It was about 30 degrees below zero when Joel DuBay set out to meet his friend for beer and to watch a local band play at a warehouse in Minneapolis. The bitter cold would freeze piss inside a man’s body, ‘sure as it would on a steal gate. And, walking “into” the wind only hastened the need for a warm spot (say; 30 degrees above zero F) before his skin was cryogenically frozen to his skull. The light above the recessed door indicated there would be a place warmer than this wintry hell just inside, and he quickly shuffled in. That notorious light was going to be remembered as the light at the end of a seemingly endless search for something new, something fresh and something aggressive.

In that year and on that stupid-cold night, Joel met Powermad co-founder Bill Hill. Crazy, wild and energetic, Bill Hill was exactly what Joel needed to help move his songs and ideas to a place that would accept them. Bill, (already proficient in all things “local music”) was part of that “light”. So, they began their quest for something Minneapolis had not yet experienced: a true, all original heavy metal band that would shake the very foundation of music in that city and hopefully open doors for other metal-minded musicians.

On one semi-warm evening, Joel and Bill agreed to write down their individual ideas for a name that would signify what this new breed of metal band was going to be. The lists were long (very long) and the other names that were tossed about might forever remain a mystery ….

As they conferred at Bill’s home, Joel read names from his list, and afterward Bill read his. Now, keep in mind that when you strike on an idea that has made it apparent there is no other choice, you simply must move forward with that idea. And, at the bottom of Bill’s list was the name “Powermad”. And in one single utterance of this, “Powermad” was born.

Joel and Bill son set about looking for drummers. At the time, very few drummers could play really fast double bass, and because some of their more adolescent (musical) concepts included a need for that particular kind of aggression, such a drummer was sought.

(Now, we’ll spare you every little audition tale, as this could take a long time, and might require a lot of painful recalling). Eventually, Joel and Bill found Adrian Liberty and the basic foundation was born. Adrian was an incredible talent and revered within the local drumming community in Minneapolis and St. Paul. It was Adrian’s original energy, (fueled by years of a less than a perfect life) is what made Joel and Bill realize that this was going to be something amazing, it was.

At the time of Powermad’s formation, guitar players were plentiful and almost no one else actually “wanted” to play bass. In the age of Yngwie and Eddie Van Halen, bass players at the time were motivated to be guitarists, but would “settle” for playing bass when others refused. Joel recalled a person he’d met sometime before he and Bill began their new journey, and if ever there was a bass player to be made, this was the guy. Joel approached Jeff Litke (a budding guitarist) and explained his thoughts. He went on to ask Jeff to think about what he was doing and to consider playing bass guitar. Joel knew that if Jeff were to accept, there would be no bass player like him, anywhere. He was right.

With the original lineup complete, Powermad began forming their original music – and it flowed; plentifully. Powermad recorded their very first demo on an eight track board in the basement of a gentleman’s house. Once “finished” they sent it off to Combat Records, a New York based independent record label that featured Metal music. Combat picked them up for their “Bootcamp” series of releases, and sold a small but promising amount of records. And, in the local metal scene, Powermad’s popularity grew. Their very first cameo performance at First Avenue (rock and roll club to the stars) drew some 600 people. (Unprecedented for a new band that would likely only play 2-3 songs at their first performance.) But, it was good and the people loved it. They loved it so much that Powermad began opening for bigger metal bands when they came to town. Some of those bands included Anthrax, Motorhead and other top metal acts of that time. Powermad’s song writing and performing continued to improve as their local and national/international following grew. Powermad’s international following came by way of numerous articles in fanzine’s and magazines like Sounds, Sheet Metal, Your Flesh, Metal Maniac’s, Kerrang, Metal Hammer, Aardschok and many, many others. Everyone wanted to know who this new metal band from Minneapolis was that had taken over the Town-Formerly-Belonging-To-Prince) or, TFBTP. What the hell were they, and when did they arrive? It was as if Powermad had just “shown up” and everyone was talking about them. Well, that was basically the case, though Powermad would more humbly say, “people liked us”.

Then, as luck would have it, Bill Hill was being pulled by other commitments, and he eventually left the band. Well, he simply could not be replaced. There was no other Bill Hill anywhere to be found. Yet Joel, Jeff and Adrian knew that a cutting-edge and incredible talent had to be out there, somewhere, and that Powermad simply had to find him. Luckily, Powermad had built some very good relationships with the people who helped promote them, and one day, Powermad were presented with a cassette tape of a guitarist that just might be what they had in mind. Well, Joel listened to it first, and was immediately struck by the accuracy and speed of the guitarist on the tape. DuBay recalls: “ I was sitting there kind of stunned at first. I just hadn’t heard someone riff like that before with cool, odd tonality and phrasing. I wasn’t sure if I liked it at first, but the more I listened, the more I had to. It was incredible.”. Eventually, Todd Haug, the notorious guitarist on the tape was brought in for an audition and it was then and there that he became Powermad’s new guitarist. DuBay: “It was so exciting having a new guitarist, a new color, and new song writer in the band. It was what Powermad needed and then some. We were all just blown away by how “good” Todd was, and how his style was so original. Todd was truly, the freshest talent available anywhere, and he was now a member of Powermad. As rehearsals commenced, and Todd’s style was integrated into Powermad’s existing core, the ideas and emotion for each existing song became even more “fresh”. Powermad were now set to do what they wanted, and no one, but no one was going to get it their way.

With Haug on board, Powermad continued to open for major acts, and were getting ready to release their first full album on yet another independent label, when a new figure entered their lives. This new person was immensely interested in Powermad, their music and what they might become (if given the right amount of space and freedom). From the moment Powermad met this man, things would change, dramatically.

…..to be continued……