Too Much Joy - About the Band

TMJ formed in the early 1980s when its members were still in high school. The initial plan was to play cover versions of Clash songs at high school dances, but no one else in the band's hometown had apparently heard of the Clash, so they started writing their own material. They self-released their debut LP, Green Eggs and Crack, in 1987, then bounced around a bunch of indie and major labels in the '90s. Some people enjoyed their humorous lyrics. Others detected fragile hearts beating beneath the layers of irony. Still others simply admired the band's ability to somehow connect with an audience while flailing about in a genuinely spastic and inebriated manner on stage.

If you want all the gory details, you can read a pretty comprehensive history of the band at Joybuzzer, a TMJ fansite.

If you just want to know their names, here they are:

• Jay Blumenfield sang and played guitar.
• Tim Quirk stood in the middle and screamed.
• Sandy Smallens played bass and sang until 1994.
• Tommy Vinton played drums and bitched about being the only one with a legitimate day job.
• William Wittman played bass and sang after Sandy left the band.