Classic card of the week

Mike Alonso, 1991 Katmandu

Here is a card of Mike Alonso playing a bongo drum. Mike Alonso is a member of Katmandu, which is a band. Was a band. Whatever. The point is, that might be the greatest chest hair that begins randomly midway down the torso that I have seen. In fact I'm not really sure if it's delayed chest hair or high-rising pubic hair, although I do hope it's the former, because I've been staring at if for 15 minutes, and I'd feel weird if I spent all that time staring at another man's pubic hair who is playing bongos. Regardless, one more button undone and we're officially in the forest.

So the front of the card is pretty self-explanatory ... Mike Alonso playing a bongo drum ... Katmandu. But there is even more information on the back of this card. Let us go there.

SPECIALTY: DRUMS

I am going to assume, now that I know that drums are his specialty, that Mike Alonso also plays drums that require sticks.

PROFILE: DRUMMER MIKE ALONSO, ESTABLISHED HIMSELF AS ONE OF THE MOST AGGRESSIVE YOUNG DRUMMERS AROUND DURING THE MID-80S

Again, aggression would seem somewhat limited on bongos, so I think we're talking drum sets and stuff here. Still, I feel like most drummers are pretty aggressive, so being able to establish yourself as one of THE most aggressive drummers out there is quite a feat. I imagine Mike Alonso hit those drums pretty dang hard with his sticks and/or hands. Probably sweat a whole lot, too. This of course raises the relevant question, "Who are some of the most aggressive drummers around TODAY?" I feel like we could talk about that for hours on end, but please leave your answer in the comments. I would say Ringo Starr or my friend Jason Silvero of the Hollyhocks (PLUG), who are the only two drummers I know by name. Also, who are the most passive drummers out there today? Probably whoever plays the drums for Bon Iver. Nevertheless a great question to ask next time you're out at the bar.

HE GOT HIS BIG BREAK WHEN HE DISCOVERED DAVE KING AND MANDY MEYER OF KATMANDU AND ASKED TO JOIN THEIR FLEDGLING OUTFIT.

Hey, your band kind of sucks. Can I join?

There is not a lot of information on Katmandu -- Google was like, "Do you mean Kathmandu?" and I was like, "No, moron! The obscure 80s rock band!" -- but luckily I found the site called Sleaze Roxx. Bail me out, Sleaze Roxx:

Katmandu was a short lived, low impact super group who's one and only album was ridiculed for sounding too much like Great White, failing to establish its own identity.

Maybe we are using the term super group a bit liberally here. Or possibly Alonso -- formerly of The Meanies, who I think I've heard of -- jumping on board took them from fledgling to super group overnight. King was from Fastway, which I've never heard of (although he currently heads Flogging Molly); Meyer from Krokus, Cobra, and Asia, one of which I've heard of; and Caine Carruthers from The Untouchables, which is a movie I saw. Not exactly Velvet Revolver. However, in Katmandu's defense, I was pretty much only listening to Babyface and Father MC at the time, so I was pretty unaware of what was happening among bands that sounded like Great White, or who Great White was.

Anyway, bongos!