Second act Second act Second act

When his band Student Nurse opened for seminal grunge band Mudhoney at this year’s New Year’s Eve show at The Neptune, bassist Eric Muhs, ’81, ’05, performed for the biggest crowd he’d ever played for in his decades-long career. The group’s atmospheric and danceable art-punk sound distinguished the band from the rest of the Seattle music scene in the early ’80s. By the time Student Nurse finished playing their set at The Neptune, the audience was on its feet and cheering.

Student Nurse was a new-wave art rock band with a changing lineup of players. Founded in 1979 by Helena Rogers and John Rogers, ’71, the band’s name came from a comic book series from the 1960s. Muhs met the Rogers through his friend Sharon Gannon, ’80, who performed live dance improv sets with the band. When they were looking for new members, Muhs joined even though he was new to playing bass. “We liked his energy so we just went for it,” Helena Rogers says.

Muhs’ musical interests were deeply informed by his time at the UW. Though he studied nutritional science, during his last semester as an undergrad, Muhs signed up for an electronic music class with Glenn White. At the time, UW had a modular synthesizer in the Music Building with a 4-track recorder. Muhs and his friends would spend Saturday afternoons playing with the synthesizer and recording system. They made cassettes and sent them to KZAM, a Seattle AM radio station focused on new wave and punk rock and played recordings on weekends from anyone who sent in material. “I submitted several songs under different fake band names and would wait all weekend beside the radio to hear the songs played,” Muhs says.

Growing up on the East Coast, Muhs attended the private high school where “Dead Poets Society” was filmed. At the age of 18, after one year at Cornell University, he got in a car and drove to the West Coast. At the UW, Muhs fell in with a community of artsy Socialists that were interested in socially aware music. While attending an XTC show at The Showbox, where Terry Morgan, ’76, once booked shows, Muhs heard the band’s singer Andy Partridge tell the audience that anyone could make punk rock music. “That was a message that I’d been waiting for all my life and didn’t know it,” Muhs says.

With Jack Endino, ’80, Student Nurse put out two records—“Problematic” and “Safety Last.” They played everywhere from the all-ages venue Metropolis to small shows at art galleries, before finally disbanding in 1984.

Student Nurse, circa 1982.

In the intervening years, Muhs made a living by substitute teaching after earning a teaching certificate from Seattle University. He taught in Seattle and California, where he met his wife Gabriella Gutierrez at the school where they both taught. Interested in better career opportunities, they applied to graduate school. Gutierrez got into Stanford University and Muhs returned to the UW for a master’s program in science, which helped pave the way to a long teaching career in high school physics and astronomy. Muhs completed his career as an educator at Ballard High School after teaching science for 20 years. During that time, he was named the Washington State Physics Teacher of the Year and became nationally recognized for sending student science experiments into space.

Throughout his teaching career, Muhs continued to make music. He composed music for live performances with choreographer Pat Graney. He’s also played 12-string guitar and ukulele for the past 15 years in a Hawaiian group with UW professor Patrick Perkins, in addition to collaborating with his wife, who is a poet. Recently, the pair recorded “Frontera Dogs”—a one-hour album of her spoken word work.

Student Nurse’s 38-year hiatus came to an end during pandemic, when Muhs and John Rogers realized that they had archival tape of the band. They re-mastered the recordings and put out “Think For Yourself” on CD. To launch the album, they organized an event at Georgetown Records/Fantagraphics. “We were very rusty,” Muhs says. “We thought we could do two songs. And then we were aiming for a whole first set.” Hundreds of people showed up.

“Eric’s tireless energy and creativity have really only increased over the years, including creating the wackiest instruments from mostly found objects,” bandmate Helena Rogers says. “When I reconnected with Eric four years ago, I had no idea what a wild magic carpet ride we would embark upon. Retired? No, not at all!”

Student Nurse is currently working on a project with legendary music producer Steve Fisk and just turned the recordings from their New Year’s Eve show into a live album called “Amplified Stage Fright,” which comes out June 20.

Student Nurse launches “Amplified Stage Fright” with a special show at Georgetown Records/Fantagraphics on June 20 from 5-7 p.m.

Images courtesy of Helena Rogers.