Mr. Twisto

The members of local punk rock band Mr. Twisto have an interesting story behind their name.

Drummer Brian “Double Shock” James and a friend were at a school carnival waiting in line for balloon animals. The portly man making the creatures wore an odd outfit.

“His coat was six-and-a-half sizes too small for him,” James said. “I said something like `Hey, Captain Kangaroo called and wants his suit back.’ “

The man angrily kicked them out of line, but the memory stuck with James. Years later, when it came time to name their newly-formed punk band, he and lead guitarist Joel “Random Noise” Williamson agreed on a slightly-altered version of the balloon artist’s name, “Mr. Twisty.”

Now, the only thing the pair needed was a few more musicians to complete the band, so they turned to their classmates at Ferris.

Soon, Mike “Rusty Hinge” Horrocks was added as a rhythm guitarist, and a few months after the trio’s public debut at a talent show, Josh “Big Stubby” Teaford was recruited to play bass guitar.

Since then, the four Ferris juniors have been defining their Blink-182-ish sound in nocturnal practice sessions.

Their all-night practice sessions are fueled by massive amounts of Mountain Dew, $2 boxes of doughnuts and “The Big Lebowski,” James and Horrocks said.