Math rock band Pecola wanted to create the heaviest,
most intense live show they could think of when they began in 1994, so
the group incorporated an air of violence in their sound and a stage
show that breathed of fright, apocalypse, and pure force. All of their
members were self-taught musicians who honed their craft listening to
other music and through confrontational collaborations among each other.
The one thing they were probably most known for was their constant
tempo and time signature changes. In order to keep their audiences 100
percent involved in their live shows, Pecola decided to implement
challenging structures into their music. This meant breaking away from
the standard four/four time signatures that made up most rock. According
to bass player Craig Thompson
(aka Blind Willie Thompson), there was never a time change just for the
sake of throwing one into the mix, but to serve the purpose of each
song. It was in the beginning of 1994 in Toronto when Pecola received
their start by communicating through friends and answering various
newspaper ads. The first incarnation didn't last long, though, due to
the fact that drummer Chris LaRue (aka Johnny LaRue) was leaving to join
mid-'90s post-punk band Smallmouth, and one of the two guitarists
wasn't fitting into Pecola's chemistry. This led to remaining guitarist
Jamie Fleming (aka Dog Fancy) and Thompson
holding tryouts for new replacements. They finally found guitarist Zak
Hanna (aka Deep Throat Latrine) and drummer Gideon Steinberg (aka
Gideon) to fill the vacated spots. After they realized that they all
held common interests in punk, rock & roll, blues, and rap, they
decided to play music similar to Drive Like Jehu, Shellac, Jesus Lizard, Polvo, and the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
that defied the standards of what rock was supposed to be. After
practicing for almost a year, Pecola put out a cassette-only release on
the Cheap Precious Metal label. They followed the release with a tour of
the east coast of Canada with Smallmouth in one van. It was also during
that year that they had their song, "Contact Lens," released on a
compilation titled True Independence, Vol. 2. When 1996 arrived, Pecola
members Thompson and Fleming,
along with Smallmouth drummer LaRue, decided to put their own record
label together. What resulted was Slipped Disc, inspired by bands like Fugazi,
who did the same thing in order to get their product out. It was also
at this time that future Teenage U.S.A. Recordings head Phil Klygo was
running Skull Geek records. After Pecola approached Klygo, he agreed to
help distribute the band's new 7" through Skull Geek. When the release
came out, it was under the imprint of Skull Geek/Slipped Disc and
included a Tony Walsh comic. The band toured the United States, hitting
places like Philadelphia and others like Arkansas, where they incited a
kid riot. In the beginning of 1997, Pecola wrapped up work on their
first 12" vinyl EP, titled Dat Hoang, a Vietnamese name that meant the
same thing as generic U.S. term "John Smith." Following the release, the
group toured the United States once again. Later that year, the group
had a song called "Bubble Needle Barbie" released on a cassette
compilation titled Wish I Was on Lil' Red Wagon records. Pecola came as a
recommendation to Lil' Red Wagon from their friends in Slowgun and
Smallmouth. From the end of 1997 into 1998, the group toured with
various bands, including Shotmaker, the New Bomb Turks, Polvo, Picastro, Do Make Say Think, Bardo Pond, Okara, Versus, Venus Cures All, and the Grifters.
In mid-1998, Pecola released a split 7" with Smallmouth under a verbal
contractual agreement with Teenage U.S.A. Their friends in the band
Skinner Pilot also recommended Pecola to a Pennsylvania label called
Monstro Records. The label listened to the group and released the song
"Catabasis" from the Dat Hoang EP on a compilation called Importance of
Falling. In 1999, another verbal contractual agreement was worked out
with Toronto label Kosher Rock Records to release Pecola's first
full-length album, titled The Mexican. This was to become the band's
first and last full-length, though, because by mid-2000 the band's
members grew tired of performing loud music and decided to call it
quits.
