Today, I’m introducing what I’m hoping will become a recurring feature here on Words That Stay that I’ve decided to call “Forgotten Friday.”

As many of my close friends and family members can tell you, my memory doesn’t always seem to run on all cylinders. I’m often unable to remember names of people that I’ve been introduced to, conversations I’ve had with friends or important dates like birthdays, anniversaries or parole hearings. However, when it comes to remembering the most inane pieces of entertainment or microscopic blips on the pop culture radar, my memory functions with almost encyclopedic clarity. I can summarize episodes of bad television shows I watched in my youth and quote entire Fresh Prince lyrics. I can tell you that long before David Duchovny was searching for the truth with Gillian Anderson, he was introducing softcore porn on Showtime’s The Red Shoe Diaries. That Bruce Willis had a musical alter-ego in the 1980s called Bruno and a modest radio hit with his cover of “Respect Yourself.” That Stephen Spielberg’s first Hollywood directing was for Rod Serling’s Night Gallery. That some of the darkest and most widely remembered episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents were based on short stories by Roald Dahl, the author of some of the most popular children’s books ever written.

In short, while I seem to have a really tough time recalling the things that really matter in life, I have no problem recollecting the most inane, trivial shit I’m exposed to.

I’ve seen this as a real handicap over the years. But in the interest of making lemonade out of this particular lemon, I’m going to use this little quirk to occasionally write and remind people about movies, songs and possibly TV shows that were once fairly popular, but have since started fading into obscurity. Of course, for many of you, this may be the first time you’re hearing about some of these things. So while the name may be Forgotten Friday, I anticipate that for some of you, this will be less of a reminder and more of a beginning.

Whatever it is, I hope you enjoy it. And that if I forget your name at the next convention or mixer, you cut me a little slack.

So how many of you remember Save Ferris?

The year was 1997 and ska was enjoying a bit of a pop resurgence thanks to SoCal-bred bands such as No Doubt and Reel Big Fish. We can argue about whether it was a good thing that the resurgence was short-lived, but it was certainly fun for awhile, and Save Ferris looked and sounded like they were having an absolute blast.

The band was led by the energetic Monique Powell, and was one of the many alternative groups to emerge out of the late nineties Orange County music scene. Monique always struck me as the drinking man’s Gwen Stefani. She managed to look both sexy on stage and approachable, with a rapid-fire lyrical style and an easy, confident grin.

Of course, the No Doubt comparison didn’t end there. Save Ferris actually sounded a lot like No Doubt, which may have been their biggest handicap. More than a few people have gotten the two bands mixed up, and while Save Ferris may have been exciting to watch onstage, they were inconsistent in the studio. In fact, their biggest radio hit was actually a cover of Dexys Midnight Runners’ “Come on Eileen.” Save Ferris released a total of two full-length albums before breaking up in 2002.

The first time I ever heard Save Ferris, I was at a college party. I had just arrived and was making my way to the bar when someone put on their first album, 1997’s “It Means Everything.” The energy and hooks found in that album and particularly its first track, “The World is New,” were infectious, setting the perfect vibe for the night. I don’t remember many college parties, but I remember that one and I still clearly remember that song. I don’t think that’s a coincidence. Save Ferris may not have been around that long, but they knew how to make an impression…and they sure knew how to have a good time.

Here’s “The World is New,” in case you’ve never heard it: