Rising from the ashes of mid 90's punk rock pioneers The Ballbustaz, Jesse
Davis along with Devin Davis and Matt Schwahn, 5 string bass maestro known for
his work with Blue Friday, formed a 3 piece acoustical trio in late 2003.
Playing at the now defunct Sugar Creek Saloon in Damiansville, IL for it's now
infamous Open Mic nights, hosted by Kloggy, they met several like minded
individuals. Two, in particular, were the most common. Josh Knapp on guitar and
Travis Hill on guitar and drums(most known for his work with the eclectic outfit
Open). They struck up a friendship and began to jam together at the open mic's.
Josh had invited an old friend of his Scott Ruppel to come jam on trumpet. He
played with the outfit at an open mic. Right away everyone wanted to get
together and see if a band could be formed.
In February 2004 they came together to start practicing at the now defunct Club
160. The band consisted of Devin Davis on mandolin, Jesse Davis on guitar,
Travis Hill on percussion, Josh Knapp on guitar Scott Ruppel on trumpet, and
Matt Schwahn on bass. They played their first show at Sugar Creek in May of
2004. At the time of this show several band names were bandied about. First
there was Willie and the Po' Boys. Then there was Skeleton Key. The final name
was to have risen from a conversation with band mentor, Cory Knapp, where
someone was to have said to him: "What's better than Guns 'N' Roses??" His reply
was: "Breakfast For Dinner!" The name stuck and although he remembers nothing of
this conversation, it will always be credited to him.
After their initial show they kept it together and practiced more and more. They
began playing regularly toward the end of 2004. In early 2005, the band received
house band shows and played every weekend. But by March, Travis Hill stated his
intentions of moving on at the end of the month for personal reasons. Travis's
last show with Breakfast For Dinner was March 26th 2005.
There was a short list of possibilities to consider after his departure.
Everyone was in agreement that the band should continue. After some conversing
amongst the band, John Davis, brother of Jesse Davis, was asked to play drums.
John's ability to play in nearly every genre was a big factor. He was working in
no less than 4 other bands at the time. Punk rock outfit Noonday Crawl,
Alternative rock ensemble The Gloaming, Classic Rock group The Jumpstarts, and
with the Polka King of Southern Illinois, Danny Krausz. He fit in perfectly and
started playing out within the first few weeks.
2005 proved to be good to Breakfast For Dinner. They continued to play shows all
over the Southern Illinois region and work together forming some well-honed
original songs. The shows very frequently feature some of Illinois' best
musicians sitting in with the group. 2006 will prove to be the best year yet.