Judah - 1995-1998

Load Music Into Jukebox

Darren Lyda - Vocals
Dave Landon - Guitars
Derek Close - Bass/Backing Vocals
Dave Petrie - Drums
Tim Sutherland - Cover Art

Sometime in 1994, I was approached by Dave Landon about starting a band. In the previous years I had laid down bass tracks on some of Dave's songs. Dave would record his music, sans bass, and mail me a tape. I would practice (as best as I could, since some songs had funky tunings) then head out to Dave's place in Eastern Washington for a quiet weekend of recording. There were about 3 of these sessions spanning about the same amount of time before Dave came up with the whole band brainstorm.

I agreed that a band project would be fun. Dave already had a vocalist in mind so it was just a matter of getting going and finding a drummer.

After a couple of jam sessions and recording demo pieces, the vocalist told Dave he couldn't do it. He had other pressing issues that needed his immediate attention and couldn't afford the time a band would take. So he gracefully bowed out. This turn of events left Dave & I with needing to find a vocalist and a drummer.

So an ad was taken out in a local music publication called The Rocket.

As with any ad, you get a plethora of flakes and misfits who respond. The weeding process began. We had to find the right flake and/or misfit. Not just any one would do. Enter Darren Lyda. An ex-girlfriend of his saw the ad and contacted him. He came and auditioned. Dave & I agreed he was the perfect misfit. So Darren joined the band.

The ad in The Rocket had vocalists crawling out of the woodwork. But not drummers. Finally a drummer answered the call: Dave Petrie. Dave & I auditioned him. He wasn't the most technical drummer but he was solid and wanted to learn double bass. He was welcomed into the still no named band. He received a double bass pedal for Christmas.

We named the band Judah and went on our way. Playing a variety of places, Judah was getting to reach quite a number of people. We played at each other's churches, schools, and even a stage at The Omak Stampede. During this time Judah recorded a 6 song demo tape entitled One Step from the Basement.

Things were moving right along until Dave Landon announced he needed a break to attend to other things in his life.

So Judah took about 9 months off. During this time it came about that there were several bands around the country and across the globe named Judah. Including one group in Europe who actually held the title's rights. So a new name had to be found. We came up with Cross Eyed Clyde. Unfortunately we only played one show at Zoe's Cup in Everett, WA before Dave Landon announced he could no longer fit the band into his schedule. Dave Petrie also took this opportunity to bow out to focus more attention to his personal life.

Due to further upheaval, additional efforts to get Cross Eyed Clyde off the ground failed.