Toward mid-1996, Airmaus' experimental guitar/vocal duo, "Cigarettes Cause Cancer" dissolved. Johnny BeGooode, an accomplished graphic artist and old friend, told Airmaus about a new project he was working on. It was to be a graphic novel based on the exploits of a twisted anti-hero by the name of "Molesto Man." He asked Airmaus to join in on the work and he giddily agreed.
"Molesto Man" followed the misadventures of a chemically altered man with eleven arms and questionable extra-curricular activities. Donned in a full-length trench coat, "Molesto Man" battled his nude arch-enemy, "Birthday Boy" throughout the novel.
"Molesto Man" proved to be a great outlet for Johnny and Airmaus' twisted wit and social satire. Part way into the project, Airmaus began writing music for an accompanying soundtrack to "Molesto Man." With Johnny playing the vocal parts of Molesto Man and Birthday Boy, and Airmaus narrating and playing keyboards, the now lost album "Molesto Man vs. Birthday Boy: An Audio Showdown Soundtrack to The Adventures of Molesto Man" was recorded. From these sessions, the group "Johnny B. Gooode & The Downtown Boys was formed.
Johnny (vocals, harmonica) and Airmaus (bass, keyboards, guitar) enlisted the help of Wit Spitley (accordion, bass) and Malvolio Henstokolini (popsicle sticks, drums) to augment their aural experiments. After several months of rehearsal and struggling to find a common sound among the varied band members, Spitley and Henstokolini left the group in early 1997.
Johnny and Airmaus continued alone, recording the album "Johnny B. Gooode and The Downtown Boys." An experimental collage of harmonica, bass, keyboards, fuzzed vocals, and white noise, the album showed the duo's promise. After recording this album, the duo renamed themselves "Johnny BeGooode & Airmaus."
The duo's quickly began work on their next album. Titled "Music To Pour Water To," they were assisted on several tracks by Vera Aloe on bass. This album solidified their characteristic sound. Carefully progressive keyboard lines lie on top of chaotic pounding ones. Minimalist bass lines murmur the underlying rhythm. Lyrics contain free-form word play, original poems, and reworked classic literature. Cheesy synth percussives are layered to form a richly layered, almost accidental beat.
After one more album, Johnny brought in old friend The Baron Von Wanton to do a free-form jam with JBA. With The Baron on bass, and Johnny and Airmaus on keyboards and percussion, the result was the thirty-minute "Awake." Based upon this, The Baron became a full member of JBA.
JBA recorded several more albums in concentrated recording sessions during mid to late 1997 before taking hiatus for financial purposes. During this period, Airmaus began recording solo projects while working on various JBA promotions and demo cassettes.
Despite Airmaus' continuing promotions, JBA remain ignored by many major labels. Undaunted and scorning the simple minded and many conventions, JBA began composing and recording a new set of songs in Feb. 1998. This set would become "24626," a bold re-instatement of the goals of JBA.