Tim was lead guitar and lead singer. I was bass. We used to fuck around on our guitars a lot before we picked up Nicky and Ricky Pileggi. The twins. They were the rhythm section. Nicky on guitar, Ricky on drums.

Nicky and Ricky are lore though.

It’s funny, and you’ll see I’m not laughing, how everyone knows the story about Nicky and Ricky and not many know it was my fuckin’ band in the first fuckin’ place.

Not Preacher’s.

I see the look on your face.

And yeah, it became his band and not just because the name was changed. I know that. I knew it all along. I knew it when he took over my band. I wanted him to take it over. He was…he was…

He was Preacher McCade, man. Even before he was Preacher McCade, you know what I’m sayin’ to you?

A man like that, his looks, his talent, the way he was, especially the way he was, in that way, if a man like that wants your band, you give it to him.

But Preach and me, we got tight.

I mean, he changed my life even before it all went down, you know?

So it wasn’t that he was a badass. It wasn’t that he was a mean-as-a-snake motherfucker.

It was his talent, man.

I knew.

I knew with that man in my band, my band was going to be something.

And we were.

You hear that song “Click Click Boom” by Saliva?

That was way after us. But the minute I heard those lyrics, hey.

That was me. As a kid.

Everyone else was listening to Culture Club and Duran Duran and Kaja-fuckin’-googoo.

I was listening to Metallica. AC/DC. Iron Maiden. Whitesnake. And what I thought of as the “oldies.” Led Zeppelin. Pink Floyd. Rush.

And, man, from the beginning, Prince. I mean, overall, he was not my jam, but that dude could play a fuckin’ guitar. He could frame a song.

Fuck.

Sitting in my bedroom, plucking on my bass, listening to that music, dreams of being a juke box hero in my head.

So, I started a band.

And I had bad acne. Bet you know that. Everyone fuckin’ talks about that thanks to Nick. So, I couldn’t get a girlfriend or get laid if I made a deal with the devil to do it.

Nope, [shakes head] wrong about that.

Guess I made a deal with the devil in the end.

A devil named Preacher.

[Laughs]

Yeah.

Anyway, seein’ as I couldn’t do what every other sixteen-year-old boy wants to do, find some girl and fuck her, or at least hold her hand, I started a band.

But it was about the music for me too.

Yeah.

Totally.

All I wanted to do was rehearse and find gigs.