Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4

PART 2

     Times were great for the band known as 3rd World Powers. They were coming into their own and they finally had good songs and stage experience. But with Will gone and eyebrows being raised about their lead singer, 3rd World Powers also had their problems on the side.

Mike Batey:With Empty Bowls in the past, there were two things that were painfully clear. 1st of all, we did not practice enough. It seems like the only time we would practice was before a show so we didn't embarrass ourselves. 2nd, there was no one in the entire joint during empty bowls that could understand Derek. Now of course, we never heard him because we play so loud that people five or six houses down were getting a free concert. Blame it on the bad microphone, loudness, or his visiousness, something had to change.

Russell Sanborn: My good friend Jim Harper with whom I play in a band with on the side said that there was only one problem with our unique sound. "Your lead singer is WAY to vicious with his vocals. If you tell him to tune way down, you guys would have a really great band." We tried, and tried, and tried to get Derek to tone down, and after a couple of public beatings, he finally agreed with us and started to sing like a normal person. Then I got my eggo and all was good.

Russell's eggo wasn't the only thing that was good, his music was kicking as well. Soon after empty bowls. The band brought back old songs, got rid of others and started work on severeal others, some that didn't ever get played by 3rd World Powers and now headline the song list for OverRated.

Mike Batey:It was very obvious that we were getting better at this song writting thing as we went along. Tribulation was our first really crisp song, but CSS, Against the Wall and It's Too Late followed that legeacy. I'm not going to lie about it, Mr. Cow and Nuke sucked. They were fun to play and for some reason people liked them a lot but they did suck. Mr. Cow was a song about a cow that eats children. However, the song we were most confident could do well was It's Too Late, so that's what we played at the Kearsley Talent show.

Mike Zafiroff: The Kearsley Talent Show was awesome. We may have been jobbed out by a crossdressing act and an extremely old karate act, but it was great. We will all admit that the group that won deserved to win, but we should have come in second, However, 4th isn't bad for our first real show. There were people who didn't even know us well that were screaming and cheering and clapping. It's Too Late went over very well. People loved our courage by playing an original song at the show and I think that it really showed our creativity. But the thing that went over best were the stage antics.

Russell Sanborn: Derek made a sandwhich. What else can be said about our antics at the talent show. I gave him the idea because Spike Nard of Chrashdog ate a piece of bread on stage, i felt we should do him one better. The mustard thing however was completely Derek's doing. (Looks down in shame) I can't believe he drank mustard.

With the talent show over with and the mustard well digested, all the members of 3rd World Powers felt it was about time to get their music on tape so they could cretique themselves from a third person perspective. The only problem was, recording is expensive and every member of 3rd World Powers is cheap (with the execption of Mike Batey who bought all the members ARBY's one day during practice.)

Mike Batey: We really didn't have a chioce. We were really hopeing that we could get some money from the talent show. But, since we came in 4th place we didn't get dinkity doo. We had an agreement that if we got 2nd or 3rd Place in the talent show, we would put all the money back in the band. But, if we got first place, we would each get $100, call the band endever a success and go our seperate ways.(Thinking) Man we really could have used that money! AHHHHHHHHH! (Picks up a chair and throws it at the cameraman.) I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hit you! I meant to kill you! (Stomps on cameraman for far too many minutes.)

Mike Zafiroff: There was no way that we were going to be able to afford a recording studio. Recording on Russell's little radio thing sounded really bad. So in our mind, there was only one thing that we could do, and that was go to church for the answer.

---

What Actually Happened

(May not be what actually happened)

(Zafiroff, Russell, and Batey all stand outside their church)
Russell: Do you really think we should do this?
Zafiroff: It's the only way I can see this happening.
Batey: Why do you need me here?
Zafiroff: You're lookout.
Batey: Lookout for what?
Russell: Stuff! Shut up and do what you're told.
Batey: Sorry Sir.
Zafiroff: I should only be 5 minutes. If I'm gone any longer, act like your going to leave but then have Russell say,"No, We Can't leave him behind!" Then Batey say, "But It's too risky, it's not worth this!" Then Russell needs to punch Mike and Say "You're talking about our guitarist man! We can't surive without him!" Then Batey Gets up and.....
Russell and Batey: GO!
(Zafiroff goes into the church while Batey and Russell wait outside. 5 minutes pass)
Batey: (Goes to leave) We have to go, but we can't leave him!
Russell: Stop that. Besides, you did it wrong. I'm supposed to say that last part.
Batey: Sorry Sir.
(2 More minutes pass.)
Batey: Lookout, Lookout, Lookout. There's someone! (Points)
Russell: That's the basketball hoop.
Batey: No, that's a shapeshifter in disguise!
Russell: One more outburst from you and.....
(A loud alarm goes off and Zafiroff runs out carrying a large case that contained a soundboard.)
Zafiroff: Go! Go! Into the 3rd World Powers Mobile!
Batey: What?!?
Zafiroff: My Buick Riviera! (BUICK RIVIERA)
(All 3 jump into the car and drive off)
Batey: I don't think that I did a very good job as lookout.
Russell: Why?
Batey: I'll bet you 5 bucks that god saw everything.

---

Russell Sanborn: Well, we got the soundboard and we were ready to start recording our first album, "Corner Pocket." We were going to put nine songs on it. Our Intro song, Tribulation, It's Too Late, Derek Stogner: Working Man, Against The Wall, CSS, Memory Boulevard, We Got A Nuke and Mr. Cow. But the soundboard is older then all of us combined and it was a decent recording at best. But we were still pysched to have our music on tape. Our original plan was to sell CD's for $7 and Tapes for $4. But we were going to have to re-record, but that never happened.

It's True. It's True. Tragedy struck one more time but this time it was bad enough that 3rd World Powers finally had to call it quits. That tragedy was Summer.

Mike Batey: We finished our recordings and then didn't practice but one time the rest of the summer, and it was our last practice as 3rd World Powers. We all went over to Russell's house to catch up on old songs and work on our new ones (Backyard and Last Battle) but Dustin and Derek would have no part of it. They didn't want to practice, they only wanted to swim. Then they left. And the was the end of 3rd World Powers. Some people may think we are kind of rash, but we do not tolerate practice skipping gosh darn it!!!!

Mike Zafiroff: Yes, the breakup was hard for all of us. I spent the next 2 weeks eating nothing but Superman Ice Cream. And I had to take 2 minutes out of every day to talk to my pet rat. Russell went into a coma for 4 mintues and claimed that he talked to Elvis Presley but we later explained to him that jailhouse rock was playing on the radio, that cleared up that loose end. Mike was the worst though, he went a whole month without being able to say yes to anything and that was weird. I heard he turned down his lottery winnings, a television show contract, and Denise Richards' marrage propasal.

With Cornerstone around the corner, Russell and Zafiroff went to the Christian Rock Concert in order to get inspiration and get over the tragic 3rd World Powers break up.

Russell Sanborn: Cornerstone, the only thing that could lift our spirits after the band problems. We decided there that Mike Zafiroff and I would form a new band, a better band, and get Mike's girlfriend, Carrie Sweeney, to sing for us and also let Mike Batey be in for the publicity and because he's so cool... oh wait no he's not nevermind.



Mike Zafiroff: The inspiration for our name came from Cornerstone. There was a bunch of hardcore bands playing. Their singers always screamed when they played and it sounded like they were being chases by an angry Bobcat. We made up an elaborate joke that there was a band called Death By Bobcat and it was like a game, where all the members would start off in a cage, then a bobcat would be released. All the surviving members would get to go on to the next show. Whenever we heard a hardcore band playing, we would say, "Oh, Death By Bobcat must be playing again." It was cool so we decided to use it.

In part III, Death By Bobcat steals the stage, Band Members leave, other band members start to like former band members, and the band crumbles into ashes of defeat, but from those ashes rise an even taller tower of victory.

VH1 Behind The Music

The OverRated Story

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