It all began in 1997, ninth grade. Erik Johnson got his first guitar, a black Squire electric. This then inspired Brian McCarty, who got his first guitar on Christmas of the same year. At this point, Craig Woelber decided that he wanted to buy a guitar as well. With some coaxing from Brian, he was convinced to acquire his first bass, so that they could start their own band. Unfortunately, they still had no drummer. And so....the search began. First came J.D. Williams. J.D. was a good friend. Unfortunately, he lacked... a drum set. The band quickly progressed beyond J.D.'s capabilities.
Then came the next two possibilities: Kristine Lindell and Megan Bisbee. Neither drummer was to meet the style of the rest of the band, and the search moved on. Then, two years later, the band heard of an amazing drummer that was to move up to the high school that fall. JEFF SALE, our amazing new drum god. And so, two years later, we had our first gig. Thus was born.....
TOOLS OF THE TRADE
Lead Singer/Rhythm Guitarist: Brian McCarty
Lead Guitarist: Erik Johnson
Epitome of Bass: Craig Woelber
Drummer: Jeff Sale
Unfortunately, Erik left the band late in the year to pursue other options. Thus, we began the search for a new lead guitarist. The only two options we found were Brian Perry and Chris Tripolino. Chris won by default because Brian had prior engagements. Just as we were about to begin playing with Chris, Erik requested to rejoin the band. Since Erik was awesome, we decided to let him back in. We continued to play. At a gig in August 2000, we were playing one of our more common songs, a cover of Metallica's "Orion." "Orion" is an instrumental piece that we played frequently. It highlighted the abilities of the group's instrumentalists. It also eliminated Brian's shortcomings as a lead singer. On this particular performance, Chris Tripolino joined us onstage. He improvised some lyrics to the instrumental piece. The crowd went crazy, and we decided that Chris was to be the fifth member of our band.... as the new lead singer, rather than the lead guitarist. Brian was now able to focus solely on guitar. The band continued to grow in popularity as they played more and more gigs throughout the school year. Then, the tragic day hit. WE GRADUATED. Our last gig (or so we thought) was that night.
Craig and Brian had chosen to attend the University of Northern Iowa. They had decided to form a new band there. Upon much deliberation, they realized that Chris, who was attending Wartburg College 15 minutes away, was STILL by far the best choice for a front man. Jeff, still in high school, was by far the best choice for a drummer as well. And so, Tools of the Trade continued -- without Iowa State student Erik Johnson. Brian took over the role of lead guitarist, and the band continued.
Thus is the current situation of Tools of the Trade.
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