GAUNTLET

The "College Years"! (Oct '81-Oct '83)
DeVry Institute of Technology, Phoenix, AZ

The original line-up of Gauntlet. From Left to R.

DK Nihoa-Guitar - Dave Randi-Bass - Paul Zink-Guitar
Rick Finnegin - Brian Dakin-Drums

Rick was fired...well, actually he asked us to fire him, which we were happy to do. He drank a whole fifth of Jack Daniels right before our first gig and he came out looking like a very wasted Dave Lee Roth...so Paul gave him the nickname "Rick Lee Froth"
 

GAUNTLET - 2

Kent "TJ" Zernicke joined the band after Rick went his separate way. Paul and I has been in a band with TJ before. It wasn't long before we were out jammin'.

Here we are playing at somebody's backyard keggar party. Ahh...I barely remember it...good party!

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Here is our band playing for the 5TE graduation party when I graduated from the DeVry Institute of Technology in Phoenix, Arizona. In the photo are Paul Zink with the Gibson SG, Kent "TJ" Zernicke screaming, Brian Dakin on drums and Dave Randi on bass.

 

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There's me up on the furniture! Did I mention that this party was in our house and it was a 14 keg party! We just through all our furniture out by  the pool so we would have room to jam.

 

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And yet another picture of me...check out the silver spandex! Woo-hoo!

 

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Oh gawd...lookee hea! Getting rid of the pre-show jitters with a few brews...and no wonder I'm nervous. Look at the crap I'm wearing! Jeezuz!

 

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A picture of me and Dave Randi onstage at our first "real" gig in a bar in Phoenix called "Budyz". Dave's dad (a great jazz musician, Don Randi of Beach Boys fame) even flew in from L.A. to watch us and he even bought a round of drinks all around to make us look good to the management. It didn't help...the bar manager ripped us off the next time we played. So goes the life of the struggling musician!!!


A picture of Brian Dakin pounding on the drums!

UPDATE! 3/16/2007
 

Well, here it is nearly 25 years later and I've finally "found" every one of my fellow band mates and I must say it really is surprising where we all ended up!

DK Nihoa - I am the MIS Coordinator for the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe.

Paul Zink - Does computer shit for the FICA people. Blame him if your taxes are wrong!

Dave Randi - Toured with ex Megadeth guitarist Chris Poland before ending up as an exec for the Playboy channel.

Brian Dakin - Does top secret tech work for the LA SWAT teams.

Kent "TJ" Zernicke - Of all people...turned into a "lean-mean-fighting-machine" for Uncle Sam! National Security forbids me from revealing more!!!

 
Here are some MP3 files of the five of us (Thanks Brian). Some of it sucks but to me it's nostalgia factor overides all the "suckiness"!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UPDATE