A history by Oscar Flood

Special Ed formed in the late summer of 1983 as an afterthought of a jam session in McKeesport, PA. There was a party held that was to feature a jam with the host, Ralph (last name long forgotten) on guitar and Doug Heaps on drums. Doug invited his friend, Bob Loiselle, to partake in the festivities on bass as Doug and Bob had played together in the short-lived group Kaos the previous year. Also in attendance was guitarist Mark Chute who had spent the previous two years playing in Danger High Voltage.

The initial jam did not do much to inspire most of the participants. Ralph was soon declared “the boogie king” due to his prowess on ZZ Top-like boogie jams but the other players were not so inclined. It was when Ralph took a break and Doug, Mark and Bob played together that the sparks started to fly. A week later they had set up in Mark’s basement (minus Ralph) and a new band started to take shape.

Mark overflowed with a natural ability to find the spaces and create something special no matter what odd rhythm that Doug and Bob laid down. “He was fun, funny and fantastic,” remarked Bob who was also impressed with the collection of toys spread across the practice space. The most impressive was the rat-on-a-stick. This was a rubber rat that has a foot long stick shoved up its backside. Mark explained that if you didn’t like somebody you could point the rat-on-a-stick at them to give them bad juju. “Giving them the rat” it was called.

Mark also brought in a second guitarist, Rick Brletic, who had been his partner in Danger High Voltage. His technical ability perfectly complemented Mark’s intuitive style and over the powerful rhythm section of Doug and Mark there was instant chemistry. Rick, Mark and Bob brought in a foundation of material and the songs coalesced into a unique sound. This sound became Special Ed.

By February of 1984 they had worked up enough material to start playing out and played their first show at The Playpen Lounge, a famous dive bar in McKeesport. It wasn’t long before they were playing at the ultimate dive bar, The Electric Banana. The shows became more frequent and the new material kept getting more adventurous.

It was during this time that Mark and Bob developed a song writing partnership that would define the band. It happened so organically that it felt like they had been writing together forever. Most of the time Mark wrote the lyrics while Bob supplied the music and Mark’s wonderful, evocative lyrics proved a perfect fit for Bob’s quirky songs.

Things almost came undone in the falloff 1984 when Doug unexpectedly quit the group. It was a trying time for the band as they had trouble finding a suitable replacement. Drummers were auditioned but none of them were weird enough to fit in. Then came Binky. Binky was a drinking buddy who could play the drums. He didn’t have chops like Doug and was clearly self-taught but he had a feel for the music and he was fun. And just like that Special Ed was back in the clubs playing shows.

But a year later it was Rick’s turn to leave. He was planning on getting married and had made the grown-up decision to dedicate himself to his family as opposed to playing shows that didn’t even pay for his beer money. While it was a tough blow to take at the time, Rick’s departure was necessary for Special Ed to evolve into the band it became.

Soon afterwards, the band entered the studio for the first time to record their debut album that would be released on cassette. Working with producer Jim Wilson at Micro Mix Studio they recorded over 20 songs and the cassette was released on their own label which they called Rat-on-a-Stick Records. This led to even more shows and the band was befriended by the iconic band Carsickness who soon had Special Ed opening for them at many of their shows. This exposed the band to a new audience who embraced the music and their profile started to rise.

Within a year they were back at Micro Mix working on their self-titled LP. With their friend Fred Rice supplying some “subliminal sax” they recorded over 20 songs including fan favorite “Leonard Doe” named after their mascot mannequin that accompanied them to all their shows.

The album was released in the fall of 1986 and spent several weeks topping the charts at local radio station WRCT and received airplay on the legendary BBC John Peel Show which led to their first fan mail from Europe. Soon the band was opening for national acts like Sonic Youth and the Bad Brains. It was an exciting time.

In the spring of 1987 Special ed played one of their most memorable shows. They were booked to open for carsickness but a week before the show Binky let the band know he couldn’t make it. Instead of cancelling their appearance, they called on Doug to fill in and took advantage of the opportunity to do something different. In just a couple of rehearsals the band rearranged songs for guitar, keyboards and electric drums. On the night of the show, the band arrived early and set up in the middle of the room so they’d be playing “in the round”. Doug set up the soundboard next to his Simmons pads so he could mix while they played. The result was a unique and stunning show. Miraculously someone had recorded the show on a cassette and it was released later in the year as “The Love Tobias”.

But Binky did not return to the band. Over the next year Special Ed played shows with Doug, Ed Tarzia and Mark Underwood behind the kit. It felt like a water-treading period until Doug finally rejoined the band full time in the summer of 1988.

The band immediately went to work on a new album. In July the basic tracks were recorded and it was evident that something special was brewing. Within a few months the vocals and overdubs were added and soon there were twenty-six songs in a myriad of styles. From instrumentals to acapella. From devastating riffs to space rock. “When It Rains It Foams” was a masterpiece. The reviews were superlative.

1990 was the year that things should have happened for Special Ed. National record labels came nibbling and the band was offered the opportunity to open for Half Japanese on a two-week tour. But just as the door started open, it slammed shut. Doug left the band again to teach studio sound and the tour didn’t happen. Mark and Bob showed their resilience by starting to write a rock opera called “His Touch” which revolved around the dreams of their mannequin mascot, Leonard. Once again in need of a drummer Bob called upon his old Windowpane cohort Ed Boytim and rehearsals commenced.

By the start of summer “His Touch” was completed and Special Ed started to play the piece in its entirety. There were more high-profile shows as they opened for Soundgarden and did a short East Coast tour, performing the rock opera in New York and New Jersey.

But the curse of the drum stool struck again. As the band was preparing to record “His Touch” Ed left the band. Tragically they never properly recorded the rock opera and things were never the same.

There were few more highlights to come. In January of 1992 they recorded “Three Songs Before His Touch”, a spectacular EP that is among their best work. There were a few more high-profile shows including a triumphant showcase at the renowned local club Metropol. But the unstable drum throne had taken its toll. By mid-1992 Special Ed was all but finished. Mark went into a musical semi-retirement and Bob started Hepcat Dilemma.

They regrouped a couple years later to re-record a blazing version of “Stayin’ Alive” for a covers compilation called “Duck ‘n Cover” and even made an attempt to record “His Touch” with Doug but those sessions only produced a couple of songs that remain unreleased.

When Mark tragically passed away in the summer of 2014, Special Ed had been a memory for a while. But for any who remembers Special Ed, be it from one of their albums or stunning live performances, it will always be timeless.