Possum Dixon

Possum Dixon (1989-1999) was an American alternative rock band. For the better part of their 10 year existence, the Los Angeles based quartet etched and sustained an imprint on the 1990s alternative rock and roll scene. Fronted by singer/songwriter/bassist Rob Zabrecky, literate songs about love lost and slacker life in Los Angeles and a penchant for unpredictable performances set them apart from the herd of other rock and roll hopefuls. Formed in 1989 by college friends Zabrecky and Celso Chavez (guitar), the pair took their name from a suspected murderer mentioned on television show America's Most Wanted. Initially performing as a duo, they mixed haphazard punk-folk compositions with store-front theatre to some measurable success, primarily performing at LA art/coffeehouses (Be Bop Records, Jabberjaw, Pik-Me-Up). The following year, longtime friends and former schoolmates Robert O’Sullivan (guitar/organ/keyboards) and Rich Truel (drums) were enlisted and together a fuller musical range was explored. Chronicling their hometown's east side slacker life with a pop-rock sensibility, the band smartly incorporated influences from the Talking Heads, Human Hands, Wall of Voodoo, Dream Syndicate and Camper Van Beethoven. By 1992 Possum Dixon had logged a number of mini-tours and produced a number self-released 45" singles and cassettes which included "Music for a One Bedroom Apartment", "Nerves", "Watch the Girl Destroy Me", and a three single box-set released by Pronto Records. Along the way a strong following was built and eventually the band found themselves part of a flowering LA art and coffeehouse scene. Secretly rehearsing by night in a warehouse (where Zabrecky worked as a mailroom clerk by day), hiding their equipment with boxes when they finished, the band diligently polished club-tested material and assembled what would become their first full length major label debut. They eventually found internal harmony without consciously trying. Chavez's disjointed guitar playing wasn't for lack of trying; O'Sullivan's piano crashes weren't for lack of talent. Truel's drumming and Zabrecky's spy-infused bass riffs were all part of a bigger picture about a band who found their own voice from the close confines of practice and proximity to each other in their daily lives. The band also wasn't without lending a helping hand. Beck, a young anti-folk singer with nothing to his name but a beat-up guitar, would frequently get up on stage before the band played to test his latest material. Zabrecky later recorded a bass track on his first Geffen release, Mellow Gold.