Sewer Trout

______________________December 01, 2005_______________________ Jim MacLean took his own life Monday or Tuesday after the Thanksgiving

weekend. Jim was in Death Culture, Lazy Boy, The OtterPops, Laughing Jesus,

Well Hung Monks, and The New Vulgarians. He's best known for Sewer

Trout (songwriting, singing and his super catchy bass) and Elmer

(songwriting, singing and guitar). Mostly punk rock bands from the

80s through the 90s. Elmer was a country punk band, but it was like

Sewer Trout evolving. ______________________________________________________________

Sewer Trout played many an early Gilman Street show. Tales of Terror

ruled the early 80s of Sac, but Sewer Trout (from Concord!) was the

high point of Sacto late 80s punk. Concord and The East Bay just

wasn't good enough when Jim and Hal had Cal State Sacramento sitting

here waiting. Jim went to grad school in Corvallis and mastered

in Geology

Comments

I just told the other guys in the Knockoffs on Tuesday night my

favorite Sewer Trout story. I saw them in Stockton, and Jim was

setting his stuff up. He couldn't get his bass rig to work, so he

threw his bass against the brick wall behind the stage splintering

it and asked another band if he could borrow their bass. He plugged

it in, and it turns out the problem was with the cord.

For whatever reason, the first thing that popped into my head when

I heard about this yesterday afternoon was that Sewer Trout was the

first graffiti I saw in Sacto when I moved here in 1985. Or at least

the first graffiti that actually registered at the time. I remember

thinking, "hmm, I need to find out about this "Sewer Trout".

Jim was great guy and an influence to me and my first band The

Horny MormonsMike R Mike even sang the "listening to sewer trout"

in the song discombobulated.Also Being a rock nerd(geology)i admired

Jim even more.He was always friendly and easy goingI`ll miss that

I wish they had pabst beer in japan but they have keystone.So i`ll

tip a glass for jim later onGambette jay san.

He will always remain in my heart as the generous, brilliant,

funny, caring man that he was.

_______________________________________________________________



Sewer Trout

Sacramento

1985-1990



members:



Jim MacLean, bass, vocals

Hal MacLean, drums

Keith Lehtinen, guitar



Erik Benson, joined sewer trout (him and hal were both engineering students at sac state) as their 4th member and when his songs became too prog/fancy for sewer trout they became the well hung monks. Hal says, "Erik played one show at the Place in Davis (Keith wasn't there), and Jim hated what Erik was doing to the songs".



releases:



From the Bowels of Suburbia Emerge. tape (ST, 1985)

Turn It Around comp 2ep (12", Very Small 510. David Hayes says "it was a Gilman benefit paid for by MRR, but I disorganized it.", 1987)

Songs About Drinking ep (Lookout, 1987)

We've Got Your Shorts comp ep (1987)

LETHAL NOISE Volume 2 comp tape (Very Small 2, 1987)

Sewer Trout for President ep (One Shot Flop, 1988)

The Thing That Ate Floyd comp LP - Vagina Envy - (Lookout, 1988)

Flawless 10" ep (Very Small, 1989)

Alone in this World comp tape (Bat Guano, 1989)

Very Small World comp LP (Very Small, 1991)

Four Two Pudding - Holiday In Romania - CD (Very Small, 1991)

From the Forgotten memories of Punks Failed Hopes and Dreams Loom.CD (SPA, 1998)______________________________________________________________ Formed in Concord in 1985, ST moved to Sacramento with the MacLean brothers and Lehtinen. Sewer Trout were a fixture of the early Gilman scene and first hit vinyl on Maximum Rock & Roll's Turn it Around comp (1987). The same year saw their first record on Lookout. A few more followed on Lookout, Very Small, and their own label, One Shot Flop. (All of their stuff was comped on the From the Forgotten Memories.CD.) What Sewer Trout brought to Sacto punk was a complete dedication to the DIY ethic and an inspiration for others to form bands. Their sarcastic, humorous, jangly, poppy, almost-country punk combined with much beer fueled many a party and gave youngsters a model (both bandwise and drinkwise) to emulate. Another important thing about Sewer Trout, is that they were friends with David Hayes, the brains behind the Lookout, Very Small, and Too Many record labels. Through his labels, Hayes was able to focus a lot of attention on the Sacto punk scene, often filling his compilations with up to ten Sacramento bands.