That large tree served as the focal point of this small town during city celebrations and other stimulating events that would bring people to Climax. Tragically, these traditions came to an abrupt halt in 1990 when Shaun used his mom's monster truck and a small amount of Class-A rocket fuel to destroy the tree. Due to Shaun's inexplicable behavior, he was asked to leave town or face criminal prosecution. Little did the world know how this pointless act of vandalism would change the face of Rock and Roll.
Shaun spent the next six months as a carnival sideshow barker zig-zagging across America. He would spend his nights going to small clubs searching for musical soul mates to help him create the perfect Rock & Roll chemistry while at the same trying to manage his crippling Attention Deficit Disorder and uncontrollable Turrets Syndrome. Just as Shaun was starting to lose hope of ever finding the perfect band mates, destiny guided back to Minnesota to a club called the 13th Step. On stage was a band called Messina, Oats and Garfunkel: The World's Second Best Band. The backing musicians included an amazing young guitarist/vocalist who was a half Edward Van Halen, half Mr. Rogers and half Ron Jeremy. He watched in amazement as this cat finished the set creating a buzz and energy unlike any other he had ever seen or heard. How was it that a great talent like this was stuck as a utility player with a group of guys who had already seen their 7-1/2 minutes of fame? 
After the show, Shaun approached him but only managed to say, "Hey man, that was .. " before that young guitarist, he later learned was named Dan, went into a 10 minute rant containing more expletives than Shaun would unintentionally utter in a 3 month period. Dan's tirade was completely incoherent, jumping from guitar tone, to his hatred of Wilford Brimley, to hot foreign chicks, his distrust of anyone in a suiti or anyone who didn't drink coffee or those who did drink tea, back to guitar tone, and ending with the details of a conspiracy against both his music and Jerry Springer. After hearing this, Shaun understood why this guy was stuck in a rut. But, he also knew he'd found the perfect person for his band. With this guy around, Shaun would seem like the normal one for the first time in his life. After a lengthy discussion into the early morning hours about music, girls, Alex Trebek and their fiery passion for full contact Poker, Shaun and Dan grabbed their gear and hit the road. They headed off in Dan's 1978 AMC Pacer Tour Bus to southern Wisconsin based only on Dan's vague reference to 'a guy I played with named Dirt who isn't out to get me, yet'. That person would be the next crucial piece of this Rock & Roll Puzzle.
In early 1985, before his complete mental breakdown, Dan had toured as a contract player for the Sesame Street Metal Mayhem tour where he met bass player Kyle "Dirt" Derke. The two of them immediately hit it off and couldn't wait for the tour to end so they could use their newly acquired fame and fortune to start their own band. Unfortunately, there was no fame and no fortune. The tour came to an abrupt halt after the sixth show due to lack of ticket sales and overall public interest. The two parted ways. Dan returned to Minnesota and Dirt returned to Wisconsin where he worked at a local dairy as an assistant cheese curd engineer. After several years of semi-retirement from the music business, Dirt got back in the saddle. He formed the critically acclaimed "Tribute", a band which paid tribute to the great tribute bands of the upper Midwest. Although this was an avenue to scratch his musical itch, he was finding it increasingly difficult to juggle music and his demanding day job not to mention getting his hair to look good after 12 hours in a hair net. He was looking for a change.
Shaun and Dan spend the next 2 years wandering aimlessly through Wisconsin, picking up gigs where they could. Dan never mentioned that he had no idea where Dirt was and often forgot that he was even looking for him. This did not bother Shaun, though. He decided to just keep asking around for a bass player named Dirt and hoped things would just work out. Luck would finally strike in late 1995. Shaun and Dan were playing in a Country funk metal band named "Emerson Biguns" at the Shuffle Inn in Madison, Wisconsin. On that now historic night, they were told their gig had been permanently canceled because the band "Tribute" had expressed interest in becoming the new house band. Having nothing better to do, they hung around to see why they had been so quickly cast aside.
That evening, Tribute took the stage and ripped through classic's such as Eruption's tribute to Van Halen's "You Really Got me" and Moby Dick's tribute to Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven". They ended the set with an incredible tribute to Mrs. Bobby Brown's tribute of Whitney Houston's cover of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You", perfectly executing the double-tribute-cover. The speed of costume changes by Tribute amazed and confused Sully. Dirt had invented velcro-spandex which the band layered to perform instant changes while on stage. That innovation, combined motorized wig racks and on-stage makeup artists, made the entire 'Tribute of Tribute' band genre possible.
After the show, Shaun approached the band to tell them how impressed he was with their performance when he was nearly trampled by four drunk half-naked groupies screaming, "Dirt, we love you!". Shaun was stunned and stopped dead in his tracks. Was this the Dirt they had been looking for? He approached Dirt and quickly explained that he and a guitarist named Dan from Minneapolis had been looking for him for over two years. As Dirt slammed his umbrella drink and looked around the bar for his date of the day and ride home he replied, "Dean? Who the hell is Dean?". After drawing multiple stick figures on the back of a bar napkin and showing him a few mug shots, the light bulb finally went off. "Oh, Dan! Man, I thought I was the only dude on earth not out to get that guy! Does he still drive that piece of crap Pacer?".
After this point, the history of the band becomes sketchy. Riff & Jeff remember joining Junk Punch while they were performing at Hooters in Anaheim, California. During a recent interview with Rolling Stone Magazine, Riff explained, "Dan was no where to be found so Dirt started screaming, 'anyone here wanna join a band?' Jeff and I jumped on stage, started playing and never stopped. Dan didn't even notice there was two new guys in the band for almost a month. At that time he was consumed with the fact that the David Lee Roth had really left Van Halen." Jeff just smiled and said all I remember thinking is I hope thats not the bands piece of s**t Pacer out front!"
It is clear that several years of history are missing. Records show that the band was being paid during this period although it is unclear whether that money was for music or something else. If you attended any Junk Punch shows in the late 90's, please tell the band what happened so that this unauthorized biography can be updated.