Onefinemess » great bands you might not have heard

Great bands you might not have heard of #6: The Sheila Divine

onefinemess — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 16:44:06 +0000

I haven’t done one of these in a while, so here we go. The Sheila Divine is a band we first heard while waiting in a club for a Frank Black show. We heard the track Hum (below) and it was so awesome I had to find out who it was. I asked around and I think… shoot I don’t remember who it was, someone working the door had made a mixtape or something, and they told us the name of the band.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4TRD-Vc9vU

Of course I went out and tracked down the album asap. It (New Parade) was (and is) an awesome disc. They put out one more album after that, which was also killer, and had EPs as well (Secret Society & The Sheila Divine). Annnnd that was it. Hum alone really should have carried them over into some kind of radio presence, but I guess the right people just never pushed for it. Bleh. Go music industry.

Here’s Sideways from their last album (Where Have all my Countrymen Gone):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSDNr8qayEU

Bonus: The lead singer, Aaron Perrino, has a new (er than SD, but not “new” per se) band called Dear Leader that I quite like. It’s not The Sheila Divine, but that’s not how these things work. Here’s a video of them doing Radar live. Quality is not so hot. More people need to carry around really expensive HD recorders. Duh.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=IndQ5aeIThE

Great bands you might not have heard #5: Mendoza Line

onefinemess — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 14:27:05 +0000

I wish I could remember where/why/how we first heard this band, all I remember is that it happened when we lived in our first place in LA. We heard this first track (maybe on Morning Becomes Eclectic or something??) and loved it, and I had to get the cd. The rest, as they say, is history.

Keeping in line with the rest of these posts, this band is also dead :(.
As always, click the images/links to play from my Vox page.

Any band with the balls for an album cover like that right? I mean, like Shannon McArdle’s voice – but she’s not exactly a looker and that is not a flattering picture.

Here are some other sample off their other albums. I’m not sure how best to describe their sound…maybe bi-polar folk-rock?

Anyway, take a listen and track down the albums if you like the songs, they are quality.

Great bands you might not have heard #3: Common Rider

onefinemess — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 21:08:34 +0000

Yes, so far all the bands I’ve mentioned are defunct. It’s a fuckin’ shame I know.

This will continue that cycle.
So who was Common Rider? Jesse from Op Ivy‘s next project. They put out two full lengths, and one post-mortem split ep. There’s also a vinyl EP that I don’t have…because I don’t do vinyl. Man, can you imagine all the extra pack rattery that would occur if I was into vinyl?

His voice is definitely an acquired taste – I’ve met a few people who just can’t stand it – but if you like his sound in Op Ivy you’ll probably like at least a few of the Common Rider songs. The sound is somewhere between Op Ivy, pop and surf-punk-rock. It’s definitely Jesse though.

Here’s two tracks, click to play in a new window:

great band you might not have heard #2: The Crush

onefinemess — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 05:15:21 +0000

Reposted from Vox. Unfortunately the formatting of the player links doesn’t work near as well here. /sigh.

I first heard them covering a Lifter Puller track when I was trying to find Lifter Puller stuff – so I’ve included that cover (Mission Viejo) as a bonus 3rd track.

They are a part of the same scene that spawned The Replacements, Lifter Puller & Dillinger 5 – the Minneapolis/Twin Cities thing I guess.
It was a pain in the ass to find the cds. Actually, it was a pain in the ass for me to find that the cds even existed. There are several versions of the Crush listed on allmusic, and the correct one doesn’t even have a bio or the first CD listed in the discography. I did find this interview with the band – that was the first thing I could find (and the only one for a while). There are some other scattered mentions out there, but tough to find.

I really like the singer’s voice for some reason.
He does have a new project: The Evening Rig. Note to self: order their cd.

great bands you might not have heard #1: Joe Christmas

onefinemess — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 04:38:52 +0000

OK, ok, if you’ve been around me for an extended # of years, I’ve probably made you listen to them at some point.

The lead singer has a semi-current solo project (which is not very good, sadly): Summer Hymns. Well, maybe it’s good, if you’re into that vibe, which I’m not really. Yo La Tengo does it much better.

So yeah, Joe Christmas. One of my old school favorites, and still a favorite today. They only had 2 albums. Better to burn out than to burn yourself out trying not to fade away I suppose?

Anyway, here’s a track off each of their albums: