Chapter 1: What happened?
Brain Damage, Boom Boom and Mad Dog, 1975
The Origins of the Ointment Project
Ah, if I had a nickel for every time I heard some one say, “What is the Ointment Project?” but lost a nickel for every time I tried to answer with any modicum of accuracy, well, you get the point. Like most things emanating from the so-called Ointment Project, their genesis began with a discharge. In 1974, Howard Govette was discharged from the U.S. Army honorably, following a 17-month stint as a payroll processer in Kaiserslautern, Germany. When he returned to Ontario, he and I began playing music together. In June of that year, Howard called Allan to jam. The three of us jammed, not so sure-footed, but it was great fun. We practiced a second day. We were 3% better than the previous day. Then Allan suggested we play at his birthday party on June 15th. I panicked. We need more practice! When is June 15th? “Tomorrow!” Serendipitously, Howard’s birthday was also June 15th. So began a tradition of the Ointment Project playing every year on June 15th for many long years.
But this was the first time. We were practicing in the garage of Allan’s parents on I Street in Ontario, Ca. This is where the party would take place. I had been working on names for the band, obviously putting the cart before a clumsy horse. Nevertheless, I had a page of suggested names, all weird. We settled on a name which we use to this day: The Ointment Project. Howard was driven to solidify the name, so he made a drum sign for Allan’s bass drum. Hm. Howard used Orange & Purple. OP Ointment Project. Thus began the Orange & Purple Revolution!
After those two rehearsals, we also found time to design three O.P. T-shirts, each a different style, done by hand with fabric paint. Though they are long gone, the shirts are on display in the classic O.P. picture shown above.
The band played for a small group who were lucky enough to see the band’s first performance. We muddled through some songs, but it was an awesome party!
ointmentproject.com 