Escape Goat

Swamp Water was an epic party at PiKA back in the day, and if you didn't experience it, basically it was a fake swamp, live music, and craziness at a 4-way party.

Did you know that the band Honor Among Thieves, which played at the 1990 Swamp Water, later became SR-71, and they had a big song, "Right Now"?

Swamp Water: Cold B**r, Live Music, and a Fake Swamp - Escape Goat - A Novel One of the artifacts I have from my frat days is a T-shirt from Swamp Water in 1990. It was a party where we’d create a swamp behind the house that you had to go through to get in.

I went to Lollapalooza at Lake Fairfax Park in Reston, VA, on August 14, 1992, and I was floored by the opportunity to see so many awesome performers in one place. Check out this lineup… Ice Cube, Jesus and Mary Chain, Lush, Ministry, Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Soundgarden.

But that wasn’t all. In addition to lots of acts on the side stage, we were treated to an unannounced performance by Temple of the Dog! During the Pearl Jam set, Chris Cornell joined them for an absolutely kick-ass version of “Hunger Strike.”

The experience had my head spinning, and I wondered if we could do something similar, but on a much smaller scale, at the University of Maryland. Since the Lollapalooza name was so big at the time, and our fraternity went by PiKA (Pi Kappa Alpha), we went with the name PIKAPALOOZA.

PIKAPALOOZA: A Frat Music Festival With Good Intentions - Escape Goat - A Novel I went to Lollapalooza at Lake Fairfax Park in Reston, VA, on August 14, 1992, and I was floored by the opportunity to see so many awesome performers in one place. Check out this lineup… Ice Cube, Jesus and Mary Chain, Lush, Ministry, Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Soundgarden.

College summers were fun, but sometimes they could be a little dangerous.

Cisco, Sanford and Son, a Payphone, and Post-it Notes - Escape Goat - A Novel It was summer 1991, and the lease on my Knox Box apartment was up. I hadn’t renewed it because I was moving into the fraternity house for the next year. So, I crashed at the frat with a few other guys until Hell Week was set to start and we would settle into our rooms.

You never know when some random moment is going to turn into a thing you talk about for the rest of your life. For Pat and me, it was when we watched the 1981 slasher flick, My Bloody Valentine.

My Bloody Valentine, B**r, and Decades of Rats - Escape Goat - A Novel

A long drive, a super cheap hotel, and some drunken misadventures for one last road trip to New Orleans before heading out into the real world after college.

Fandango: A Road Trip to New Orleans After College - Escape Goat - A Novel I graduated from the University of Maryland in May 1993 with a BA in Communications. My job prospects were pretty limited, since I didn’t have a car and was living at my Dad’s house in the suburbs. I needed a job I could walk or bike to, and the first one that said yes was Comfort Suites in Laur...

I still have my T-shirt from the University of Maryland Homecoming in 1988 and the memory of why there was a hole torn in it.

Cult of Personality and My First University of Maryland Homecoming - Escape Goat - A Novel I was a freshman in fall 1988 at the University of Maryland at College Park, and I pledged Pi Kappa Alpha that semester.

I only made it on one Spring Break in my 5+ years of college, but it was an epic week for sure.

Spring Break 1993 - 1,200 Mile Road Trip to Key West - Escape Goat - A Novel I was in college for 10 semesters and a summer session, but I only managed to go on a Spring Break trip for my very last year.

When I was a teenager, I would watch the Woodstock documentary whenever it was on PBS. Those days seemed so passionate and politically charged, and I wished I were around for it.

I hoped for the same kind of scene when I was in college, but the apathetic Gex X crowd wasn’t as into protesting.

I Thought There Would Be More College Activism in the 1980s - Escape Goat - A Novel When I was a teenager, I would watch the Woodstock documentary whenever it was on PBS. Those days seemed so passionate and politically charged, and I wished I were around for it. As Country Joe and the Fish came on stage to sing the “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag,” the lyrics would take ...

I was overwhelmed when I became a Pi Kappa Alpha pledge at the University of Maryland in September 1988. Just a few months removed from high school, I was suddenly operating in an adult world.

One of the many decisions I had to make early on was choosing a Big Brother in the fraternity. I got to know some guys during rush and came up with my list of three potential Big Brothers.

The Fraternity Choice: Big Brothers and Little Brothers - Escape Goat - A Novel I was overwhelmed when I became a Pi Kappa Alpha pledge at the University of Maryland in September 1988. Just a few months removed from high school, I was suddenly operating in an adult world. One of the many decisions I had to make early on was choosing a Big Brother in the fraternity. I...

I was just reading the old Pi Kappa Alpha rag sheets from my time in college, and they would probably get some people suspended from school these days.

Fraternity Rag Sheets: Brotherly Love and Hate - Escape Goat - A Novel It was the fall 1988 Christmas/Graduation party at the Pi Kappa Alpha chapter at the University of Maryland, where I first saw a fraternity rag sheet. As brothers and their dates mingled and downed drinks, a pile of photocopied, stapled pages appeared.