Jim
Basnight ~ Guitar, Vocals
Paul
Hood ~ Bass, Vocals
Pam
Lillig ~ Guitar
Lee
Lumsden ~ Drums
Jennie
Skirvin ~ Vocals
Meyce
Live (Fall of 76) - Paul Hood, Jim Basnight
Live
at the Neptune Theatre, Seattle Washington
Photo
Courtesy of Paul Hood
Meyce’s first appearance was at Seattle's famous, self promoted TMT show on May 1, 1976. The TMT show, whose acronym "TMT" was derived from the names of the punk bands on the bill—the Telepaths, Meyce, and the Tupperwares—was held at the International Hall of Odd Fellows on Capitol Hill and was the first true punk show held in Seattle. At that point, the punk scene was microscopic, and the crowd at the show was mainly comprised of members of the few other punk bands at the time.Bass guitarist Paul Hood and guitarist Jim Basnight first performed in a brief, high school experience as the glam-rock, cover band LuvaBoys. After LuvaBoys broke up, they connected with drummer Lee Lumsden and vocalist Jennie Skirvin, and formed Meyce. Meyce had more of a pop sound than the other emerging punk bands. Neil Hubbard, who used to write for the zine Chatterbox, described their music as “soft vocals, melodic bass lines, quirky drumming and an intelligent sensibility.” Even though they gave a pop impression, Meyce managed to get a coveted position as the Ramones’ opening band when they played the Olympic Hotel in 1977.
Meyce broke up shortly after the Olympic Hotel performance, and Hood went on to play bass in another Seattle punk band, The Enemy. He later moved down to San Francisco to play guitar with the Toiling Midgets, who played with PIL, Dead Kennedys, Cramps, Nico, among others.
Basnight, later reached local renown with his band the Moberlys, which released a self-titled LP that made Trouser Press’s “Underground Top 10” list in 1980. Later he formed a couple of other bands, Sway and the Rockinghams. He has also performed with the Smithereens, R.E.M., Billy Idol, and the Violent Femmes.
Paul Hood, September 2002
