Thirty years later for the old rock band, no longer together, some of the details are sketchy. Like did it happen in New Hampshire or Vermont? Other details are as specific as the smell of gasoline on a freezing cold night when you just might die.
In fairness to the conflicting memories of the three Incredible Casuals and their two crew members who were there on that frigid northern night some three decades ago and recalled this story for us, they were all breathing gasoline fumes for several hours at the time of “the incident,” as their roadie, Lou McMurrer called it.
PHOTO COURTESY OF CHANDLER TRAVIS. FROM TRAVIS: “From Johnny’s adaptation of “Julius Caesar”, which we did at the Barley Neck Inn, probably ’84 or ’85 (guessing-)”
“It would have also made a good story if we all died,” said Johnny Spampinato, who was the guitarist for the Incredible Casuals. “Chandler (Travis) would have loved it. For us all to blow up, not in a plane crash or in a car crash, but in this big van. It would have been such a thing for us to do.”
“It would have also made a good story if we all died. Chandler would have loved it.” – Johnny Spampinato, guitarist for the Incredible Casuals.
Instead, this is a different kind of a story – a heartwarming rock and roll tale of forgiveness and redemption. It is a story of the craziness of life on the road, and from a very cold moment in time when five young men with rock and roll and more flowing through their brains literally risked their lives to return to Cape Cod.
We first heard about the misguided gasoline story months ago, while profiling Chris Blood, who was the sound guy for the band. We have now tracked down all five witnesses to this story that has seemed to progress from band lore into folklore for the Incredible Casuals, who were once the most popular original rock band on Cape Cod.
Purchase Required
To read the rest of this one Longform story, please purchase access. The price for this one story is $3.00. To access all of our Longform stories, choose a $5.00 monthly membership or a $50.00 yearly membership.
