The Tree Family Of Paraphernalis Tyrus

The early years of Paraphernalia.

1980 (the first actual jam sessions and attempted songs)

Darren Johnson
Russ Swearingen
Rodney Smith

1981 (The beginnings of The Open Highway Band)

Doug Spinler
Russ Swearingen
Rodney Smith

Another jam which Doug declined to join up but recommended another Doug, D. Bonesteel on guitar. Via association, Russ suggested and got Mike Swearingen (Suede) to sing the notable songs.  The lineup of Bonesteel/M+R Swearingen/Smith would eventually come up with Come Together and the first version of Rock Me Baby.

1981-1983 The Open Highway era

Doug Bonesteel
Dewayne Schminkey
Mike Swearingen
Rodney Smith
Russ Swearingen
Dennis Lancaster

While Russ was stationed in the Marines, the guys would join up to do a one off country project The Open Highway band.  Infamous for the January 1982 recording sessions of Rocky Mountain Way and Rock Me Baby (Version 3).  Throughout 1982, The Open Highway Band would jam off and on over at DeWayne Schminkey's parents house.  Bass playing duties were split between Dewayne and Doug and there was a replacement bass player for a while on Mike's recommendation (it may have been Tim Duffy but in reality it's been so long I forgot who the name).  The Open Highway Band did play a couple gigs, most notably The Pink Elephant Lounge in early 1983.  Band imploded after a major argument between the guitar players.

1983-1984  The TYRUS era.

Dennis Lancaster
Mike Swearingen
Russ Swearingen
Rodney Smith
Will Sigsbee
Shawn Ster (*)
(*) guest star

The best known Tyrus lineup is one that is not well known outside of the CR music scene. From September 1983 to the December 7 1984, this band did play at a couple keggers and wedding receptions (notably Doug Bonesteel's 1983 reception at Squaw Creek).  The core lineup of Lancaster, Smith, Russ and Mike Swearingen couldn't find a suitable lead guitarist to complement Dennis Lancaster.  Sigsbee was brought in March of 1984 and parted ways after a June 1984 kegger.  DeWayne Schminkey sat in at a wedding reception at the Legion Hall in October 1984 and Shawn Ster (Rampage, Precious Metal) filled in at the final gig, The OK Lounge, to which that gig was recorded in its entirety (missing a few songs due to cassette tape time limits).  Unfounded rumors about hosting a New Year's Eve show came to surface but nothing came of it.    The band went on hiatus to which they never came back.

Life after Paraphernalia Tyrus. (1985-present)

In 1985 Mike Swearingen coaxed Rodney Smith into joining up a new version of Stone Garden, the seminal late 60s band that featured Rick Novak and Virgil Hanson and the band rehearsed for a month before tensions flared up between Hanson and Novak and the band imploded.  In 1992 Smith  tapped Mike Swearingen to do lead vocals for The Routers, a side project originally started in 1991 with Greg Nutter and Dave Dolber and Mike replaced Paul Sternowski (later died in 1998 from cancer) and they played two gigs.  Rodney Smith continued to focus on his own band Route 66 (later The Townedgers), turning down the drummers job for the Pentangle, a Muscatine based hard rock band.  Mike Swearingen eventually retired from live music and since then has been a successful karaoke DJ, hosting the weekend shows at Checker's Tavern as of this writing. 

Dennis Lancaster would move to Arizona in 1985 and later became an airline pilot.  Russ Swearingen went back into the Marines after the OK Lounge finale and later moved back to Cedar Rapids in 1989.   There have been numerous attempts to restart Tyrus Paraphernalia (1990 and 2008, the latter the best chance of a return to the stage), but the flood of 2008 and the loss of a key guitar player/lead singer ended that attempt.  Smith continues to pop up on the local jam music scene playing drums and sometimes guitar on the acoustic jams but for the most part continues to lead his band The Townedgers through various albums.  In 2015, over thirty years since the OK Lounge final show, most of the original members, Rodney Smith, Dennis Lancaster, DeWayne Schminkey, Russ Swearingen and Randy Hartwig got together at Louie's Scoreboard to talk of old times, two months later another reunion with Doug Bonesteel attending they got back together once again.   In August of 2016, Russ and Rodney were one stage for the first time since 1984, playing a couple songs at a Wrigleyville Jam Session.  Two weeks later, DeWayne Schminkey shocked everybody as well, sitting on a four songs including doing a version of Knocking On Heaven's Door to which Rodney did the lead vocals.  That may have been the last time we'll ever hear of Tyrus Paraphernalia although while everybody is still alive, there might be yet another reunion of sorts.

Smith has continued to play in various open mics and jams and have managed to be in a couple of upstart bands that never anywhere, 2016 had Smith in The Wiley Kats (Tim Wiley and Ben Bernard), 2017 The Egads (with Belinda James, Mark Randolph, Larry Alexman and Tim Nemec) but the band never played together as a set lineup.  Usually it was Belinda and Rodney doing the acoustic sets but a 2017 Veterans Benefit in Vinton had Rich Toomsen (Wooden Nickel Lottery), Jeff Langenburg and Kim Bean helping out Smith, Randolph and James.  Smith, also lend a hand playing percussion for Dreams Of Arcadia (Julie Gordon and Ryan Paul) and sat in on drums for Blues Scratch and The Boy Scout Hippies.  In 2019 Smith joined up with Kristopher and Brian Bries in Blues Rox.  In November, Russ Swearingen joined the band as bass player, the first time Rodney and Russ played since 2008.