WI: Punk rocker Obama

JoeMulk

Banned
What if while attending Occidental College Obama becomes involved in the LA Punk scene of the early 80s and is inspired to start a band?
 
I can help with this.


Obama joins the LA punk scene and starts his own band. "Darkest Africa" gains some mainstream notoriety after their accidental and fluke hit song, a collaboration between the former members of British Goth Rock band Bauhaus (Performing as "Love and Rockets") and Darkest Africa sends Barry Dunham's band into the top 5. Love and Rockets' career takes off, spawning a few hits in the early 90s. Love and Rockets reforms as the Bauhaus, Darkest Africa then breaks up.

In 1995, after the breakup of Nirvana, Dave Ghohl is looking for a new band to play with. Ghrol wants to have 2 lead vocals in his new band, as a way to break from the traditional pattern of having one lead singer. He auditions many other singers, including Perry Ferrel, Layne Staley and Lajon Witherspoon. He eventually settles on former frontman for Darkest Africa, Barry Dunham. The Foo Fighters, with its crooning, soul filled lead singer, transcend many genres of music, from Folk Kenyan to Hawaiian to Soul to Punk to Grunge and influences a wide group of musicians.

John Edwards/Carol Mosley Braun goes on to win the DNC nomination in 2008, but loses to the politically astute John McCain and his running mate JC Watts in the general elections.

Dunham then gets a lot of negative press after calling VP Elect Watts a "house negro", and is pressured to apologize on foofighters.com for his comment.
 
There is a musician out there who's early biography parallels President Obama's to a shocking degree. Take a look at Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave and The Nightwatchman.
 

Wolfpaw

Banned
Next up on WQRR 97.1, the latest hit from BaRock and the Obamanations: "Yes We Can (All Night Long)" from their latest album, Gimme Your Change!

Only on WQRR!
 
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Obama gets involved in punk in LA, watching a few Black Flag shows here or there but transfers to Columbia in New York as per OTL.

He was a known user of cocaine in his younger days and didn't have much in the way of pocket change. His drug dealer, Roger Miret, says that Obama can work off his debt and score some cocaine by playing guitar in his band, Agnostic Front.

Not really knowing how to play the guitar isn't that big of a problem given the state of early hardcore punk.

Obama graduates from Columbia but instead of going to law school, chooses to continue touring with Agnostic Front until Miret is sent to prison for selling drugs in the late 80s. From there, he decides to attend law school at Harvard.
 

JoeMulk

Banned
I can help with this.


Obama joins the LA punk scene and starts his own band. "Darkest Africa" gains some mainstream notoriety after their accidental and fluke hit song, a collaboration between the former members of British Goth Rock band Bauhaus (Performing as "Love and Rockets") and Darkest Africa sends Barry Dunham's band into the top 5. Love and Rockets' career takes off, spawning a few hits in the early 90s. Love and Rockets reforms as the Bauhaus, Darkest Africa then breaks up.

In 1995, after the breakup of Nirvana, Dave Ghohl is looking for a new band to play with. Ghrol wants to have 2 lead vocals in his new band, as a way to break from the traditional pattern of having one lead singer. He auditions many other singers, including Perry Ferrel, Layne Staley and Lajon Witherspoon. He eventually settles on former frontman for Darkest Africa, Barry Dunham. The Foo Fighters, with its crooning, soul filled lead singer, transcend many genres of music, from Folk Kenyan to Hawaiian to Soul to Punk to Grunge and influences a wide group of musicians.

John Edwards/Carol Mosley Braun goes on to win the DNC nomination in 2008, but loses to the politically astute John McCain and his running mate JC Watts in the general elections.

Dunham then gets a lot of negative press after calling VP Elect Watts a "house negro", and is pressured to apologize on foofighters.com for his comment.

Haha love it! This would make an excellent timeline.
 

JoeMulk

Banned
There is a musician out there who's early biography parallels President Obama's to a shocking degree. Take a look at Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave and The Nightwatchman.

Maybe in a parallel universe Obama has a career as a left-wing rocker and Morello goes into Democratic politics.
 

JoeMulk

Banned
Obama gets involved in punk in LA, watching a few Black Flag shows here or there but transfers to Columbia in New York as per OTL.

He was a known user of cocaine in his younger days and didn't have much in the way of pocket change. His drug dealer, Roger Miret, says that Obama can work off his debt and score some cocaine by playing guitar in his band, Agnostic Front.

Not really knowing how to play the guitar isn't that big of a problem given the state of early hardcore punk.

Obama graduates from Columbia but instead of going to law school, chooses to continue touring with Agnostic Front until Miret is sent to prison for selling drugs in the late 80s. From there, he decides to attend law school at Harvard.


props for the reference to Agnostic Front!
 
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