Date: August 13, 1995
This was The Gravity's very first gig, taking place less than a month after their creation. They were a last-minute replacement for the original headlining band, and they considered the whole thing a big joke. They practiced one time, a few days before the performance, and that was it. It turned out to be enough, because the band put on a pretty good show, for those few people that actually paid attention to the music acts.
Date: December 28, 1995
After five months of inactivity due to college, the guys finally reunited and prepared themselves to headline the much-hyped "party event of the season." And, to make a long story short, they brought the house down, with a bunch of new songs, and old favorites. They established themselves as a real band, and developed a following.
There was also a very special treat, when The Gravity, Truck People, and Honey all gathered together onstage to perform the Hands Across Ben's Grandfather's Basement Anthem, "Friends of P" by the Rentals.
Date: December 31, 1995
At the big rehearsal for Hands Across Ben's Grandfather's Basement, Jessica Stillman (one half of the band Honey) asked the guys if The Gravity would perform at her party on New Years Eve. They instantly agreed, even though her parties (the "Sassfest" series) were notorious for heavy, hard, punk bands, and The Gravity certainly did not fit any of those descriptions. Regardless, they drew quite a crowd, and rocked the house again. It was cool.
Date: January 3, 1996
This was another split-second performance. Nisha Shah, the host of "Morons of Rock," was having a group of people over her house, and out of nowhere, she asked if The Gravity would come entertain, since they were all invited, anyway. So they agreed, and decided to perform unplugged. And once again, they delighted their fans.
Date: January 4, 1996
The very next day, The Gravity decided to make a surprise appearance at their dear high school. Jay got permission from Mr. Tweed, the band director, and he let them use the Band Room after school. They attracted a decent crowd, including some people who hadn't seen them before. And they brought the house down yet again.
Date: June 1, 1996
This was The Gravity's first gig of the summer of '96, as they reunited after a few months of separation due to school. They rocked this highly-anticipated performance, as they brought back old favorites, debuted some of their vast supply of new stuff, and won over the crowd once again.
Their timing for the whole set was perfect, because as soon as they finished their encore, the cops showed up and told them to stop because neighbors complained about the noise. Stupid neighbors.
Date: June 23, 1996
This was supposed to be one of their best gigs of the summer, but alas, the local authorities butted in once again, and shut them down after a mere 2 and a half songs. Not to be outdone, they ditched the microphones, turned the instruments way down, and entertained the crowd nonetheless. It was still cool.
Date: June 28, 1996
This performance is now known as the one that woke the members of The Gravity up. For a while, there was huge dissention within the group, and things were looking bleak. But this gig shook things up a little bit, and suddenly, The Gravity was fun again. Perhaps it was because they reverted back to their original method of splitting the performance up into two sets. Or perhaps it was the little kids that were scampering around the dance floor. Whatever the case, it worked, and the performance wound up being one of the best yet, and it was the origin of the immensely-popular "storytime" version of "C.J.'s Orgasmic Fantasy."
Date: June 29, 1996
This party marked the first time that The Gravity was not the headlining band. They played second fiddle to The Rabbits, another up-and-coming band in town. Even so, The Gravity wound up being the big hit of the day, despite the fact that much of the people in the audience were punk-asses, and there was a whole lot of heckling going on. It was still a great performance, all in all.
Date: December 28, 1996
The summer of '96, despite the fact that it featured The Gravity's first professional demo and their first real gigs, turned out to be something of a disappointment as far as the whole aspect of "Fun" was concerned. Therefore, they were determined to bring fun back into the lives of themselves and everyone else over winter break, and clearly, there could be no better place for that than the place that jump-started the band's popularity: Ben's grandfather's basement. For the second consecutive December 28th, 60+ people crammed into the basement, and for the second consecutive December 28th, The Gravity rocked the house. In fact, this performance stands as one of their best yet, if not THE best. This was their first performance with Jim Lister on guitar, and they brought back a bunch of old favorites, some that hadn't been heard since the LAST HABGB, as well as a slew of new songs. When all things were said and done, it was clear that The Gravity, along with the night's other musical acts, not to mention the awesome crowd, brought back the precious Fun.
Date: January 9, 1997
For the second straight winter, The Gravity was invited to the home of their friend Nisha Shah, and they played an acoustic set. This time, it was rather interesting. There were only a couple of people watching, and the band was in a wacky mood, so they wound up putting on a very unorthodox performance that included the now-infamous "The Gravity Medley," which was highlighted by the rap rendition of "Back Again." Go figure.
Date: December 28, 1997
The Summer of '97 was something of a disappointment for The Gravity. They had only one real gig, at Club Bene in July, at that was it. It was sad, too, because they knew that the summer was their last chance to play together on a regular basis before Jay moved to Texas to live. He did, and the rest of the guys went back to their respective schools, uncertain as to whether or not they'd ever perform again. Ben still wanted to keep alive the Hands Across tradition, though, and he organized the party with hopes that Jay would return to South Plainfield so The Gravity could be whole one more time. At first, it didn't look like he'd be able to, and Ben, Murphy, and Poot prepared to perform sans Jay so they'd be able to at least do something. In the end, though, Jay did indeed come home, and The Gravity reunited at Hands Across III, the biggest and best of the series to date, and they rocked out. In their element, they brought the house down for the third consecutive December 28th. More people attended this one than either of the others, including many who had never seen The Gravity perform before, and there was more music, more bands, and more fun to be had. Sure, the cat allergies still hit home (hence the subtitle), but the allergy medicine was on hand, and everyone had a good time.
Date: January 10, 1998
For the third straight year, The Gravity gathered in the basement of their friend, Nisha Shah, to perform unplugged at her companion piece to Hands Across Ben's Grandfather's Basement. This time, however, Jay was not with them, as he had already gone back to Texas after playing at HABGBIII. So, it was up to Ben, Murphy, and Poot - using the code name "Rico's Roughnecks" - to entertain the small crowd. And they did just that, in their usual unorthodox Unplugged at Nisha's House way. Murphy played the accordian as well as guitar, Poot played keys and drums, Ben sang and tried to play guitar, and chaos ensued until the music stopped and Star Wars Monopoly and Trivial Pursuit took over.
Date: January 2, 1999
[words to come]
