Time to be a TIGHT WADD
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About 15 years ago, John Powell slept in a closet every night.
Yeah, he really did.
Powell, the drummer for the band Tight Wadd, lived with a few of his bandmates in the upper level of a house in Sandusky.
"I remember it had two closets, and John actually slept in one of them," said Mike Krafty, bassist for the band. "I guess he wanted to live somewhere outside of his parents' house. I don't even remember if he paid rent.
There was just enough room for a single bed in the closet, and he used it."
Everyone in the band lived in that house at one point or another. And they weren't even forced to do so by some reality TV host.
Many things have changed since then for Powell, who now works as a Sandusky police officer. But one thing remains the same - at least a couple of times a month, you can find him rocking out on stage with Tight Wadd.Formed in 1990, the five-piece group - Powell, Krafty, Jason Michel (vocals), Darren Majoy (guitar) and Joe Gildenmeister (guitar) - disbanded before reforming again in 1999 for a reunion gig at the bar now known as Excuses Lounge.
"We got together and played that show and had a lot of fun," Krafty said. "So we all said, ëHey, we'll have to come back in the summer and do this again.' So we started playing about every six months, and then it was once every three months, and it kept going like that until we were back playing a couple of times every month."
To prove that point, one must only look at the band's schedule. Tight Wadd has shows coming up at Cabana Jack's (Dec. 21), The Pump Bar and Grille (Dec. 28) and Knucklehead Saloon (Jan. 5).
The band still plays a list of cover songs similar to the one it played back in the early ë90s - heavy on metal, with tunes from the likes of Poison, Bon Jovi and AC/DC making the cut.
And although they're a little older and (supposedly) more mature than when they first started, the guys in Tight Wadd still like to remain young at heart when they can.
On the group's Web site, tightwadd.com, everyone in the band lists their biggest turn-on.
The answers are:
Powell (aka Johnny Loadwrong) - Beer.
Krafty (aka The Kraftmaster) - The couch.
Majoy (aka DJ Axz) - All things that ROCK.
Gildenmeister (aka Joe Mama) - Anything Metal.
Michel (aka Rip Rock) - Whiskey.
From the looks of that list, the band appears to enjoy the rock-star lifestyle as much as ever, but Krafty says the group has grown up plenty during the last decade or so. Each member of the band is now married with kids.
Perhaps that's reason enough to keep the group going.
"I think we appreciate (playing) now even more than we did because of our family obligations, and plus, everyone works," Krafty said. "Back then, we could go out and do whatever we wanted to - we didn't have to worry about families. Now, one or two times a month, it's kind of nice to be able to go out again and have fun and stay up late."
But the most important question is, what do the significant others think?
"I think they tolerate it," he said, laughing. "All the wives knew we had this hobby and we liked doing it. I think the hardest part for them are the Sunday mornings after a show. They don't get too much work out of us then."
A certain banker at a Fifth-Third Bank in Sandusky has told Justin Powell numerous times that he looks exactly John Powell, but the two Powells have never met. They might be related, except Justin said he's pretty sure no relative of his would ever sleep in a closet every night.
Tight Wadd
WHEN: 10 p.m., December 21
WHERE: Cabana Jacks, 202 Columbus Ave., Sandusky
INFO: tightwadd.com
E-mail Justin at hello@funcoast.com. Written by Justin Powell
