The Spartans

In 1991, Brad showed up at the doorstep of Metal XOR Studio after having been away at school for a couple of years. The studio was in the process of recording Mune Mud's Olympus album. So Brad programmed a few drum patterns and added some vocals on a couple of outtake tracks.

He was also around for the 1992 Mune Mud album Underwater Problem Factory, contributing a few musical ideas but mainly designing the album cover on his PC.

It was also during this time that Harry and Jason were playing in various garages and bedrooms, so Brad was a natural to join as the drummer since the three had played before in their previous band, Pheonix.

For a couple of years the three got together and jammed often. Brad was on drums, Harry on guitar and vocals, and Jason on his new bass. Some of these jams were video-taped and turned into bootleg audio tapes. They were the main act at Harry's 21st birthday bash.

At the time, the band did not have a name. They just got together and played. For many years after the band quit playing, these jams were considered to be a newer version of Pheonix. But Pheonix really was a different band. So years later the "Harry, Jason, and Brad trio" was refered to as The Spartans. The name comes from the fact that many of the people that would attend or participate in the jam sessions were from the nearby city of Sparta (where Harry worked). Many memories of this time are of those people and places. So the name is appropriate to the band.

Around 1993, Brad got a new job and moved away once again. But this did not stop Harry and Jason from jamming, they used a drum machine in Brad's absence. And that was the beginning of their new band, The Duke Boys.