The seeds of the Poverty Nook were first planted in late June, 1999 when, guitarist Raphael Romero, and drummer Eli Ross were sitting and talking about bands they liked. Eli mentioned that he played drums, and Raphael replied by saying he played guitar. They made plans to jam someday.

FAST FORWARD SIX MONTHS

Eli and Raffi didn’t get around to jamming for a while after that conversation. Then one eventful Saturday morning, Raffi showed up at Eli’s door, and they began jamming on “Purple Haze”, and “Smells Like Teen Spirit”.

About a month later, newly arrived guitarist Tyler Stipe began playing with Eli and Raffi. Thus, “The Loozers” are formed. In June of that year, the band played at the middle school’s end of year dance. Later, bassist Ethan Gibson is added to the lineup, and “The Poverty Nook” is conceived.

After six months, and two gigs, Stipe was ejected from the band, and Ethan quit. They had formed a side project with drummer Austin Thomason. This group became known as “The Flarebacks”. They later brought in Jon LaLonde on guitar, also Alex Miller on vocals. Thus, rival band “Pool Shark” was born.

Looking to fill the bass guitar spot, the band began jamming with Robbie Havey, and Miles Hardcastle. The trio writes their “signature riff”, later to become “Natural Born Killers”. Miles is then ejected from the band in favor of Havey, and the Nook goes on to play at the school’s talent show along with role model band “Last in Line”, and rivals “The Flairbacks”.

After playing the largely successful talent show, The Nook joined forces with Last in Line to play at Tecumseh’s grange hall (Ross had tried to make it to see this show, but he got sidetracked, and never made it).

After their show with Last in Line, Robbie’s schedule began to fill, and he seemed to have less interest in the band. At the time, he was working with Ross’ ska band, “Ska-Corps”. Robbie was replaced with Miles Hardcastle, and the instrumental Nook was complete. They then upgraded their sound to bigger, louder amps. Whoo!

Several riffs and bits of music were written, and the Nook needed a voice. The talents of singer/actor Noah Bush of Adrian were called upon. Miles had known Noah, being somewhat of a theatre person himself. Noah had a great voice, but his musical tastes, and vocal styles collided too much with the Nook’s sound.

It soon became clear that Noah had to be replaced, and quickly, as the band was scheduled to record their demo in a week! The band still had no complete material, and was in a tight spot. At this time, “Last in Line” had broken up, and “The Flairbacks” had “evolved” into to “Pool Shark”. Ross was also out of a band, and was holding small jam sessions with friends, trying to form a band of his own.

Fast forward to a dark and stormy night in October. The band was looking for a singer, and had just the man to do the job in mind. “We knew that Ross had the correct musical taste for us, so the choosing of cover songs would be no problem. We also knew that he was an accomplished saxophonist, drummer, and guitarist. We figured that if he could do all that, he could sing too.” –Eli

A few days after talking with Ross, he showed up at a Nook practice to listen to their instrumentals they had been working on with Noah. Ross was extremely impressed, and came back a few days later to work on lyrics. This session turned out “Horizon”, the band’s very first complete original.

Once one song was written, it didn’t seem logical to stop there! Over the next three days, “This is Your Life” was completed, and on the morning of the recording, “Natural Born Killers” was completed. That afternoon, the songs were recorded, and everyone went home happy with the recording. The Nook was also ready to be featured on Omega 13’s latest compilation, featuring "This Is Your Life”.

The band’s demo was featured on the school’s video news, and began a small following. A few weeks, and one new song later, the Nook was ready to come out of it’s shell. The Nook blasted out onto the rock scene at the 2001 school’s talent show, playing “Natural Born Killers”, and Jackyl’s “Locked and Loaded”.

At this time, “Pool Shark” changed their names several times, and finally disbanded completely. Last in Line was also attempting to resurrect itself, playing alongside the Nook, and Nathanael’s ‘Gringo Stars’, with a new bassist. It flopped, and Last in Line became defunct once again.

The break off school following the talent show was a most productive time for the Nook. In four days, three new songs were written, and a cover or two learned. The band began to define their style, and continued to practice their old originals with this new energy. Miles received a new bass for Christmas, and Ross was feeling a bit inspired for some different lyrics. Piecing together ideas from Raffi, the band began to work again. This inspiration sparked the band’s first ballad, “Paradise”.

Still working hard, the band is anxiously awaiting their new PA system, and is continuing to write. They are planning on hitting the studio soon, and are preparing for their first real gig as a complete band. It’s rumored that Last in Line is back together again…