John and Dan had been playing music with Dan's neighbor in John's basement since they were in seventh grade, but it wasn't until they met a 'public school kid' with a love for rock in the high school band that their band began to take shape. Dan's neighbor became too busy to show up to band practice, so Gabe(the kid from band class) began practicing with them at the end of their freshman year of high school(2001).

When Gabe joined, he was not yet the guitar virtuoso he is today. According to him, "When I first went over to John's house to practice, I couldn't play guitar at all. Dan and John had both been playing for longer than me, and they were way better." Despite their inability to finish songs, the three continued practicing and soon they had learned to play a few Nirvana and MxPx cover songs.

The group's big break, and official naming, came when John's dad allowed the three to play some songs with him at the local fireman's dance and at a cancer benefit later that year. The band decided to call themselves Noonday Crawl as a tribute to Mr. Davis and his band, Midnight Drive. Noonday Crawl played Chuck Berry, Johnny Rivers, Pearl Jam, and Rolling Stones covers with John's dad playing lead guitar and doing most of the singing. After their sets with Mr. Davis, the group played MxPx's 'Chick Magnet' and 'G.S.F.'

Although by themselves their sound was not yet great, the group persisted; they practiced almost every day after school. By the time their sophomore year ended, Noonday Crawl was able to play several Weezer and Pearl Jam covers rather well, but they only had one original song('I Never Thought' written by Dan).

Noonday Crawl's first solo gig was at a music festival appropriately called Mascoutah Fest. Two audio tape recordings exist of the performance; it was good, but it wasn't nearly as good as their gigs would be later that summer. During the latter part of the month of June, Noonday Crawl underwent a transformation; suddenly, Gabe could play guitar very well, Dan began improving other band's bass lines, and John was both singing and playing drums better than anyone around.

In July, Justin Portz joined the band, and they played several gigs with him on rhythm guitar and backup vocals until they recorded a CD, that featured 7 original songs, with John's Dad producing and writing one of the songs, not to mention improving others. Apropriatley titled 'We Beg to Differ,' the CD sold very well in Mascoutah High School, and propelled the band to an almost heroic status.

Justin left the band in early December, and since then Noonday Crawl has continued to play gigs, and as of June 2002, they finished a 15 song recording entitled, "Old Man's Basement." As the band continues to play, they plan to hold their title as Mascoutah's premier garage/alternative/rock'n'roll band. They ended their Junior year as the greatest musicians in the school, and they shall spend their senior year defending and cementing that title, as well as attain even higher success.

Untill this site begins to transform and take shape please visit our old webpage. Noon Day Crawl

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