Say Turbo Who?
Guitarist Michael Marty, bassist Danny John, drummer James Treichler and singer Anthony Silano all met at MacArthur High School in the soy bean capital of the world, Decatur, IL.
Turbo Pascal formed in the summer of 1995. Yes, 1995.
CLIFF NOTES
TP wrote a bunch of songs, played tons of shows, and recorded a cassette which was reissued digitally on Pass Out Records in 2014. The band reunited in 2015, 20 years after their original run, and recorded a new EP. In 2023 TP released their first full-length in 27 years, City Soundscape. (Turbo? More like Slow-mo.)
FULL BIO (Bust out those readers)
After hours driving around between Pizza Hut and Holiday Inn bus boy shifts expanding their musical horizons to Screeching Weasel, Rancid, Pennywise, and XTC, Mike and Anthony felt inspired to start a band of their own.
They got to work with the goal of writing catchy songs that fell in line with the guitar driven anthems of their heroes. James joined the band after witnessing Silano’s failed attempt to land a kick flip on a skateboard wearing work boots.
The formula was simple: Mike was the Jazz/Rock/Punk influenced song architect, James set the backbeat dial to hyper speed and Anthony added laments from his sticker-laced composition notebook.
For a while they toyed with the name Five Finger Discount, but even under their angst cloud didn’t want to gain reputations as thieving bandits.
Up to that point in his life the only thing Anthony ever stole was a Jim Morrison poetry book because he thought that’s how budding lyricists were supposed to pay tribute to their elder statesman.
So cliché.
Turbo Pascal was originally going to be the name of the band fronted by Silano’s brother before they became Disgruntled. The name is an ode to their father Pasquale, not a reference to the antique software development system.
The three band members along with original bassist Dan Sample spent the summer writing songs, playing basement shows to an audience of Treichler’s dog, and crashing backyard BBQ’s. They learned early that playing half-baked songs in broad daylight to blank stares is quite awkward;
A feeling two decades later they would capture in song.
They played their first real show in the backyard of Mike’s girlfriend’s house for her Sweet 16 party. It just doesn’t get any more punk rock than that, friends. Thankfully, it was in the country so the only complaints came from squirrels chucking acorns.
Many friends showed up and the reception was overwhelmingly positive.
In December of 1995, TP went to Pieces of Eight—a 16-track analogue home-studio owned by late producer Barry Billman—to record what would become the Turbo Tape.
Soon after, friend and SST Records aficionado Danny John became Turbo’s new bass player. Legend has it, Mike coerced Danny to join the band with a plate of General Tso Chicken.
The band continued to write new material and play shows all around the Midwest.
The band’s most memorable performance was playing a packed house at the historical Lincoln Theater in downtown Decatur. In September of 1996 they recorded another four songs, a cassette aptly called Demo, which they gave away at shows and out of backpacks during lunch hour ( this was pre-internet stone age ).
Thanks to Passout Records in Hawaii, the TP discography (The 10 original cassette songs plus the 4 song demo) is available for the first time on iTunes and Turbo’s Passout Records profile page.
So how does a band from 1990’s Decatur, Illinois end up releasing an album in 2010’s Hawaii? Fair question. I’m glad you asked.
After living in Chicago and singing for Threefold Cord and The Neumatics, Anthony Silano moved to Honolulu in 2006. What began as approaching Passout Records to remove the hiss from the cassette recordings turned into a revitalization project of the Turbo catalogue.
Rather than allow these tracks to collect dust for 20 more years, Passout Records partnered with TP to release these songs back into the wild. Pass Out used their studio wizardry to even out the sound, add bass, and give teenage nasal screech more whine power.
Just read this FB post from Mike the day of the release for crying out loud:
After the better part of two decades, Pass Out Records has welcomed my first band Turbo Pascal to its fantastic catalog. The full 14 song discography is available on iTunes, CD Baby and from the Pass Out Records site. This discography to us, is a glimpse into the past of young teens from a Midwestern town that formed to jam music in the most purest form. We played what was on our mind in that moment and didn’t care to sound like anyone but ourselves. We did what we wanted. Over the course of time, that goal gets harder and harder to accomplish as you build an arsenal of influences and genre tastes that form the musician you are. We didn’t have that yet. It’s raw, it’s young, sometimes dumb, but honest and true. Laugh a little, mosh a little, enjoy.
I mean if that doesn’t bring a tear to your eye you have a heart of stone.
Mike Marty has shredded guitar for several bands, most notably Off Balance, Big Big Shoulders and Hunting The Rabbit. Mike and his bride moved to Boulder, Colorado where he continues to wake neighbors and tame wild animals with his Les Paul.
Danny John writes and plays music in the Windy City. Along with Turbo Pascal vintage van provider Ben Spannaus, John played bass for Chicago band Royce.
James Treichler lives in Champaign, IL where he’s the man behind the dials at Earth Analog Studio. Treichler yields versatile drum beats and legendary long hair to bands The Dirty Feathers and Elsinore among others.
Turbo Pascal reunited in 2015 at Earth Analog Studio and recorded a 3 song EP Awkward at Parties available on Pass Out Records.
In June of 2023, Turbo Pascal released a new full-length album, City Soundscape.
