Mona Lisa Overdrive

Formed out of the ashes of Manwich, Mona Lisa Overdive first got together in the fall of '87. The brothers Jeff Smith (stand-up drums) & Adam Smith (vocals), along with Peter Aaron (bass) and William Weber (guitar), wanted to form a band that was total improv....that is, no structure of any kind whatsoever. Vowing never to play in their hometown of Cincinnati, they hit the road. A "rehearsal" was tried (where Jeff and Adam were house sitting at the time in Columbus ,Ohio ), when the cops were called for the disturbance of the neighborhood. Later that same evening, they invited themselves onto the bill of a "Wolverton Brothers / Gibson Brothers" show at Apollo's in Columbus (considering Jeff and Adam were related, it seemed to stick with the "brother" theme of the show). Four songs into the set, they were asked not only to stop playing, but to leave the venue altogether. They continued this routine of showing up and inviting themselves onto bills for another 6 shows before disbanding 1 1/2 months after forming. Peter continued playing with Jeff and Adam and actually had the name "The Chrome Cranks". Adam left for reasons long forgotten, allowing William to step back in along with vocalist Bill Altthauzer (now of The Ass Ponies) for the second line-up of The Chrome Cranks. Jeff didn't stick around too long and was replaced by Tony Franklin. This configuration lasted for a performance (opening for Pussy Galore on their last tour) and a four song recording session at Ultrasuede Studio. Peter and William continued The Chrome Cranks for several more line-ups before moving to N.Y.C. for international success.