Van Buren Wheels, The
C'mon & Be Mine
Started as a three-piece called The Gnomes, who covered Back From The Grave tunes ("Thats The Bag Im In," "Cry, Cry, Cry," "Born Loser" and a few others), and wrote a couple of originals. Jaime switched from guitar / vocals to Vox Continental and backing vocals. Vince joined on lead vocals. Steve joined on guitar. Went through a series of bass players before ending up with Brew. Four out of five of the Wheels were cab drivers (hence the name). Van Buren Street for years was known as Phoenixs center for drugs, prostitution, cheap motels and illegal street activity in general. Four out of five of the Wheels were heroin addicts at various time. Heroin broke up the band. Vince died in 2009, apparently after tripping over a shoe or something and hitting his head. Jaime, Steve, Chrissy and Danny live in Phoenix. They still play music. Brew lives in WA. Scott is a fireman or something. The band played 60s punk, blue-eyed soul, British r&b, Dutchbeat and Northwest frat covers live, in addition to their originals. They were high-energy and played most frequently at Tempe AZs legendary Long Wong club. There were no other bands playing this kind of music in the Phoenix area at the time, but several popped up during and after the Wheels.