Joe Gittleman, previously the bassist for Gang Green and the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, assembled the Boston-based punk-pop quartet Avoid One Thing with guitarists Amy Griffin of the Raging Teens and Paul Delano, ex-Darkbuster, plus drummer Dave Karcich. The band’s Replacements-meets-Green Day approach surfaces throughout their self-titled 2002 debut on Side One Dummy. Gittleman had already written and tracked nearly every song on his own during gaps in the Bosstones’ calendar; when the completed lineup hit the road for an East Coast tour in March 2002, the material began evolving through fresh contributions from the other players. One week before the album’s street date, disaster arrived: on April 2, Karcich—who had also played with the Pilfers and Spring Heeled Jack—suffered a brain aneurysm and died three days later, with his funeral falling on the exact day the record appeared. After briefly weighing whether to disband, the remaining members decided their friend would have insisted they continue. What had started as a side project for Gittleman quickly became his main commitment, the lineup locking in around him, Griffin, and drummer John Lynch. The group’s second album, Chopstick Bridge, arrived in May 2004 and marked a more collaborative effort overall.
