George Van Orsdel - 1990s

1990s

George took a break for a year, then he started singing for a band who was just starting out, Jobbernowl. This lasted for about 2 and a half years (1990–1992). Jobbernowl was a very melodic punk band, in the vein of ALL, Descendents, Big Drill Car, etc. The Miami punk scene was great then, and flourishing. Lots of bands and venues to play. All ages places were everywhere..The Thrash Can, The Warehouse, and many more, gave bands the opportunity to play to younger and bigger crowds. Jobbernowl ended up recording a 7" for Re-Core-Ds records from Germany, and a 10" for Dr. Strange records. They were also featured on a limited edition compilation record on Dr. Strange records, featuring bands like Face To Face, Guttermouth, and many others. Eventually, the band members in Jobbernowl all went their separate ways, and so George started his search for a new band.

George then came across a couple of ex-members from a Miami band called The Naughty Puritans, who were starting out a new band after their old band broke up, and so he gave it a shot on drums and things went well. This was the start of Cell 63 (1992–1995). Cell 63 was a straight-up roots rock/punk band, who was heralded as the "new Replacements". With influences like Hüsker Dü, Social Distortion, The Replacements, Cell 63 was creating a nice little following of their own. They recorded their first self-titled CD, CELL 63, and released it with great reception. A year and a half later, to follow up the success of their first CD, they recorded and released Once Upon A Drunk. Their second CD did much better than the first and started to garner the band some national attention. Cell 63 decided to do a short tour to promote the CD, and booked a 2-week East Coast tour. Shortly after the tour, the band unfortunately parted ways.

After the demise of Cell 63, Rob Coe (singer/guitarist for Cell 63) and George decided to start a new band from the ashes of Cell 63, so Fay Wray was formed (1996), composed of ex-members of Quit and Cell 63, Fay Wray released 2 CDs on Gainesville's No Idea record label. Fay Wray had a very distinct "Gainesville" sound (like that of other Gainesville bands such as Radon, Spoke, etc.), although 3/4 of the band was based out of Miami. George was involved in the birth of Fay Wray, and played drums for the band for a little over a year until the band broke up in 1997 (only to reform a year later with a new drummer and bassist).