Graduate school.
I guess if I’m talking about Breakin’ Hundred I should start with date they
were formed or the date they broke up but I honestly don’t remember. What I do remember is that they formed at
some point toward my last years as an undergraduate and split-up at the end of
my graduate school career. I asked the 4
former band members for specifics and got 5 different answers. (Philly answered twice; once under the name
Philly, once under the name Michael). So, when I hear Breakin’ Hundred, I think back to graduate school.
 |
| Dear college, I never truly appreciated how fun you were. |
I discovered the
band through Krista Ryan. She introduced
me to her then boyfriend Judd Jaworowski who was the bassist. He gave me their CD A Jar of Change for free and
told me to check out one of their shows.
Krista then proceeded to remind me of every single upcoming
performance.
Not too long
after I got the CD, a friend and I were sitting in his car listening to the
album, breaking down each song one by one.
We analyzed the CD, not as an amateur album made by a garage band, but a
professionally produced piece of pop-art.
We discussed everything from chord progression, to lyrics, to overall
sound mixing. We talked about what
worked, what didn’t, and how they could improve. We didn’t do this to be dicks, we believed
they had genuine potential to get signed to a record label and just needed to
smooth out some rough edges.
While Breakin’Hundred was trying to hit it big, I was trying to get my masters in Speech
Communication, Performance, & Rhetorical Studies. Yes, the degree is as boring as the course
work. A fulltime graduate student takes
3 classes (9 credits). Each class assignment typically involved
reading 50-100 page essays written by old dead dudes blabbing about the
fundamentals of communication, speech, pop-culture, performance and
oration. We then needed the ability
to give a thorough analysis of the material by the following week. To put this in
context, here is a quote from Matthew Arnold’s Culture and Anarchy.
- “The disparagers of culture make its motive curiosity; sometimes, indeed, they make its motive mere exclusiveness and vanity. The culture which is supposed to plume itself on a smattering of Greek and Latin is a culture which is begotten by nothing so intellectual as curiosity; it is valued either out of sheer vanity and ignorance, or else as an engine of social and class distinction, separating its holder, like a badge or title, from other people who have not got it” (Matthew Arnold, Culture and Anarchy).
That’s just the
first 2 sentences of a 49-page book that needed to be read in one week. It was also typical of the type of readings
we were assigned. If I ever get ahold of
a flux capacitor the concept of Sweetness and Light is going to mean time
traveling psycho killer. Each class left
me feeling like Lane Myer from Better Off Dead.
During finals it was regularly expected that we write 20 page term
papers all due the same week. That’s 60-80
pages of writing that analyzed dudes like Matthew Arnold, Jacques Derrida, and
Plato (yes, Plato, congratulations you’ve heard of one of the old dead dudes I
studied).
This sums up my life rather perfectly.
But once a month
I’d hit up a Long Island bar and check out this band called Breakin’
Hundred. For about an hour out of my
life I could forget about all those damn philosophers and books I wasn’t
reading. I could ignore the papers I wasn’t
completing and just listen to some indie pop rock. So when I think about Breakin’ Hundred I
think about a time in my life where I needed the biggest distraction possible
and they were happy to help.
The band went
their separate ways right around the time when my academic career
concluded. I always wished that I could
have seen at least one show without Michel Foucault ringing in my subconscious
but it wasn’t meant to be. It was a
loss, not only from the music but also the collapse of the community that had
formed around Breakin’ Hundred over the years.
One of my first
graduate papers discussed the community that formed through music and Breakin’
Hundred was a band that proved my theory’s authenticity. I even cited their website’s message boards
in the paper. What was also unfortunate
was they never advertised their last show.
They went from playing gigs twice a month to just being gone. Friends I saw rather frequently were gone
overnight. Sure, I could attempt to
hangout with them apart from a show but that’s just too much work.
So on January
16, 2015 Breakin’ Hundred reunited to say goodbye to Eric “Little Philly” Lao (the
guitarist Philly’s brother) and their old drummer Mark Corso. Little Philly is moving away to some foreign country
somewhere (Cuba maybe?) and Mark is retiring down south to Shady Pines. It was bittersweet because it wasn’t only a Breakin’
Hundred reunion, it was also a community reunion. I saw people I never thought I’d ever see
again in my lifetime or the next. It
seemed like they hadn’t changed much or maybe they were caught up in the
nostalgia.
It was the best
Breakin’ Hundred show I ever saw. Eric
Maestre’s vocals were sharp, Judd looked relaxed and happy, Philly lifted his
head up and talked to the crowd, and Mark made a joke. It was like all those rough edges were
smoothed out, the band had personality, style, and solid music. I spent my time taping the show for the
community members that couldn’t make it and for a moment forgot all about my
mortgage, career, and overall adult responsibilities. So if you’re a fan, when you watch this video
try to think about where you were in your life when they were going strong, then focus on the positive
vibes they hopefully gave you. If you
never heard them before, enjoy the distraction.
Written by
Joseph Ammendolea
Owner/President
“I Like To Play With Toys” Productions®
Life After Breakin’ Hundred
Judd Jaworowski – Defeated the Evil Clan. His land was revived in peace and people will
talk of his deeds as legend in years to come
Michael “Philly” Lao – In addition to finding the legendary 5
treasures, stunned the world with his discovery of 2 lost treasures. He became a master treasure hunter.
Mark Corso – Destroyed the vile Red Falcon and saved
the universe. He considers himself a
hero.
Eric Maestre – Completed his quest and was presented
with a new quest by pressing Button B.
