The DU Lounge
Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsPost some cool local or regional bands that never hit it big.
Every city has them.
Seattle in the 90s had a band called Sky Cries Mary, that started off as an industrial band, but morphed into a sort of classic rock-psychedelic-ambient mixture. They had a large and loyal local following (in part because they put on fairly elaborate shows in an scene where everyone else was eschewing showmanship), and while they weren't at all related to grunge, they did fit into the general 70s-updated-for-the-90s vibe of "alternative rock" programming. But they never really caught on outside of WA despite an eventual major label release.
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mrmpa
(4,033 posts)out here in Western PA. They're pure rock. They do have their CD's produced on a national label & Springsteen when he appears in Pittsburgh has them on stage, they just didn't make it "big". They're still performing mostly at small venues.
Tom Kitten
(7,350 posts)Don't Eat the Dirt, for 25 cents at the Goodwill Store! I like it a lot, sorta trancey shoegazer sounds. It's definitely coming with me when I hit the road soon!
Another Seattle area band I liked was Kill Sybill. Also Love Battery, although they did get onto a major label.
As for Portland bands, I love Napalm Beach, plus their alter ego, Sno Bud and the Flower People. I'd even say The Wipers never really hit it big, but they were one of the most seminal bands ever!
cemaphonic
(4,138 posts)I've heard it, but never tracked down a copy.
Love Battery sounds familiar, but I don't think I ever saw them.
Tom Ripley
(4,945 posts)jpak
(41,760 posts)pipi_k
(21,020 posts)Out of Springfield, Mass, formed in 1968
Aristus
(66,478 posts)Another Seattle band, this time from the -000's or the 'aughts', the Lost Decade...whatever.
They were a punk band. But not angry punk; funny punk. They had the usual line-up, lead singer, guitar, bass & drums, with the unusual addition of saxophone and co-lead singer.
Their attitude wavered between crazy good-time, as in "I Ate A Vegan", and dry cynicism, as in "Facebook Friend".
They did a killer cover of The Ramones' "I Wanna Be Sedated".
Good times...
Coventina
(27,215 posts)who were just on the verge of breaking out.
Then, they got sued by a previous "Sidewinders" and had to change their name.
It really broke up their momentum and things just kind of collapsed after that.
Tom Ripley
(4,945 posts)OriginalGeek
(12,132 posts)all the time. (National tours would hit a club and pick up locals to open up)
I dig them but they have been inactive for a while. Wish they would come back.
tk2kewl
(18,133 posts)My all-time favorite band
Dubbed the worlds most famous unknown band by Rolling Stone magazine
http://www.limusichalloffame.org/project/the-good-rats/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Good_Rats
Read More: Peppi Marchello of the Good Rats Dies at 68 | http://ultimateclassicrock.com/peppi-marchello-good-rats-dies/?trackback=tsmclip
Kingofalldems
(38,496 posts)kwassa
(23,340 posts)cemaphonic
(4,138 posts)Enough for a bunch of their songs to be on heavy rotation on MTV, and some pretty high profile movie soundtrack songs. And of course, Danny Elfman's movie score career.
Arugula Latte
(50,566 posts)Their music was in 80s movies (like Weird Science for the movie of the same name, Goodbye, Goodbye used at the end of Fast Times at Ridgemont High, etc.) They got a lot of radio play and MTV play for other stuff, as I recall -- Dead Man's Party, Stay, Little Girls, etc. Danny Elfman went on to handle music for many movies and he wrote the theme to The Simpsons.
Sparks had a couple hits like Cool Places and they were played on MTV.
Callmecrazy
(3,065 posts)They released several albums in the 70's and 80's
RebelOne
(30,947 posts)JCMach1
(27,579 posts)from St. Augustine, FL (I was in college there)...
A band that ALMOST made it... Here is a page with their MP3's
Check out - "Killing Time"
http://uxc.net/mp3/
AngryAmish
(25,704 posts)Poor man's Cheap Trick...except Cheap Trick did not become junkies.
Honestly, what sort of loser becomes a drug addict? I am entering my 30th year of functional alcoholism. I am rich, I am going to retire at 47 or 48 but never put a needle in your arm you are in the clear.
Monk06
(7,675 posts)aint_no_life_nowhere
(21,925 posts)They were not monster musicians and were really young like me at the time (15 - 16). As a young kid I was almost as excited as these friends of mine were to hear their records played on the radio. I jammed with both groups and had the time of my life with music in those bygone days of the 60s. Both bands were from Savannah, Georgia.
Joe Shlabotnik
(5,604 posts)These guys are hilarious and wicked talented, and so inappropriate; from San Diego and not much further
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadbolt_%28band%29
And the bastards rarely come to Canada...
chknltl
(10,558 posts)I recall the name Sky Cries Mary, maybe one of their songs "Nobody else can save us except for the waitress" but little more. I worked with hundreds of Seattle/Tacoma area bands during the Grunge era as a photographer. Likely two of the bigger unsigned bands that I got to shoot (that you may have heard of) were Cookie and Gruntruk. One was a punk band with a country western flair, the other was your basic hard rock band. I also enjoyed shooting The Pleasure Elite, Sweatty Nipples, Running With Scissors, Forced Entry and of course the hard rocking Rorshach Test (posted above). I was never sure exactly where R.T. came from but they played our area enough for me to list them as locals. Rumor had it that Island Records was willing to sign them but the singer had a criminal record which prevented him from leaving the U.S. Never knew if it were true but for my money, Rorschach Test was one of the better bands that nobody knows about from our area for that era. I also shot a band called Mr. Grinch. They became Before Christ. One of the Lounge posters, Opiate 69 was their guitar player back then. I have not seen him post anything lately. Hopefully he sees this and posts one of his videos from Before Christ, the band was quite talented and their videos were pretty good too.
Hmm let me test my skills and memory here, I used to know the lyrics to the above posted R.T. song "ELVIS", I always thought that these lyrics portrayed the mindset of a conservative nutcase from back in the mid-late 1970s:
"Look what you started Elvis surely there'll be hell to pay.... GO!
You sold our morals and you led the whole damn world astray...GO!
...and then the Beatles came and got us hooked on LSD!
Nine Revolutions screamed the happy Manson family...
Look what you started Elvis...look what you started Elvis...look what you started Elvis...look what you started Elvis...look what you started...
Look down upon us Mother Mary we've been seeing things...GO!
In my confession Father kindly quick forgiveness pray...GO!
This world has killed it's gods and resurrected JFK ....
..while all his relatives make laws that even they can not obey-No fuckin way!
Look what you started Elvis...yeah look what you started Elvis...look what you started Elvis"
Arugula Latte
(50,566 posts)They had a lot of anti-war songs ... this is one.