Mike's Magic

Mike and I were longing to perform with our rap group 3 n' Pass, as was our third member Mike Myer, the only problem was we had no idea how to pull it off. Finally Mike came up with a magical idea to mix our instrumental set onto a hi fi stereo VHS casette. From there we could hook up a hi if stereo VCR to a clubs soundboard and play our music off of the VHS tape. 

The three of us gathered at Mike's place, hooked the four track up to his mixer and turntables, and proceeded to get the ball rolling. Mike picked out some choice vinyls to beat mix our songs into one another. This way our set would be one continuous flow, never giving the audience a chance to respond until the set was compete. We figured it would be a good way to captivate people attention for the entirety of our live performances.

We booked our first gig at Tremors in Brampton late 1992, while we were still apart of Grasshopper. I don't remember who set it up, but amazingly we managed to secure Mal Havoc as our headliner. I eagerly got a flyer together and started spamming my hometown. When the night of the gig arrived, the place was packed and the show went great. Myers managed to hook up a video camera at the top of the club to film the show. Our set worked out as planned. We had everyone's undivided attention, and by the end of it all we got a great ovation. It was truly a magical night, and a huge honour to share the bill with Mal Havoc. 

Original flyer artwork for our first show

After the whole Grasshoper fiasco, we were itching to do more 3 n' Pass shows. Thankfully we still had contacts in the city, so we ended up getting a few shows downtown as to expose ourselves to the Toronto scene. The couple of shows we did land went pretty well, but they didn't have the same vibe as the Brampton gig. We decided it was time once again to perform at Tremors. 

We managed to get Yet Another Posse to make the commute from Pickering, and we got local metal brothers Demon Barf on the bill as well. It was a great mix of styles, and once again the house was packed. My work was cut out for me this evening, as I ended up doing a song with Y.AP. which was an added bonus, then during Demon Barf's performance I got into my "Satan" costume to face Jesus in a BWF title match. It was totally wild partaking in a wrestling match for the second time while the band belted out tunes behind us. Once again another magical evening had unfolded, and I couldn't of been happier.

I was extremely satisfied to be back on stages again doing what I truly loved, and the reception we were getting made it all worthwhile. Not very many rap groups were performing live during this time period, so I think most people just enjoyed seeing something different than the usual live bands they were accustomed to. 

3 n' Pass was like my baby, and it was amazing to finally see it all grown up and out in the real world. I wouldn't of changed a thing about it, but I soon learned my band mates had some changes in mind...