Free Beer and the Izen Bros. Band

Thanks to Keith for reminding me of the Izen Bros. Band. My memories of this show are not entirely clear, except that I recall the patio was open at Call the Office, and I bought a Kickstand Travolta CD--not only on the strength of their performance, but also because the cover art featured a shot of the Embassy.

In addition to receiving free beer from the Izen Bros., I remember distinctly the Sleeman's Cream Ale that Andrew Cash bought for myself and another friend, Charles. We'd gone up to London on a whim to see the Odds play at Call the Office. Paying no attention to who was opening (because we didn't recognise the name of the band), we settled into one of the booths near the stage and were chatting absent-mindedly. About three chords into the opening act's first song, I distinctly recognised the voice and guitar of Andrew Cash. Charles and I were both fans of Andrew Cash, so it was a terrific surprise to accidentally catch one of the first gigs that URSULA played. Ursula was, in fact, the same band Andrew Cash had been playing with for years (featuring, briefly, Jason Collett on bass), but apparently he felt the sound on his last album, "Hi," had been as much about the band as it was his own song-writing. Thus, the birth of Ursula, who released only one album, "Happy To Be Outraged." After Ursula's set that night, we chatted up Andrew Cash and managed to get a free beer out of him. Mr. Cash is now, of course, quite busy and successful, playing and putting out albums with his brother, Peter, as The Cash Brothers.