Rock band formed by Joe Gallagher (guitar) and Dennis Barth (bass) after the demise of their former band sporatic sunjam. They added former Doom Cookie members Dave Linantud (lead vocals, guitar, harmonica), and Will ‘Porky’ Berry (drums, percussion). Members hailed from Catonsville and West Baltimore areas and played an eclectic mix of original music from driving alternative, grunge, to acoustic rock. The name Circle 9 was created from a song Gallagher had written while with his former band referring to an influence while listening to the Beatles “Revolution #9” and seeing a painting by Salvador Dali.
The original Circle 9 lineup released two 7” vinyl records in 1995 and in 1996 their debut CD “If It Was Up Your Ass You’d Know It.”
The wild antics of the group caused them to be barred from returning to many of the venues they performed. Locally they appeared at Memory Lane, Ottobar, Millrace Inn, Harry’s, and the annual SoWeBo Festival in Southwest Baltimore. They opened shows for Crack the Sky, and Monster Magnet at the Recher Theater, and performed live on Damien Einstein’s WRNR radio program. In addition to the club dates and concert the group performed for many parties and raves. They did shows at the Eutaw Street warehouse where they practiced. On a cross-country tour all but one scheduled performance was cancelled due to various reasons, however they did get to play for a street festival in New Orleans.
In 1995 Circle 9 used generators to power their equipment for an impromptu performance for tailgaters in the parking lot of RFK Stadium in DC before a Grateful Dead concert. This was the also the ill-fated event when a severe thunderstorm came through with lightning striking and killing two concert goers. The concert also turned out to be the last Dead tour with Jerry Garcia who passed away in August of that year.
Circle 9’s travels, live performances, and idle time goofing off between shows was documented in a self-produced video “The Cracker Gets the Cheese” released in 1998 and sold at their shows.
For the 2000 CD “Eutaw St.” (named after the above noted warehouse) Barth had been replaced with bassist Brian Lutz. Their song “My Oh My” was included on the 2000 Record & Tape Traders employee band compilation “Don’t Quit Your Day Job.” Also “Song For Kass” was included on the 2001 comp Spitting Seeds – Millenium Edition. This Circle 9 lineup remained intact for their 2002 double CD set “The War Between the States” (Circle 9), and the 2005 CD “Travelog: Act I” (District Records).
1995 Original Spin Agreement Song / Noel the Coward
1995 Original Spin Angela / The Revolution’s Coming
1996(CD) Circle 9 001 If It Was Up Your Ass You’d Know It
1998(video) “The Cracker Gets the Cheese”
2000(CD) Eutaw St.
2002(CD) Circle 9 1861 The War Between the States
2005(CD) District Travelogue: Act I
