Bio: The History of Civilization

(also see Member's bios)

Civilized

Civil Unrest traces its roots back to the early 1990's where it began as the band "Civilized". The name was taken from a slogan on a shaving commercial shown on TV. We had all played in various groups and met each other through Hewlett-Packard where we all worked. We enjoyed playing together, got along great, shared the same goals in music (to have fun) and have been practicing every week at Dave Day's house ever since.

The members of the original Civilized were:

civilized-halloween (245K) Original Civilized members circa 1995: Allen Krever on drill, Mike Seibel on pumpkin, Dave Day on painted saw, and Steve Comins dressed like undertaker.

Many of the songs played at that time were original rock songs that Steve either wrote himself or else were originals from a previous band he played in. Dan did our mixing and recorded our practices using a small 4 track mixing console and a cassette tape recorder.

The band performed at about 3 or 4 performances a year at parties and weddings. We played several times at Joe Frogger's restaurant and bar. In 1992, we entered the local Battle of the Bands at Magnolia's bar in Santa Rosa, where we got our butts kicked by a band called Bleached Jesus - led by a singer covered head to toe in tattoos who screamed incoherently at the top of his lungs for the entire performance. The crowd liked him though (we think they were scared not to). Despite the humbling loss, Civilized neither gave up nor rushed out and got lots of tattoos.

Over the years, the Civilized sound had evolved with Mike switching to electronic drums (Alesis D4 with Boom Theory Space Muffin drum set). Steve added a Roland Guitar-Synthesizer which enabled him to play many fantastic sounds from his guitar, such as flute or horns. Dan upgraded his sound equipment to include newfangled things like CD recorders and a real mixing console.

Uncivilized

In 1996, turmoil struck as Steve and Allen both departed the band. Fellow HP-ers Ray Garcia, Mark Terrien and Brian Rushka were quickly located and met the stringent entrance requirements (willingness to supply beer, bathes regularly, and plays good music) and were greeted with open arms. As the roster evolved, so did our music, and therefore our name morphed to Uncivilized at that point.

The members of the reconstructed band Uncivilized, circa 1996 were:

Continual technology improvements abounded as Dan went crazy buying awesome JBL EON monitors and speakers, while Mike foregoes Xmas presents for his kids to buy Roland's state-of-the art V-Drums electronic drum kit.

The music of Uncivilized became predominantly classic rock and roll and blues tunes featuring songs by Rolling Stones, Jethro Tull, Beatles, U2, Santana, Dylan, among many others. We continued practicing weekly and performing several times each year at parties and weddings until Jan of 2004, when Mark Terrien (lead guitar and singer) left to take a job in Oregon.

Civil Unrest

So once again (just like Spinal Tap) the band adjusted to the loss. We added Dale Beltz (Lead Guitarist and vocals), and also Janine Arendt (vocals). The addition of a female vocalist and Dale's hot guitar licks opened a lot of doors for Uncivilized -- which of course leads to the inevitable --- a new band name: Civil Unrest. Since the US was busy whacking terrorists and making freedom ring in Iraq, the term "civil unrest" came up on the news quite often. Recognizing the value of free publicity, we thought it would only be appropriate to use that as our name.

So, beginning in early 2005, Civil Unrest formed as it remains today:

The Other Ray

The Other Ray

Note that any resemblances to the San Diego heavy metal band "Civil Unrest" are entirely coincidental even though they, amazingly enough, also have a lead singer named Ray Garcia. We regret any confusion that has taken place.