Wiardgroup

My friend of mine, Eric Alexander, whom I was in a punk trio called "fastanimalsskinnylegs" has passed away.

We were quite the trend at the time, he played a guitar with one string, I played a "prepared" drum set where we had glued all kinds of toy xylophones and what have you all over the place making it like a prepared piano for drums. We were fronted by a delightful Korean woman who was a beaknik poet and dressed the part to a "T". Glenn O'Brien would have loved it.

Eric was the whitest boy you have ever seen but he worked hard and belonged to American Indian Drums. I played synthesizer at several Pow-wows for Oenida and Hochunk tribes with him.

His Indian name was "Nai'ish'ma" which means "Rain upon the Reeds".

I am sure "Rain up the Reeds" was welcomed by the Great Spirit.

http://obits.mlive.com/obituaries/grandrapids/obituary.aspx?n=erik-alexander&pid=142594955