How to go
Who: Luxury Pushers
Where: Blind Bob’s, 430 E. Fifth St., Dayton
When: 9 p.m. Saturday
Cost: $5
More info: 937-938-6405 or www.blindbobs.com
It’s been 30 years since Jamy Holliday and Eric Purtle first bonded over punk rock.
Three decades later, with two mutual bands, hundreds of shows and plenty of major disagreements behind them, the longtime friends sat down at Lucky’s Taproom to discuss their history together and the reunion of the original Luxury Pushers lineup at Blind Bob’s in Dayton on Saturday.
The meeting
Purtle: “When I was a senior in high school, me and my buddy spun hardcore on WYSO after (Jim “Rev Cool”) Carter. The first time I actually saw Jamy was out there. I remember, he got out of his car and he had a foot-tall Mohawk, which was impressive.”
Holliday: “I was like 16, so this was before Haunting Souls. We’d go hang out at WYSO. Eric was like a year and a half older, which seemed like a world of difference. It was the difference between being a greenhorn and a weathered warrior. He was in Poetic Justice. I needed to learn what he knew. That’s how we got to know each other.”
The bands
They worked together for the first time in the Mystery Addicts in the ’90s, but Purtle had already left the band when it folded in 2002. Holliday took a step back to regroup before forming Luxury Pushers.
Holliday: “I met Matt (Randall) after Mystery Addicts broke up for the last time. I was bartending at Canal Street, and he’d come in and close the bar down. I’d get the black, square bottle out, and we’d talk four-ounce wisdom. I had started writing some songs, and I knew he was a drummer, so one night I invited him over to play some songs. He came over, and it came together real quick. Eric joined on bass, and it was game on.”
Conflicts
Holliday: “We’ve had our problems over the years. We’re Frick and Frack.”
Purtle: “We’re like the Gallagher brothers (of the band Oasis). We’ve had no shortage of problems, but apparently nothing real or we wouldn’t be sitting here now.”
Holliday: “I’ve been sober for seven years, so that has a lot to do with it. For me, it was booze, and I don’t do it well. As a byproduct, it doesn’t work for anything I do.”
The reunion
Saturday’s show is the first Luxury Pushers performance since dissolving in 2011 with Holliday the sole original member.
Purtle: “I’m looking forward to the reunion. There’s a feeling of ’84 destiny (he and Holliday met in 1984) doing another Luxury Pushers show. It’s kind of like reuniting with your high school girlfriend. It should be a blast.”
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