun". Eventually, after many practices and learning what worked and what didn't work, the Cheaters managed to put together a set of originals and covers that would comprise their set list. Some of the covers included Cars and Girls by the Dictators, and the Red and the Black by Blue Oyster Cult. The original songs would eventually be credited to the band on their first and only single, but they were usually individual compositions that had limited contributions from other members.

With the Cheaters, Kurt was able to learn what he could do, and what he couldn't do when it came to being in a band. In many ways, the Cheaters were a learning experience for all of its members. As the only band from Nathan Hale that actually got their shit together (somewhat), they got 'good' enough to play shows at the Bird (the first northwest punk rock club of the late 70's) and other local venues. Kurt remembers doing all sorts of stupid things in the Cheaters, such as gluing forks and knives to his guitar because he thought it would look funny. Little did he realize that when he would play, the guitar would cut up his arm. On another occasion, he thought it would be funny to play guitar with the back edge of a wood saw (ala Jimmy Page and the violin bow). At the show he just thought, "fuck it," and proceeded to cut off all his strings with the blade side of the saw. It was funny, but after he did it the show was over, he didn't have an extra set of strings or a back-up guitar. The best laid plans . . . The other members of the band didn't fare much better than Kurt. At one show, Scott threw hot dogs at the audience. Well, that was funny, but what was funnier was that the audience threw the hot dogs right back at the band. The stage got cluttered with hot dogs. It is rumored that this treachery led to at least one member slipping on these pork pythons.

The Cheaters stayed together for a little over a year. They broke up in the Fall of 1979 after a farewell Halloween show. In the words of Kurt, "the Cheaters were pretty ambitious for how terrible we were."

NO THREES RECORDS
What started out as a bad joke turned into what became the No Threes record label. One day Kurt and some friends were altering a "NO LEFT TURN" street sign they had acquired. They painted out the left turn arrow and placed a big "3" in it's place. For some reason, they decided that it was so funny that it had to be the insignia they would use if they ever released a record. No significance should be placed on the number 3, it was a completely random choice.

Well, as word tends to travel fast, a band from Bellingham called The Accident caught wind of the No Threes concept. They asked Kurt if they could release a single on 'his label'. He tried to explain to them that it wasn't really a label to begin with, and that nothing had been released at that point. Regardless, the Accident were a bunch of go-getters, and so they funded a 7" for the No Threes label. The Accident's "Kill the Bee Gees" b/w "True Detective" (N3-001) was released in 1979. No Threes was officially born.

Not shortly thereafter (October 1979), the Cheaters released the second No Threes 7", featuring three songs ("Man As Hunter" b/w "I Talk To You"/"(How Would You Like To Be The) Ice Man?"). All three songs were recorded at Triangle Studios in Seattle (located near the Fremont/Ballard area. It later turned into Reciprocal and then John and Stu's.). Kurt recalls finishing the sessions the same day that the Talking Heads played a show at the Egyptian Theater. He left the studio, snuck into the show and even taped it. One thousand copies of the Cheaters single were pressed, but only 600-700 would be available for purchase. 300-400 copies had to be sent back to the pressing plant due to poor labeling and manufacturing problems. A few weeks after they were sent back, the pressing plant went out of business. To add insult to injury, no refund was sent either.

No Threes would last until the early 90's, and the discography would end up looking something like this:

by the Ohio Express. Attendance was pretty good, with most of their friends coming, as well as the friends of the other bands. Kurt remembers trying really hard to rock, but at the same time just being absolutely horrible (tapes of their first show do exist.) The first Fastbacks original was a Kurt song entitled, "Real People," but it is unclear whether it was debuted at this first show. Kurt believes there is a demo of "Real People" somewhere, but that it is a "TERRIBLE" song.

Shortly around their first show, Kim decided that the Fastbacks should play the old Cheaters song, "Man As Hunter," and that she wanted to sing it. It would later turn out to be the first giant step in the gradual improvement of the band. Lulu's admits to not being able to sing well at all. With Kim at vocals, the Fastbacks began writing more new material and learning new covers. Their first demo session was conducted in the front room of Lulu and Kim's house on February 28, 1980. Their roommate, Randy Fehr, had a reel to reel recorder which they used to demo 3 songs.

Around the same time the Cheaters disbanded and the Fastbacks got together, Al Bloch started another band with Dave Shumate and Randy Fehr called Wenis. It is interesting to note that The Fastbacks would later record covers of two Wenis songs (The Right Thing and Wait It Out). Kurt was also getting a lot of crap about the Fastbacks from people he knew. They were just wondering why he was wasting his time with such a shitty band while other people were starting 'serious' bands. Ironic that the Fastbacks would prove to have more staying power and recognition than any of their early peers. Kurt attests this longevity due to the fact that everyone was having fun in the early Fastbacks. They all loved music, they all loved playing music, and none of them really cared what other people thought. In Lulu's head, she was more worried about trying to play the right chord than she was that people were laughing at her.

The next Fastbacks demo recordings would take place in August of 1980. Kurt's childhood buddy, Len Skersies, had an 8-track recorder in his basement that he let them use for these sessions. In the liner notes to the Question is No, Kurt writes, "It was hot out. We had no idea what we were doing. It's probably good we didn't. Things were funnier back then." Out of this session came 8 songs: Don't Eat That It's Poison, Someone Else's Room, Was Late, Bus Stop, Cowboy Song, Another Thing Coming, I Don't Mind, and I Wanna Be With You. Of these demos, only Don't Eat That It's Poison would find itself 'released' (on a K Records compilation called "Let's Sea" and then later on The Question Is No). Someone Else's Room and Was Late would later be re-recorded and released in other forms. Bus Stop and Cowboy Song are both unreleased Kurt originals. Another Thing Coming was actually written by Kim and Lulu, because back then they used to contribute original compositions. And the last two songs were Buzzcocks and Raspberries covers.

DUFF
Enter future Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan. Although younger than any of the Fastbacks (15 years old), he was already playing in tons of local bands. Duff attended an alternative high school, one that allowed him to pretty much define his own curriculum. Since Kim was 18, she could sign his class credit slips for his 'music' class. One day he was over at Kim and Lulu's and the Fastbacks were about to practice. He asked if he could sit in on drums. They all agreed since there was an extra guitar there that Kurt could play (one has to wonder what Duff thought of the band at the time, or if we was trying to tell them something since Kurt was obviously a fairly skilled guitarist at that point). The practice ended up being a lot of fun, and so they asked him to join the band. The Fastbacks were beginning to take shape.