The Scotch Indians Bio

The Scotch Indians are an ambient post-Pennsylturkish hardcore fusion rock band that originated in Scranton, Pennsylvania in late 2000 or early 2001. The band consists of Patrick Walsh (aka Pat Walsh) on vocals, John DiCosmo (of DiCosmo’s ice) on guitar and sometimes vocals, Claire Connolly (aka Flea Fair Claire, Claire at the Flea Fair) on drums, Michael Klotz from Mickleton (too many aliases to name) on bass guitar, and Todd Kurpel on the other guitar. The band last performed as a functioning unit in 2002, but is still considered an active band since no official break-up was ever discussed or announced. The band was originally known for its sporadic show schedule, frequent practices, and a general DIY unwashed handsomeness. It was also famous for driving to each show in no less than three cars. It is now known for its elusiveness.

Origin

The Scotch Indians were likely the brainchild of DiCosmo and Walsh who were involved in many music and art projects prior to the formation of the band. Klotz probably invited the duo over to play in the Klotz/Kurpel house on Vine basement. It is also possible that Klotz/DiCosmo/Flea Fair Claire formed the band first and then invited Walsh after a few practices to serve as the frontman. The origin story is a great topic of debate for music historians. It was known that Claire could play the drums even though she did not have a drum set. Dan Walsh’s (no relation to Pat) drum set was found somewhere (maybe it was in the Irish house on Monroe) and became the official Scotch Indian drum set. Claire did a fantastic job putting the drum set together. Todd happily joined the band because he knew how to work his amp and it was a short commute from his bedroom to the basement. The name originated from a phone conversation that DiCosmo had with one of his crazy friends in the state of Maine. The first song that the band wrote was “Scuba Diver Man”. The song also became its only commercial success (so far). Eventually the band was forced to relocate its practice site when Kurpel and Klotz moved to the Irish house. The Scotch Indians began to hold practices at Walsh’s parents’ house in Justus, PA.

Discography

S/T demo (2001)

The Scotch Indians famous self-titled demo CD-R (2001) was recorded in Kurpel/Klotz’s Vine St. basement. Lou Rogai recorded the band on a 4 track (or an 8 track, but only used 4 of the tracks). The band only needed one attempt at each song for the recording, although they were forced to play “Microwave your Mother” twice because Lou accidentally paused the tape during the first recording of the smashless hit. This was DiCosmo’s least favorite song so he played his guitar with scissors during the recording. The recording captured the skunked beer atmosphere of that shitty Vine basement, but thankfully blocked out the ghosts of explicit racism and possible death that lingered in the dark corners.

Steve Santiso was in charge of burning the demo cds. Kurpel and Santiso stayed up all night to record the cds. Basically Santiso recorded the cds and Kurpel drank 40s. Santiso also had a 40. Kurpel and Santiso were used to staying up all night. They probably went skateboarding at “the curb” after finishing the burning and then went to Denny’s. The cd art was provided by Walsh. The art was a black and white photograph of Walsh’s dad running.

The band almost broke up when DiCosmo and Walsh started making fun of Flea Fair after she asked if she would be able to get a copy of the demo. Flea Fair was upset by the ridicule and threatened to leave the band forever. The conflict was resolved when the band decided that Claire could receive a demo for a reduced price.

Track Listing

Scuba Diver Man
Shit on my shoe
Roadblock
Microwave your mother
Flesh-Eating Virus

Live

The Scotch Indians are known more for their live shows as the band had a unique ability to make sure that a song never sounded the same during each performance. Whether Walsh changed the lyrics or DiCosmo changed the tuning, the “Scotchies” were sure to keep the audience guessing what would happen next. Klotz did what he can to provide consistency as his bass lines (and dance moves) stayed consistent throughout the duration of the early years. It is confirmed that Kurpel had no idea what was going on half the time, so he spent most shows playing with the volume controls of his guitar. It is probable that he played the entire Doc Watson’s set with the guitar volume turned down (if it was even plugged in at all). Highlights included shows at Café Metropolis at the Khyber. Lowlights included that weird festival in Egypt, PA and the University of Scranton (although Kurpel cannot confirm because he decided to wash dishes for money instead of play that show).

Live at 1217 Vine

The Scotch Indians best show was held at the abandoned house connected to the Kurpel/Klotz residence. It took an evening of cleaning out trash from the abandoned house’s basement to prepare for the show. Walsh supplied the art work and lights. 1219 Vine supplied the power. Lou provided the promotion. Lots of drunk people showed up and it was loud. The cops somehow stayed away. Other bands performing that night were Santiso’s La Machina de Muerte, Lou, Langan and Quinn, and Austin Browne.

Buttons

The band also had buttons made.