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Nasty Nates Paper

          In the next few minutes you will read about an extraordinarily talented band of gifted youngsters who go by the name Mysophilia. You will read about the members of the band and what makes them so great. I am quite positive that by the time you are finished reading, you will have joined the ranks of Mysophilia fans all over Richmond. First, a little back ground. The band originally started when "Nasty" Nate Sharp, Branden Cluka, and William "Billy" Paul Wade got together to jam. The three young men soon realized that the group had potential. Nate was soon replaced by the drum master by the name of Mike Arjona. After Mike joined the band, the bassist, Kevin Penny, was recruited. That was when the name Mysophilia was given to the group. The name was thought up by Billy and Branden. Mysophilia means to become aroused by soiled clothing or from the smell of extensive decay. As was stated earlier, the members of the band are Branden Cluka, Billy Wade, Kevin Penny, and Mike Arjona. Some consider Nate Sharp and Danny Lovelace members of the band as well, although they are just roadies and huge fans. Branden Cluka plays the guitar and does the lead vocals. Billy Wade is the lead guitarist of the group. Kevin Penny is the slap-happy bassist. And last, but most certainly not least, Mike Arjona is the drummer.

          Now that you have the background of Mysophilia, the reasons of why they are one of the best bands ever to come from Richmond will be stated. First of all, the band is ungenrenated. That means that they don't have one particular style of music to which they constantly conform. This tends to give the band's sound a nice variety and texture. Most people these days think that this is not a good thing; however, some of the most successful music groups have strayed from their labeled genres and have been highly idolized because of it. For instance, the Beatle's most selling album had not only Rock & Roll, but a variety of musical styles including Indian, Beatnik, and a little bit of Pop.

          The second thing that makes Mysophilia such a great band is their ability to work together to make stunningly complex and rhythmic sounds. The songs produced by Mysophilia are liked by almost everyone that hears them. An experiment was performed by "Nasty" Nate Sharp from October 21-October 23, 2001. In that time period Mr. Sharp went to Carrytown Richmond and exposed 78 people of different ages, sexes, races, and tastes to Mysophilia's demo CD. The results were staggering. 76 of the 78 subjects rated the music either an 8, 9, or 10 on a 1-10 scale (1 being very poor; 10 being excellent) and the other two subjects rated it a 7. All subjects said that they would be willing to pay at least $13 for the CD, even though it doesn't have any lyrics.

          Another factor of Mysophilia's greatness is their equipment. Mysophilia uses top-of-the-line, state-of-the-art equipment which adds to the effectiveness of their live performances. Branden uses a Yamaha Pacifica electric guitar, a DOD Tec 4X pedal, a DOD Grunge Pedal, 2 Peavey 15" Cabinets, a 2001 Crate Blue Voodoo Series Stack, AKG Microphones and DiMarzio Guitar Chords. Billy plays a Fender Stratocaster, uses a DOD Tec 8 Pedal, a Roland BC-30 Blues Cube, and Horizon Guitar Cables. Kevin slaps a 2000 Fender Deluxe Series Jazz Bass, uses a 2004 SWR Working Man's Series, an Ampeg Classic Series 20" Cabinet, and Fender California Guitar Cables. Mike has a 10 piece Pearl Export Series Drum kit, a 5 piece Pearl Forum Series Drum kit, Zildjian ZBT Plus Cymbals, Remo 3 piece Roto Toms, Pro-Mark 2B Sticks, Vic Firth 2B Sticks, Zildjian Brushes, and Evans Genera G2 Drum Heads.

            Another factor is Branden's poetic lyrics. Branden writes the most exquisite poetry and he is excellent when it comes to fitting his poems to music. He is not quite aware of this though and still needs much encouragement.

          Mysophilia has an awe inspiring stage presence. No one quite knows what it is about them, but they are just amazing to watch. Is it their good looks? Their smooth attitude? Their sly manner of speaking? No on quite knows. One anonymous fan remarked "Watching them play is like getting hit in the face with a brick, I mean, it just wakes you up and makes you see what is real." Another fan was so excited after Mysophilia's show at Chopstix that he couldn't stop shouting "MYSOPHILIAAAAAA!" for about an hour. Above all of the other factors of Mysophilia's greatness stands one thing: their attitude. The attitude of the members of Mysophilia is so slack and laid back that they make you feel right at home, even at a show in a room full of strangers. Basically, they just don't give a crap about anything but their music, their friends and family, their fans, and their health. This is probably the best attitude music group could have. All members of the band are great people with outstanding records in the community.

          So that is Mysophilia. That is one of Richmond's greatest acheivements in it's long line of great achievements. Not only is Mysophilia a great band, but they are also a symbol to the greatness of the City of Richmond.