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Dee Farmin Army haunts The B-Side

Dee Farmin Army is a punk-rock quintet of middle-aged men – (from left) Sam Carpenter, Dee Farmin, Duff Evans, Matt Ingwerson and Paul Wanker – who have been leading the Spokane music scene for the past couple of years. (Amanda Smith / The Spokesman-Review)
By Isamu Jordan isamuj@spokesman.com
Dee Farmin Army is a punk-rock quintet of middle-aged men – (from left) Sam Carpenter, Dee Farmin, Duff Evans, Matt Ingwerson and Paul Wanker – who have been leading the Spokane music scene for the past couple of years. (Amanda Smith / The Spokesman-Review)

You know you’re a Spokane institution when people are considering dressing up as you for Halloween.

A group of friends was overheard discussing dressing up as Dee Farmin for his band’s Halloween show on Saturday at The B-Side.

Farmin can no longer deny it. He is a darkstar in the local under-

ground music scene, particularly in the punk-rock department.

“A lot of people have come up to me and said they saw me play in 1992. I don’t know who they are. I try to be polite, but I’m not a real outgoing guy,” Farmin said during a telephone interview from one of his favorite watering holes, Mootsy’s, in downtown Spokane. “It seems like a lot of people were into my prior projects. I suppose that’s good.”

Old-school heads no doubt know Farmin best from his days with The Fumes.

While The Fumes was counted among the best punk bands in town a decade ago, so is Farmin’s current outfit, Dee Farmin Army.

The Army – Farmin on lead vocals, Paul Wanker on lead guitar, Sam “Yarddart” Carpenter on rhythm guitar, Duff Evans on drums and Matt Ingwerson on bass – appears with Six State Bender and Gorilla Rabbit on Saturday at 9:30 p.m. at The B-Side, 230 W. Riverside Ave. Cover to be announced. The main difference between The Fumes and Dee Farmin Army is that The Fumes were all about touring and making money. The Army is in it for the fun, which is just the way Farmin likes it.

“It starts sucking when people get uptight about money,” he said.

Judging from the name, one might think Farmin is the band’s leader. Actually, 35-year-old Farmin was the second-to-last recruited to join The Army a couple of years ago, during a time he considered himself retired from music.

“I tried out and did well enough that they named the band after me,” Farmin said.

The name “Dee Farmin Army” came when the rest of the band found out Fumes-era Farmin had a fan club with that name.

“I was the only one to say no on that name, but since this band is a democracy it stuck,” Farmin said.

So what does it take for someone to pull off a decent Dee Farmin costume this Halloween?

“I’d tell ‘em to get a pair of big, thick, black glasses. Mine are broken and I have white tape on them, so they look even more punk rock,” Farmin said. “Just put on some glasses and get really drunk on cheap whiskey or Miller Hi-Life. That’s what I’m drinking right now.”