Mystik Spiral
Mystik Spiral is a fictional grunge rock band from the popular MTV show Daria. The band featured Trent Lane, the brother of Daria's best friend Jane, as lead singer and guitarist. Also in the band were rhythm guitarist Jesse Moreno, bass guitarist Nicholas Campbell ("Nick"), and drummer Max Tyler. The band would frequently play gigs at various locations on the show, and the members seemed to believe they were perpetually bordering on being "discovered", although no supporting evidence for this belief was ever produced. One of the show's running gags was that Mystik Sprial frontman Trent Lane was a universally bad lyricist, whose words would always sacrifice any coherent thought for the chance to rhyme. Another running gag is whenever Trent mentioned Mystik Spiral, he would comment that they were "thinking of changing the name". It never changed throughout the show's run. Trent was presented as the stereotypical Generation X twentysomething: completely apathetic with a hesitant, laid back speech pattern. He was also the object of Daria's affection for much of the show's duration.
Members
Trent Lane - Guitar/Vocals
Trent Lane was the frontman for Mystik Spiral in the series. He would introduce the band and the songs at performances, and was the band's primary songwriter. Born of Amanda and Vincent Lane, and brother to Jane, Wind, Summer and Penny Lane, Trent spent the duration of the show lazing around the Lane residence (inhabited mostly by only him and sister Jane) or practising/performing with the group.
Jesse Moreno - Guitar/Back Up Vocals
Jesse Moreno was the second guitarist for Mystik Spiral (although images show him playing bass), and occasionally sung backing vocals. He first appeared in episode #111 (Road Worrier) and was immediately revealed to be a man of significantly few words. He was never seen out of his open leather vest and if he ever had any insight into anything, he certainly never shared it with anyone.
Nick Campbell - Bass Guitar
Nick Campbell, on the bass guitar, was the most low profile member of the group. Nothing but his name was ever revealed about him on the show, and he rarely spoke.
Max Tyler - Drums
Max Tyler, mostly seen behind his drumkit, was the most aggressive member of Mystik Spiral, which some might link to his occupation within the band. It was generally understood that Max felt himself and the group to be outrageous rebels who were perpetually in angst over society. It was only in Episode #310 (Speedtrapped) that Max showed his sensitivity, when the band was pulled over for a broken taillight and Max expressed paralysing fear of being beaten by the policeman. Though the policeman never even touched him, Max felt traumatized by the event. Max is also the owner of "The Tank" a van that the band uses for Transportation.
Known Songs
- Behind My Eyelids
- Icebox Woman
- Every Dog Has Its Day
- Little Sister
- Betrayal (completion unconfirmed)
- Freakin' Friends
- Paingasm
- Hey Mr. Normal
Trivia
- In Episode #504, Camp Fear (first aired on 12 March, 2001), disagreements over musical direction within Mystik Spiral threatened to tear the band apart. However, after frontman Trent Lane took a short road trip to help his sister Jane and clear his head, peace and cooperation was once again restored to the garage grunge band.
- The band once spent an afternoon in a county jail for swerving over the yellow line.
- Members Nick and Max never had the last names revealed on the show. This information was released the The Daria Diaries, a fiction novel about the fictional world established by the show. Jesse was referred to by his last name (and only his last name) in Episode #213.