Bands you grew up with that you loved but never made it big...

[Sir_Prize]

I’m a Long Island boy – Good Rats

[Snowboarder_Bo]

@kayaker

We saw Donna The Buffalo last night. It was a great show. Before the show started, a friend described the band to someone who had never heard of them as a “jam band”. I corrected him, explaining that the band is actually considered a “jelly band”.

So,we were all high af, and my friend admitted that he wasn’t aware of the “jelly band” genre and asked how it differed from a “jam band”. This led to a 20 minute discussion of the difference between jam, jelly, marmalade, preserves, compotes, etc.

I just now got a text from my friend asking what the deal was with “jelly bands”.

Oh I’m totally gonna run with that; you’ll be hearing that come out of Las Vegas before the end of the year as a real (but nebulous) term. I’ll let the community define it for themselves, actually.

[JKellyMap]

Shinehead, late-80s dance hall reggae (Jamaica/NY).

[Wheelz]

In Chicago we had The Bad Examples. Great, great band.

Apparently, lead man Ralph Covert’s other band, which does little kids’ songs, is more lucrative, so the BA’s have been on the back burner for years. They’re still playing local clubs though.

[Horatio_Hellpop]

Another DC boy here. Skip Castro Band and the Nighthawks!

[russian_heel]

@betterlifethroughchemistry

Inspired by a recent thread…

As a child of the '70’s (born in 1962), and who loved music, I was astonished to learn that, when I went to college in 1980 in upstate NY, many, OK, MOST, of my friends (other than those few from Baltimore) had never heard of Crack The Sky…

We loved them, they played a lot of local Baltimore/OC places and were featured frequently on local radio…originally from WV, they developed a strong regional following that never translated to national/international success…and I have no idea why…

So, what band did you see/hear as a teenager, that you loved, rocked out to, but beyond your region, never caught on?

CTS was given heavy rotation of their “Greenhouse(?)” song maybe 85-86ish here in the Philly-Allentown radio market and to me it sounded like a weak Pink Floyd ripoff; that said, we were not exposed to any of their other music on the radio.

[russian_heel]

@LoneRhino

The '80s band Zebra were big in NYC, especially on Long Island. I’m not sure if they got much national exposure. I would go see them whenever they played in Brooklyn.

Zebra has three fantastic songs: “Behind the Door” (awesome video), “Bears” (heavy airplay in my area and IIRC MTV rotation and a fun video) and “Tell Me What You Want” that somehow didn’t translate into mainstream success.

Late last year a local new bar advertised a Zebra concert and I immediately bought tickets then about a month later it was cancelled. It seemed shady but knowing the age of the band members maybe it was something else?

[russian_heel]

@Penfeather

I’d have said that Faith No More were a pretty big deal; I have three of their albums, and I’m not even a huge fan. The Real Thing seemed to playing at every party I was at in about 1990, and Angel Dust was a terrific album, just awesomely dark, heavy and nasty.

Angel Dust was a fantastic album, I think part of the problem was FNM was SO mainstream that album title might have been a turnoff.

[russian_heel]

@Anamorphic

Count me in as someone else who immediately thought of Crack The Sky upon reading the thread title. Yes, I grew up in Baltimore. I also liked Kix. They’re still touring! I saw them out here in Los Angeles, headlining the Whisky A Go Go, a year or so ago, so they obviously have had some reach outside Baltimore. The place was pretty crowded, although judging by the not one but two people I saw wearing Hammerjacks t-shirts, I clearly wasn’t the only transplant there.

Kix’s “Don’t Close Your Eyes” might be one of the greatest combinations of awesome songwriting + bad singing ever. I can listen to it over and over again!

[russian_heel]

Mid to late 80s Metalhead while maturing into adulthood checking in:

PRETTY MAIDS-Danish metal band with a singer with a very unique voice and they put out two very well produced albums the first that tackled nuclear annihaltion, the second a little more light hearted, “Future World” and “Lethal Heroes”

CELTIC FROST- they would never have made the big time. Maybe the heaviest metal band ever (check out their song “Morbid Tales”, but before you play it, put your bass all the way up, volume all the way up, and let me know if your speakers aren’t smoking!) They put out a comeback album around 2010

THE MENTORS- Three guys wearing executioners masks playing heavy mental songs about giving women anal sex, killing homosexuals, doing heroin, and about as every other depraved act you can imagine. You had to be in on the joke though sadly, lead singer/drummer El Duce may have taken it to seriously and paid the price.

Eldon Hoke

[GESancMan]

@russian_heel

Zebra has three fantastic songs: “Behind the Door” (awesome video), “Bears” (heavy airplay in my area and IIRC MTV rotation and a fun video) and “Tell Me What You Want” that somehow didn’t translate into mainstream success.

I remember “Who’s Behind the Door?” and “Tell Me What You Want” getting quite a bit of airplay when the album came out in '83. San Francisco Bay Area.

I liked the songs enough to buy the album, though. I suppose most people have no memory of Zebra.