In the late 80's and early 90's, a big part of the skateboarding scene in Orange Park, FL, existed at "The Sandtrap." This was the name for Joe & Tiger Parker's backyard half-pipe skate ramp. Tiger was one of my best friends at the time (shout-out to the Rice Posse) and Joe was his older brother. Joe's friends Travis Taylor and Joey Zimmerman would often come over as well to skate with us, but before we knew it, Joe, Travis, and Joey were plugging in guitars in the living room. It wasn't too long after that Common Thread was born and shows at The Civic League and Pizza Blue became the most mind blowing experiences for us growing up. Craig Parlet, a friend of mine literally since the age of one (we were both born in Portsmouth, VA, due to our fathers both being in the Navy) became Common Thread's drummer just after the release of their first cassette.
Fortunately for all of us, our friend Aaron O'Laughlin has posted up two great video's of Common Thread. The first is a video he made for their classic hit "Lydia Elle," a song that appeared on what most will agree was their greatest release ever, Fountain. The second video is a live recording from a show at The Bad Boy Club, playing John Denver's "Leaving on a Jet Plane," a song they would often end their shows with, featuring their original drummer, Donald Kilpatrick.
In addition, here are a few other classic songs by Common Thread for you to listen to, taken from their MySpace page:
"Sesame"
"Destroying Red Lights"
"Drippings"
"My Feet as Prunes"
We hope you have enjoyed listening to Common Thread as much of we have! By the way, you may have noticed the Teisco Japanese Guitar that Joe Parker was playing in the live video. This guitar was a big inspiration for him to begin building his own guitars, Joe Parker Guitars, photographed below as seen at Austin Vintage Guitars in Texas.
Happy Shoegazing!
~ FLR
