The Legion of Supervillains was the greatest maximum rock and roll band you will ever never see (unless you already did). From late 2005 to mid-early 2007, and a little latter in 2007 and a little in 2008, we tore up the house parties and small-scale stages of Greenville, Wilmington, Raleigh, and a host of other places that were fool enough to book us and be privy to our drunken, high-velocity punk rock and roll. The Legion of Supervillains started because four guys -- Jae Thomas, Stephen Atkinson, Garrett Mills, and Brian Gilroy -- were sick and fucking tired of the stupid, tired, artsy crap that their hometown offered up to its underground scene. Forget punk rock: there was no underground rock and roll whatsoever.
And the Legion of Supervillains sought to change that. Through early guerilla shows and shows at the Turducken/11th St. House, before it became hipster-commercial, that in most cases literally tore the places apart, the Legion of Supervillains made an infamous name for themselves in the Greenville underground scene. Often hated, never ignored, and sometimes dug with a passion that rivaled your most ardent (f)Art Lord supporter, the boys tore through sets like 30 minutes of machine gun fire. Known for their over-the-top live shows, which included at times The Beersoaker, appearances from Danzig, naked Supervillains, Civil War veterans, pinatas, and party favors, the Legion of Supervillains wanted one thing and one thing only: to have a good time, and invite others along for the ride. No hipster trapings, no pretentious posturing, we literally just wanted ever person, no matter their taste in music, to realize this was about having fun. Not making a statement, not advancing "art", and definitely not playing a giant joke on the audience like certain Greenville acts, we just wanted everyone to have a beer (or twenty-two), listen to some maximum rock and roll, and maybe sing along to some covers.
And we did that. And we did it well.
We could get into the reasons why it all fell apart, why it never could seem to be put back together, and why everyday most of us feel the very real emptiness that accompanies losing a best friend, but we won't. It was an amazing moment in our lives, one that we will tell and recount in sober and drunken states till the day we die, but the moment seems to have passed. All of us will be trying new things, and its certainly not the last you've heard from any of us, but the Legion of Supervillains will not be invading any house parties anytime soon.
But perhaps one day, when all hope is lost, and the allies of hipsterism have once again ripped the fun from the underground, four drunken warriors shall rise once again and wage inglorious war on a complacent scene -- to shove beerbong tubes down peoples throats and high-velocity rock and roll into peoples ears and say, "Life, Liberty, Pursuit of Beer."
Oi, oi, oi.
-the legion of supervillains
