Nacho Mama was a cover band that Bill and I put together after our drummer Tom Rangoni’s untimely death in 1998. We formed in the spring of 1999 with Carlos Pena on Drums and George Miller on Bass. We ended up getting our first gig at the Classic Rock Brew Pub in Danbury CT from doing a Jam night at the last minute. By a quirk of fate, we ended up being the main band after the Fireworks at the mall when the city moved them to the thursday we played. We opened with She Sells Sanctuary by the Cult to a packed house. There was a pregnant pause at the end of the song, then the place went wild.

Not bad for an opening gig.

The band lasted about a year when the our personal tastes in music didn’t quite mesh. We recorded 12 Pack Ugly as part of a 5 song demo in New Milford where we rehearsed. The song was written by Mike Young and Myself when we played with Tom as Chartreuse from 1987 until Bill joined us in 1992.

The song was put together in about 20 minutes between sets at rehearsal. For some reason we got talking about picking up women in bars. Mike picked up a pad and started to write. He handed me the words and I said: “This has to be a country song.”

Only one I’ve ever been party to.

George does an outstanding job on the bass line and makes me wish I could play it.

And no, I NEVER picked up a woman at a bar.

12 Pack Ugly