Eddie Townsend - lead vocals, percussion
Jim "Surfin'" Bird - guitar, vocals
Doug "Deluxe" Gebhard - guitar, vocals
Jim "Jimmy Ramone" Spitznagel - bass
Mike "Roger Ramjet" Kolesar - drums

Eddie & the Otters was formed in September of 1978 by Jim Spitznagel and Doug Gebhard, who were working at Jim's Records in Pittsburgh. Ed Townsend, Steve Fisher, and Gebhard had previously been members of the acoustic folk/rock band Uncle Sky (aka Sky King & His Niece Penny). Mike Kolesar was a regular customer at Jim's and had played in various bands with Jim Bird since 1973 (their most recent project was a 45 as the Psychotic Petunias). Bird, Townsend, and Kolesar were all attending the University of Pittsburgh.

Spitznagel and Gebhard, inspired by the movie "Animal House", decided to assemble a band to play at a toga party at Chatham College's REA House (a girl's dorm). The band took the name Otis & the Otters, a combination of the singer in the band featured in "Animal House" (Otis Day & the Knights) and one of the movie's main characters (Otter). The performance was so successful that a dance was scheduled in the college cafeteria two weeks later. When that show was also a smash, they decided to keep the band together. The name was changed to Eddie & the Otters, assuring that Townsend would not become known as "Otis".

The Otters next landed a gig opening for the Human Switchboard at Phase III, a bar in the Pittsburgh suburb of Swissvale which had been booking punk bands like Richard Hell and the Dead Boys. A week later they opened for local heavies Diamond Reo, and a week after that carried the whole evening by themselves.

In December, they followed a return to REA House by opening for the Los Angeles punk band X at Phase III. A few nights later they were back headlining, with opening act The Puke, a local quasi-punk band making their first public appearance (they secured their place in Pittsburgh music history by shredding a Bible during their set). The Puke was subsequently banned from Phase III and the next night the Otters played by themselves.

Through Eddie and Doug's friendship with the local country-rock band Ezy Elmer, the Otters got bookings at the Evergreen Hotel and Mike's Valley Vue Lounge, both in Pittsburgh's North Hills. Their two shows at the Evergreen in January were wildly successful, but the management took exception to the rowdy crowd they brought in. After one show in February (opening for Ezy Elmer while the Elmers were opening for Roy Buchanan at St. Vincent College) and one in early March, they lost the Evergreen Hotel gig when they turned down a steady weeknight gig because of scheduling conflicts. The Mike's Valley Vue gig was much less successful. They were booked for three Fridays in February, the coldest winter in years, and by the third week the show was stopped early due to lack of attendance (due to lack of heat - the band had to wear coats on stage).

In February '79, the Otters landed a Tuesday night audition at The Decade, the most prestigious rock club in the Pittsburgh area. Surprisingly, the club was packed, and the band was later told they had the most successful audition night there to date, surpassing the previous record held by the Iron City Houserockers. Despite Mike fighting the flu, the band played long and hard, finally declining a third encore.

On March 6th and 7th, Eddie & the Otters secured their niche in the regular band rotation at The Decade by winning over a packed house while opening for the Ramones. They began appearing regularly at The Decade, holding down Wednesday or Thursday nights for the next five months, plus opening a number of shows for promoter Danny Kresky (including the Max Demian Band, the Marc Tanner Band, and the Romantics.

Beginning July 3, the Otters began a series of shared billings with the Hell Band, another local band that featured a British front man and a repertoire of British new wave. While they were intimidated at first by the Hell Band's tightness and more professional stage presence, they soon tired of the carbon-copy performances and verbatim patter between songs. On August 10 the Hell Band asked the Otters to open for them at Fat City, the night their "Hell on Earth" show was being filmed and broadcast live on WYEP-FM.

By early August, Eddie decided he needed to reassess his direction in life and quit the band, moving to Uniontown, PA to stay with friends. Eddie & the Otters played their last two shows at The Decade on August 23 and August 25 (when they play half an hour past curfew to a packed house who carried the vocals on the last encore of "Louie Louie" after the p.a. system had been shut off.)

Gebhard and Spitznagel reformed the band as The Otters (aka the New Otters) with Jonathan Newhouse on guitar and vocals and Diane Ford (who had substituted for Mike on a couple of occasions) on drums and vocals. This lineup didn't live up to the reputation of the originals and disbanded shortly after their October 24 debut at The Decade.

By the end of the year, Eddie had moved back to Pittsburgh, and the original line-up decided to reform. Following a private debut party in the basement of Jim's Records, the Otters' first appearance was at The Decade, opening for Tantrum. Once again, they stole the show from the headliners. Their repertoire now included some more contemporary tunes by Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, and the Ramones.

A few days later they made their first trip into the recording studio, cutting "Little Girl" and "Grand Larceny" at Sound Seven Studios for the upcoming compilation LP, "Made in Pittsburgh Vol. 1" on Bogus Records. Regular bookings at The Decade resumed, including opening spots for the Romantics (again) and the Pretenders.

Mike had been job hunting following his December graduation from Pitt, and in February he accepted a job in the Detroit area. As a result, auditions were held for a new drummer and a replacement was found in Billy O'Connor, whose resume including the Stilettos (later known as Blondie). In March Billy started splitting the shows with Mike.

In mid-March, the band went back in the studio to record four new originals (Gebhard's "Hide and Seek" and "The Right Stuff", and Spitznagel's "Bad News Travels Fast" and "Chance in a Million") before Mike moved away. "Bad News..." was released on "Made in Pittsburgh Vol. 2" a year later, and all four finally were released on Spitznagel's Public Records label in late '81.

Mike's last performance was on March 27. The band continued until mid-May, when they broke up following disastrous shows at the Electric Banana and Fat City. Spitznagel and O'Connor formed the Hornets with Hank Lawhead (from the Reallies and the Hank Band on "Made in Pittsburgh Vol. 1") and Rob Smiley (from the Reallies). Gebhard was also supposed to be included, but was later dropped from the lineup. Eddie worked for the Census Bureau before beginning his studies at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh, and Jim Bird continued his studies at Pitt.

In September, the Otters reformed to play a benefit concert at the King's Court Theatre which also debuted the "Made in Pittsburgh Vol. 1" LP. Spitznagel was on the bill playing with the Hornets in support of Hank Lawhead's material on the LP, and so refused to play with the Otters. He was replaced with Steve Fisher, who hadn't played with the Otters since their first gig at the toga party.

As a result, plans began for a new band with Eddie, Jim Bird, Steve, and Jim's soon-to-be-brother-in-law Ken Thompson. Around the same time, Mike decided to quit his job and move back to Pittsburgh, and he was included in the plans as well. While Mike made preparations to move home, the other four began rehearsing.

By the end of the year, the Hornets had disbanded, and plans were made to reunite the original Eddie & the Otters again to play one more show at The Decade, celebrating Jim Spitznagel's 30th birthday. The show included guest appearances by many friends, including Hank Lawhead and Billy O'Connor, Paul Shook from Norm Nardini & the Tigers, and Francis Volpe from Rygel. Steve and Ken also sat in, making the public debut of the new band, which was trying to decide on a name. (Five Small Cigars was ultimately rejected in favor of The Spuds, which was less suggestive, but more confusing when another local band took the same name a year or so later).

Eddie & the Otters were brought back together again in April, first for the kick-off show for the albums "Made in Pittsburgh Vols. 2 & 3" at The Decade, then a dance at Waverly Church along with the Spuds and the Crackers (a new band that included Billy O'Connor).

Through May and June the Spuds played a few private engagements, but didn't attempt to get any club bookings. They took on more songs from the Otters' repertoire to help fill their shows out, and later the Otters would play some of the songs that the Spuds had picked up.

Other gigs followed: a beach party at The Decade in July with the Crackers and Endless Summer, opening for Norm Nardini & the Tigers at Fat City in late August, and shows at The Decade and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in September and October.

After a couple of months off, Eddie & the Otters played what was to be their last show with the original lineup at The Decade on January 22, 1982. Jonathan and Diane from the aborted "New Otters" and Hank Lawhead sat in, and the entire show was videotaped for posterity.

Bookings slowed down considerably with Mike working rotating shifts at his new job, Jim busy with school, and Eddie studying at the Seminary. In June, the Spuds played a private party at Meadow Wood Farm in Uniontown, an event which was so successful that it was repeated on July 4, and at another farm in the area in September. Ken Thompson' involvement was becoming more sporadic, and Phil Skomra took his place on rhythm guitar, along with Phil's girlfriend Janine Kupets on vocals. Their repertoire began shifting to include more country-ish material.

On October 9, Mike married Lynda Lawley, who he had met while performing at The Decade and started dating just prior to his Detroit move. Jim Bird was best man at the wedding, Eddie was an usher, and the three jammed with the Flashcats at the wedding reception, along with Steve Fisher, Phil Skomra, and others.

The Spuds made several guest appearances with Endless Summer, who Eddie and Jim Bird joined briefly. Mike and Steve joined them for a short set at The Decade in July and at a dance at Covenant Community Church (where Eddie was student minister) in November.

Eddie finished his student minister work and got a job in Utica, NY, so beginning in 1983, Otters engagements were limited to his visits back to Pittsburgh. In June, the Otters (with Steve Fisher now on bass) played another party at Meadow Wood Farm with Doug's new band the Crazy Aces.

Jim Bird married Jean Thompson on October 1, with Eddie performing the ceremony and Mike the best man. The night before, the Spuds, Hank Band, Otters and Crazy Aces played at Jim's bachelor party at The Decade. At the reception, Jim, Eddie, Mike, and Steve Fisher joined Endless Summer for a couple of songs.

In 1984, the Spuds played at Meadow Wood Farm again, and the Otters played a party at Steve's house. Also playing at that party was the Grapetones, a new band with Steve, his wife Judy, and Doug.

Eddie & the Otters played a dance at Waverly Church in June, 1985 along with I.O.U. (former members of Endless Summer and the Crazy Aces) and a Crazy Aces reunion. Mike and Jim Spitznagel played together for the first time in three and a half years at Hank Lawhead's wedding reception in July.

The Otters also played a guest set with the Grapetones at Moushy's Pub in April, 1986. In July, the Otters played at Meadow Wood with the Grapetones and Lost Cause (Phil Skomra's band that also included Sean Lally, later of the Frampton Brothers). Jim missed the gig and Grapetones' keyboardist Tim Menees substituted.

There was only one Otters performance in 1987, another guest appearance with the Grapetones at Brewski's (Moushy's Pub under new ownership). By this time Doug had also begun studies at the Seminary, following in Eddie's footsteps. Eddie got married in New York.

Although there were no Otters performances in 1988, they spent some time together at Doug's wedding.

In late '88, Mike began joking with Jim Spitznagel about a 10-year Eddie & the Otters reunion show at The Decade. All the ex-members seemed to think it was a good idea, and by early '89, the plans had been made for an April show that would be the first time the original lineup would play together in over seven years. Mike, Doug, Jim Bird, and Jim Spitznagel began rehearsing in March, and by the time Eddie arrived in town a few days before the show, they were ready to go. Mike called Billy O'Connor during one of the rehearsals, and he gladly accepted the invitation to play, as did Steve Fisher. On April 8 the show went off beautifully before a full house at The Decade.

The Otters, minus Spitznagel again, guested with the Grapetones at Graffiti in June of 1990. A couple of months later, Jim Bird and Mike began rehearsing a new band with Tim Menees, playing Cajun and zydeco.

In 1990 Doug began ministering at a church in the Ben Avon area of Pittsburgh, and he started holding an acoustic open stage in January 1991. The first one featured "unplugged" sets by Uncle Sky, the Grapetones, and the Otters, along with Frontstreet.

Eddie moved back to Pittsburgh in 1991, and he began ministering at Linway Church in North Versailles, PA (Mike and Jim Bird's hometown). In July he brought back a version of the Otters with Jim, Steve, and Mike to perform at a church dance.

Eddie's attempts to work within the community resulted in a dance at the Sunset Fire Hall in North Versailles in January 1992. Eddie & the Otters appeared on the bill with three heavy metal bands made up of high school-aged kids from the area. They made quite an impression on the kids, showing them how the "old guys" could rock, too.

On Memorial Day, Eddie booked an unadvertised show at The Decade for an opportunity to play there with a good p.a. system just for the fun of it. Doug was back in the lineup along with Tim Menees. In addition to the Otters' regular songs, Tim, Mike, and Jim played some of their zydeco band Mon Gumbo's material.

An official Eddie & the Otters reunion was requested for The Decade's 20th anniversary celebration in October, 1993. Jim Spitznagel was invited to play again, but declined the offer. Due to lack of advertising (the first ads didn't come out until the next day!) the crowd was light, but the Otters three sets were well received (although a little rough).

Shortly afterwards, Eddie and his family moved to Albany, NY, where he resumed work as a minister. A couple of years later Jim Spitznagel sold his record store, worked briefly at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, then relocated to Ithaca, NY, where he started an Internet-only CD store. Doug worked as a minister in the Pittsburgh area, but essentially retired from performing with bands. Mike and Jim Bird continued performing regularly with Mon Gumbo, with other musical projects on the side. Steve Fisher began playing with two bands, the Brutal Pigeons and Grappa, and doing session work.

Six years went by and it seemed unlikely that the Otters would play again, but in spring 1999, Eddie and Jim Spitznagel began corresponding and tossing around ideas for a 20th anniversary reunion. The other members were convinced to participate, and although Spitznagel decided not to participate, a reunion was held on June 9 at the Bloomfield Bridge Tavern. After an opening set by Steve's band the Brutal Pigeons, the Otters played two rough sets. Guests included Carl Grefenstette and Dave Kent from the Flashcats and Greg Matecko from the Upbeats. To commemorate the occasion, Mike assembled a CD compilation of studio and live recordings, which he titled "Otterbiography". It was well received, and future issues from Mike's tape collection are being planned.

No immediate plans have been made for another Otters reunion, but the possibility always exists. Eddie and Jim Spitznagel still live in New York, while the rest of the members are around the Pittsburgh area.

Mike is always looking for audio & videotapes, photographs, or any other memorabilia on Eddie & the Otters. Please contact Mkolesar@aol.com or write to P.O. Box 11294, Pittsburgh, PA 15238.