Raul and the Sunshine Posse

By the time I came back to school for my sophomore year, I was a full-fledged punk rocker, complete with an electric guitar, songs, friends, fashion, hard pointy hair, and a sneer affixed permanently to my lips that made Sid Vicious look like Elvis. What's more, I considered myself in charge, the main spokesman to Whitey on behalf of the growing number of kids in my class who seemed to care deeply about this amalgamation of hard, fast, melodious music with all it's facets and arteries and the attitude that accompanied it. I sure didn't know it all (I am still learning my craft to this day), but I knew the most. Of course, I could not see into the future, and if I could, I wouldn't have wanted to. As I mentioned before, I mistook the trend for permanence, a flaw later shed whilst learning of Buddhism and Death and Dying, two subjects I was ignorant of at the time. So, in my class we had my band Ninja Attak, originally formed of Dan Robinson (me) on lead guitar and vocals, Brendan Huffman on other guiatar and vocals, Nick Cappelli on bass, and Joe "Eightball" McBride on drums. Soon, it became apparent that Nick and Joe weren't in it to win it (they formed the ill-fated Amish Ramish), so Huffer moved to bass and we poached Mike Cruz. Speaking of which their was also Sex Girl Patrol (name coined by me) with Cruz on drums, Nick Erwin on vocals and rhythm guitar, Mike Gallagher on lead guitar, and Danny Oi! aka Fat Dan Krapf on bass. I hung out with S.G.P. all the time, messin' around and doing interviews on 91.7 WMPH's Anomaly Punk Show, and eventually trumped their friendship and musicianship, claiming Mike Cruz as my own. We also had the incomparable singer/guitar dude Billy Frolic, who went through many band incarnations (The Dick Nixon Project), finally achieving greatness with Science for Kids, including Sandro Braidotti on bass and vocals and Timmy "Ham Juice" Toner on drums. I would later join up on lead guitar. There were also a handful of contributors, specifically our girlfriends and girls we wanted to be our girlfriends. Point being, there were enough of us to skew the private Catholic school to predominantly punk rock for a year. It only made sense, as Wilmington/West Chester legends the Crash and Plow United were alumni of our school. I was heir apparent, dig? Things were in full swing and I envisioned some kind of anti-authoritarian neo-Age of Aquarius, I was coming into (physical) adulthood during the months that Green Day ruled the world, so when we had a new freshman class under us, I looked at them as recruits, picking and choosing the most promising. Among them was Mike Bianchino, my on again of again frenemy who actually did start a band, Wrenfield, and played shows with us using Cruz as the drummer, Brian Louie, Dave Keef, Steve Wocolski, Kyle Gregg, Brian Westerner, Nick DiAngelo, etc... No one really amounted to what I wanted them to. (Though, in a nearby school, Justin Vavala was becoming one of the future's brightest!) But their was one dude who stood out, given name Paul Voss, dubbed by me as Raul VanderVoss Sunshine. Raul was a real deal space dude, using weed well before I would form an addiction! You literally never knew what this dude was gonna say and he was a source of constant entertainment to me, and a real friend! As I was trying to push everyone I knew into musicianhood, I set Raul up with a band name, Raul and His Sunshine Posse, and he began giving me lyrics, a few a day for a few months. Now, ask my mom and she'll tell you, I never throw away anything, at all. I have every lyric I ever wrote, every article I ever wrote, everything you ever wrote. All of Huffer and Sandro's and everybody's Urine Zine and Kid Spastik articles. Every anti-jock lyric Huff penned, original Pam Mullenhour lyrics, and you better believe it, every Raul lyric. I have huge tupperware containers full of 'em, war trophies. What follows are some of Raul's greatest hits.

I am the travelin’ piano
Coming to your town
I knock your socks off
And turn you upside down

Swish goes the keys as I sing this song
Boom, boom, boom
Rock all night long

Holie Molie, look at me
Morks in my ears
Don’t know what can’t hear

Swish goes the keys as I sing this song
Boom, boom, boom
Rock all night long

Ohh don’t let the travelin’ piano get you sucka
It will grab your weiner
And out it on a motorboat to France.


The Christmas balls are hangin’
On the tree tonight
Over the sky town lights

Red, yellow, blue, green
They are the colors I have seen

You can’t touch my Christmas balls
They are really cool
And they are all mine

Red, yellow, blue, green
They are the colors I have seen

They are all my Christmas balls
And they are so sexy

Every time I turn around they fall down
Every time I turn around they fall down
Every time, Every time
Every time, Every time


I once knew a guy named Skippy
His daughter was a real big hippy
He wore gloves outside even when it was nippy

Hey Skippy Dean, Hey Skippy Dean
Walk a little faster
You’re the king of polyester Skippy Dean

I see you on the catwalk
Reading about last nights Matlock
I see you’re wearin’ a hatsock
Skippy Dean

Hey Skippy Dean, Hey Skippy Dean
Walk a little faster
You’re the king of polyester Skippy Dean