Ex-monk who turned punk really rocks Arizona Republic/Phoenix Gazette, September 6, 1996 By Steve Cheseborough GLENDALE - Wearing a T-shirt and jeans, carrying a guitar and banging out semi-obscene "punk-folk" songs, Gavan Wieser might not seem that different from any other young musician. Except that he's not so young. But, at 53, Wieser doesn't consider himself old. He stresses that he is the youngest member of a group that proudly calls itself "the world's oldest punk band", One Foot In The Grave. The band rehearses in Sun City at the home of one of the members. "Punk kind of defines my attitude," says Wieser, who remains a member of One Foot but also is branching out as a solo performer. "I actually like punk music." Wieser's solo act is more melodic, quieter and slower than the term "punk" would suggest. But lyrically, his material surpasses - both in savagery and in humor - what most alienated youngsters come up with. Among the songs he performed at a recent Peoria Library show were If It Ain't One Damn Thing It's Another and Our Brains Became Small And We Died. Then there are his animal-themed songs such as Don't Pet The Dog ("He gets it confused with romance. Just leave him alone, or next thing you know, he'll be asking your ankle to dance.") and I Lobster And Never Flounder ("She was the bass I ever had. Now my life has no porpoise. Oh my cod I miss her, yes I do.") Many of Wieser's songs are not the type he sings at a family-like setting like the library. Among those are Coyote Ugly and Loving You Was The Dumbest (obscenity) Thing I've Ever Done. Listening to Wieser's strangely funny, R-rated songs, you'd never guess he used to be a monk. But he was. As a teenager in seminary school, Wieser played church organ and wrote oratorios. After graduation, he moved from his native Pennsylvania to Washington D.C., to join a Franciscan monastery. Even while living in the monastery, Wieser was musically and politically active on the outside, singing at coffeehouses and peace rallies. "I even met Martin Luther King four or five times," he said. Wieser's monastic life came to an end after he got in trouble with the order for wearing a T-shirt and shorts to church. "They told me to shape up or ship out. So I shipped out," he said. Wieser settled in Pittsburgh, got married and worked various jobs, continuing to play music on the side. In 1976, he moved to Winston-Salem, N.C., when his wife got a job there. He played electric guitar with touring country and rock bands, and worked at a tire store between road trips. "One year I was on the road 357 days, and home eight," he said of that period of his life. "I was partying a lot. I went through adolescence at 35, making up for the time I spent in the monastery." Eventually the band broke up and so did the marriage. And the tire shop went out of business. In 1984, Wieser came to Arizona to help his brother move here. "It was warm, I liked it," he said. He decided to stay. A few years later, Wieser was remarried (to Carol, whose accounting business he works for) and back into the rock scene. He had joined One Foot In The Grave, a band of self-described "Geritol rockers." After rehearsing for four years in a Sun City living room, One Foot made a strong public debut at a rock festival at a downtown Phoenix warehouse. "We rocked that place," Wieser said. "Kids were coming up and kissing old men's hands, crying, seeing grandparents playing punk rock. It was great." That show led to a spate of Valley publicity, which in turn led to national exposure . The Wall Street Journal, People magazine and Entertainment Tonight all did stories on One Foot. Somehow, fortune didn't follow fame. One Foot has yet to make it big commercially in this country. But they have caught on in Europe. In January and February, they will make their fourth annual tour of that continent. And Wieser has begun developing a solo career, playing libraries and coffeehouses. He also is working on an album with Dell Owens, a songwriter he met through the Arizona Songwriters Association, of which Wieser is membership director. "There are a lot of other things I want to say, that don't have to do with old people and smelly feet," Wieser said, explaining his pursuit of a career outside of One Foot. Last update 10-Mar-2002. © One Foot In The Grave. Contact us or sign the Guest Book.