Al & the Coholics

The streets of Cleveland gave birth to Al & the Coholics in the summer of 1999. They were a collective unit of neighborhood allstars or as my highschool teacher once said "the greatest bunch of losers ever to grace these hall ways." The Coholics have been kicked out of numerous rehearsel studios and clubs due to loud, rude and often illegal behavior, but more often then not because rent was high and funds were low. In the summer of 2001 the band took a major set back when their van was totaled by a drunken driver,( imagine the irony) no deaths or serious injuries, yet destroying almost every piece of equipment. Despite the hardship the coholics pushed on. Being poor, they stole whatever they could, rebuilding their amps out of plywood and 2x4's, used broom sticks for symbol stands, and proved to everyone that they were as tough as nails. The Coholics would soon find out though that they were cursed by God and the Devil and you would have to know the band to understand how they pissed off both. In the winter of 2002 they managed to score themselves a new practice spot with a kick ass landlord who understood when they could'nt make rent and let the band pay when they had the money. The band now practicing on a regular basis with shows lined up took another set back in Oct of 2003 when their singer, Al and best friend,Gregory Dzurick, were involved in a serious car accident sending both to the hospital, shattering Al's heel and breaking his collar bone. The singer went through months of rehab for his leg and will never walk the same again. In the summer of 2004 the Coholics were preparing to set forth on their first tour ever. After months of tearing up the Cleveland underground, making themselves known musically, humbly and sometimes violently and making a mockery of the Cleveland Music Festival, humiliating record executives and embarising the cmf staff, the band was untouchable and ready for whatever. The band set out to meet their comrads for the tour - The Dirty Tactics from Philadelphia, but were informed once they arrived that half of the gigs had been cancelled due to some very poor booking and horrible communication. Deciding "fuck it" the two pressed on through PA, Road Ilsand and Conneticut, selling cd's to make gas/food money and taking whatever they could get. On wed, june 30th the Coholics lost thier bass player when an arguement started on a drunken night between him and the band in Philadelphia. Drunk out of his mind Pshock stayed in Philly to join a band from New Jersey, and the Coholics headed back to Cleveland. The Coholics pressed on and with Pshocks return in june 2005, fans await the new album, the shows, and tour that are soon to follow. Through every hardship, through nearly every member of the band being homless at one point or another, the Coholics proved themselves untouchable, almost invincable, to the outside world and engraved a legacy into the Cleveland streets.