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best unknown/little known band


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Yeah, in the 60s Thornshield and Fever Tree

70s Andy Pratt and Crack the Sky

80s Carsickness

90s Black Fish, The Clarks

 

any faves?

 

Bill

"I believe that entertainment can aspire to be art, and can become art, but if you set out to make art you're an idiot."

 

Steve Martin

 

Show business: we're all here because we're not all there.

 

 

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Late 1960s to early 1970s: The Plastic Cloud; It's All Meat; My Indole Ring; British North American Act. L'infonie (1970s); The Ugly (late 70s); Raving Mojos (1980s) and Chino (1999-2003) are a few Canadian outfits that even most Canadians probably aren't familiar with outside their home cities.

On the international front: Ed Askew (1960s U.S. tiple player); Writing On The Wall (1970s Scotland) The Vipers (80s U.S. garage rockers); Smack (Finnish glam-metal band from the 1980s).

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Little known? The Ditty Bops are great and I'm sure many forumites here can relate to their music (although maybe not their lyrics, but they're funny), they have one major label CD (I think it IS a majort label). I don't believe in 'best bands' or 'best players', but I've heard a lot of indie and underground stuff that kicks serious butt and whose names I've forgotten or missed. If you're around Philly or Chicago check out the Icy Demons, they have pretty good stuff, although maybe not for many here. Broadcast is a band that's pretty good (I think) and is not that big in the States (again, not sure) but pretty famous in the UK. There's this Mexican band called La Barranca whose 2nd cd, "La tempestad", is awesome. They have 5 cds now, I think.

"Without music, life would be a mistake."

--from 'Beyond Good and Evil', by Friedrich Nietzsche

 

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Originally posted by Warthog:

Kind of a funny topic...since these are little known bands, there's nobody to agree with you.

Precisely, and then there's a question of locale. Pappadopalus mentioned The Smiths, who back in the UK, were absolutely huge but didn't do as well in America. In that case, I may as well mention Echo & The Bunnymen :D And how unknown is "unknown" anyway?
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I think that Echo, Velvet, and the Smiths can't really qualify as unknown or little known. All three were significant, with the latter two being huge and large, respectively. I mean, Velvet is a friggin' super group, or as close as we get these days.

 

Nah, I'm not talking about headliners. I'm talking about the little guys... you saw a record in the bin, and for some reason gave it a shot, loved it, and then were surprised that no one else did, or had even heard of them.

 

 

Bill

"I believe that entertainment can aspire to be art, and can become art, but if you set out to make art you're an idiot."

 

Steve Martin

 

Show business: we're all here because we're not all there.

 

 

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Rasputina, anyone? No guitars, just cellos, sometimes w/ distortion. Very nice live band. I have the 'Ether' CD and it's full of nice melodies. Their playing isn't spectacular, but it's certainly a refreshing band, and like I said, REALLY enjoyable live.

"Without music, life would be a mistake."

--from 'Beyond Good and Evil', by Friedrich Nietzsche

 

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I saw them a couple of years ago. Good stuff. I tend to like people who have an interesting take on music, which is what got me to check out Dave Mathews before he hit it big (which surprised me...) and groups like Apocaliptica, which is a four cello heavy metal outfit... started out with a Metallica tribute CD.

 

Bill

"I believe that entertainment can aspire to be art, and can become art, but if you set out to make art you're an idiot."

 

Steve Martin

 

Show business: we're all here because we're not all there.

 

 

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The Paladins featuring Dave Gonzales on a late-50s Guild have been a favorite of mine for years. They're sort of a greasier-sounding, rockabilly version of Stevie Ray Vaughan.

 

Another fave is the Iguanas out of NOLA. For lack of a better description, they're similar to Los Lobos, but they have a very cool style that's all their own. It's a real shame that their first two albums are out of print (MCA, you suck!).

 

Which leads me to Los Lobos. They aren't exactly unknown, but they are one of the most grossly underappreciated bands out there.

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Originally posted by ihategarybettman:

The Paladins featuring Dave Gonzales on a late-50s Guild have been a favorite of mine for years. They're sort of a greasier-sounding, rockabilly version of Stevie Ray Vaughan...

ABSOLUTELY! I've seen them twice and have a couple of their CDs. Highly recommended. :thu:

 

Here are three Nashville acts that are quite good, but are onl popoular at the "cult' level:

 

Los Straitjackets Instrumental rock-n-roll.

 

Webb Wilder Swamp-a-delic surf-a-billy. The reissue of It Came From Nashville has some excellent guitar playing by Donny "the Twangler" Roberts.

 

Bill Lloyd Bill is best known for being half of the duo Foster and Lloyd back in the 80s/early 90s. His solo stuff is more power-pop/rock-n-roll. He is an excellent songwriter & guitarist.

Mudcat's music on Soundclick

 

"Work hard. Rock hard. Eat hard. Sleep hard. Grow big. Wear glasses if you need 'em."-The Webb Wilder Credo-

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How about early 90's metal?

 

Cynic - Focus

Atheist - Elements

Anacrucis - Manic Impressions (I think)

Grip, Inc.

James Murphy's solo efforts...

"Without music, life would be a mistake."

--from 'Beyond Good and Evil', by Friedrich Nietzsche

 

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Originally posted by ihategarybettman:

The Paladins featuring Dave Gonzales on a late-50s Guild have been a favorite of mine for years. They're sort of a greasier-sounding, rockabilly version of Stevie Ray Vaughan.

 

Another fave is the Iguanas out of NOLA. For lack of a better description, they're similar to Los Lobos, but they have a very cool style that's all their own. It's a real shame that their first two albums are out of print (MCA, you suck!).

 

Which leads me to Los Lobos. They aren't exactly unknown, but they are one of the most grossly underappreciated.

You should give La Barranca a listen... Try their first two albums "Fuego de la noche" and "Tempestad".

"Without music, life would be a mistake."

--from 'Beyond Good and Evil', by Friedrich Nietzsche

 

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Mudcat, I've been meaning to pick up something by Los Straightjackets for a while now - which of their discs do you recommend?

 

MILLO, thanks for your recommendation; I'm definitely going to give La Barranca a spin.

 

Another band just occurred to me: Th' Legendary Shack Shakers. They're thunderously great live and how can you not like a psychobilly band that kicks off its last album with a klesmer-like tune and samples a "See and Say" on one of the tracks?

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Originally posted by ihategarybettman:

Mudcat, I've been meaning to pick up something by Los Straightjackets for a while now - which of their discs do you recommend?...

I recommend Viva! Los Straitjackets! :thu:

 

I like all of their CDs, although this one is probably my favorite. :)

Mudcat's music on Soundclick

 

"Work hard. Rock hard. Eat hard. Sleep hard. Grow big. Wear glasses if you need 'em."-The Webb Wilder Credo-

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Originally posted by Mudcat:

Originally posted by ihategarybettman:

Mudcat, I've been meaning to pick up something by Los Straightjackets for a while now - which of their discs do you recommend?...

I recommend Viva! Los Straitjackets! :thu:

 

I like all of their CDs, although this one is probably my favorite. :)

Los Straitjackets are great. Look for an album of theirs with the song "Tailspin". It's my personal favorite by them.

 

If you like Los Straitjackets you will LOVE Laika and The Cosmonauts. Get the albums "Zero Gravity","Amazing Colossal Band" and "Instruments of Terror".

 

Much as I like the 'jackets, Laika puts them to shame.

quote:Originally posted by mdrs:

 

It's pure B.S., and obvioulsy inaccurate. I suspect it is posted for effect, not for accuracy.

 

John Petrucci > Johnny Winter

The Edge > Ted Nugent

Guitar One Mag > Guitarplayer

Slash > Carlton

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