System of a Down’s new CD comes out tommorow, and while their debut sold 850,000 copies, I like to think of myself of one of those that was onto these guys before they got big, since I really think their new CD is going to be an easy platinum, it’s really that good. (Think Primus + Metallica + Alice in Chains. I’ve been downloading the CD off the Net for weeks, and still am going to buy the CD, that’s how good I think it is!)
What bands, even when they might have been catching on, were you hip to before everyone else jumped on the bandwagon? For me, I was hip to . .
Many would probably be surprised to learn that 311, before morphing into a pre-fab-dime-a-dozen-crap-alterna-rock-festival-mainstay, actually had a great, original (hip-hop reggae rock) sound. Then they hit it (relatively) big, and every song since has sounded the same. Their last good album was “Grassroots,” circa 1993(?).
I was pretty big into Live, when they still did the local scene. Thought the first album “Mental Jewelery” was great, but something happened. It’s not because they got big. I just lost interest.
I’m big into a local Philly band, Marah. I’m hoping these guys go places. They are an excelent band. Then I can say I’ve been following these guys for a while.
Saw Matchbox Twenty, before the first album came out. Not a big fan though.
I also had a chance to see Guns n’ Roses at a local small concert hall in 1986, RIGHT before “Welcome to the Jungle” was played 500 times a day on MTV and they became one of the hottest acts in the world.
My sister-in-law is heavy into country music, and dragged me to see a new guy she knew nothing about solely because she loved his name: Garth Brooks.
I also saw Springsteen very early, and was in an NYC club and taken with the young piano player called Bill Martin. A couple of years later, I’d hear the same guy do a song called “Piano Man” and a couple of years after that, realize it was Billy Joel.
Mary Prankster. She hasn’t hit it big yet, but I really really hope she will, she just flat out rocks. I’ve see some big name bands in all different types of music styles, The Who, DMB, Dead Kennedys, etc…and none of them were as good as Mary playing solo at a little bar in Northern Virginia. You can check her out yourself at her website. New feature lets you listen to her songs there.
[ul][li]Radiohead- Saw 'em in a couple of small venues before they hit big.[/li][li]R.E.M.- I was hooked when I heard the Chronic Town EP. Heard 'em play in small venues.[/li][li]U2[/li][li]Live. Caught these guys as unknowns. (And I agree withfrock75 that they peaked with Mental Jewelry. I also lost interest after that.)[/li][li]Smashing Pumpkins[/li][li]The Offspring[/li][li]Pearl Jam[/li][li]10,000 Maniacs[/ul][/li]
There are others, but I can’t call them to mind at the moment.
Bruce Springsteen from “Greetings from Asbury Park”
Pink Floyd, long before “Dark Side”
J. Giels Band (only one album out at the time)
Allman Brothers Band (one album out)
Jethro Tull (before Aqualung). Their opening act was supposed to be Cat Stevens, but he cancelled.
Forgot to add Poe. Caught her at the TLA in Philly. This was before the Angry Johnny song came out. I remember telling myself to remember this band. Never got huge, but I still love the band.
Stone Temple Pilots (a guy at a CD Store tipped me off the week “Core” came out)
The Verve (I liked them back when they were just “Verve” - discovered them on the “Sliver” soundtrack)
Massive Attack (also on the “Sliver” soundtrack)
and…
John Mayer.
Hasn’t happened yet, but trust me, it will. You’re probably just now hearing songs on the radio that I’ve been listening to since 12/98…when I saw him play with Clay Cook as The Lo-Fi Masters at Eddie’s Attic in Atlanta.
The music scene in Virginia was going completely ape shit while I was attending college in the early 90s. Bands I saw there before they got really big:
Soul Asylum
Toad the Wet Sprocket
Gin Blossoms (hung out and drank beers with them in their motel room)
Dave Matthews Band (played the fraternity house)
Blues Traveler
The Smithereens
Big Head Todd and the Monsters
Better Than Ezra
Phish
Ben Folds Five
And that’s just a mild sampling. There were tons more. There were also plenty of bands out there that were awfully good that just didn’t seem to make it. Anybody hanging out in Virginia in the early 90s who remembers some of these names?
Lost In The Supermarket
Blue Miracle
The Radiators
The Press
Soul Kitchen
The Blind Rhinos
Fighting Gravity (formerly Boy Oh Boy)
Aquarium Rescue Unit