MORGAN = a four-piece rock band from Bakersfield, California... pretty much any kind of rock with some covers, but mostly original stuff.
It pretty much started out with two brothers. Cecil on guitar, and Skip on drums. Neither of them knew how to play very well - they were 14 and 15 years old. About a year after they started, they met David (see pic ->) and started jamming together, slowly becoming more familiar with their instruments. Like any other group of kids playing in the garage, they loved metal and punk, and started out playing riffs from Metallica and other bands.

Cecil began writing and singing songs for the band, and different possibilities for a band name were discussed, but there was no bass player anyway so the guys remained difinitively a garage band. For the next two years, the band tried different styles of music and auditioned a few different bass players, but they eventually incorporated Brian (<- far left), another guitar player and old musical acquaintence, into the band in June, 2002. Cecil moved to bass and Brian became the lead singer. Their preferred style of music changed to a more mellow breed of hard rock, and they got their first gig in August, 2002, shortly before they all started back to school at Bakersfield College. After that, a friend of Brian's, Marcus (next to Brian) joined the band as the new bass player, allowing Cecil to move back to guitar.

With the graduation of their band out of the garage, the issue of coming up with an actual name became pressing. They wanted something original, easy to remember, but not stupid (i.e. The Flaming Lips). Also, names that made political or social statements were out of the question, as musicians tend to try to be way too political anyway. Cecil had come up with MORGAN as a possible band name during the years when they had been experimenting with metal. It was morbid enough to be a solid metal name and met all the other criteria just mentioned. But the band was no longer a metal band, so why keep it? Well, because no other ideas came up and they needed a band name. So, MORGAN stuck. When people ask, "Which one of you is Morgan?" they were forced to explain that it was just the band name - like Lynyrd Skynyrd, or Jethro Tull, or Pink Floyd. Anyway, it's a kind of long and boring sinopsis, but there it is.

It was cool having three guitar players - Cecil, Brian, and David - but not neccessary... In December, David bade the band farewell. He was in two bands, was working, and was going to school all at the same time. He's still around though, and occasionally jams with Cecil. (He also sat in on MORGAN's first album later the next year, doing a guest solo on When the Gods Rebel.)

In February 2003, MORGAN scheduled their first public show at Jerry's Pizza. They continued to write songs and play different venues in the Bakersfield area (including Jerry's Pizza, The Gate, Vinny's Bar, Down Town Records, and Studio 45) with respectable underground bands such as 3 Cent Nickel, Drug of Choice, and Vanity Avenue. Then, in early August 2003, MORGAN recorded their first and only album, a 12-song project. The sound was definitely an indie-rock sound with influences from different genres and eras of rock. Brian sang 7 of the songs while Cecil's voice contributed yet more diversity to the album on the other 5. Fans can look forward to 12 tracks of solid, melodic rock, without the torment of angst, juvenile screaming and chaotic drum riffs so popular in today's underground scene.

But all good things do come to end. In May 2004, Marcus played his last gig with MORGAN, having dealt with many of the same problems David had been facing when he left. Then, shortly after, Brian also left. Skip and Cecil were forced to let the band die, as MORGAN just wouldn't be the same without the original members. Soon after the breakup, Marcus began touring with another band. Skip and Cecil focused on their undergraduate work, and last we heard, Brian got engaged. You can still sign the guestbook and tell us what you think of the album, the band, your favorite/least favorite live show, or whatever. Thanks for all the support - it was fun while it lasted!

-Skip

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