From Cleveland to New Haven: Craig Bell and 5 bands you should know about

Craig Bell in front of an American flag. — Craig Bell, 2014.

Even intermediate students of proto-punk know that Rocket from the Tombs was a band whose influence far outstripped its sales: a Cleveland, Ohio, combo that split to create art-rockers Pere Ubu (formed by Rocket vocalist David Thomas and guitarist Peter Laughner) and CBGB pioneers the Dead Boys (featuring guitarist Cheetah Chrome and drummer Johnny Blitz). To add to the mythos, Laughner is remembered for his untimely death at age 24; an evocative body of unreleased work; and a eulogy by his friend, seminal rock critic Lester Bangs.

One member of RFTT is mentioned less often than the rest: bassist Craig Bell. However, Bell’s trajectory helped catalyze the Cleveland scene before Rocket ever started, then sparked an indie music movement 500 miles east in New Haven, Connecticut.

Follow Craig Bell’s path to learn about five bands you should know about: Continue reading “From Cleveland to New Haven: Craig Bell and 5 bands you should know about”

Like Iggy Pop and the MC5? 5 bands you should know about

Sure, the MC5 and the Stooges weren’t the only national acts to come out of Detroit’s late-’60s rock scene — viz. the Amboy Dukes, Bob Seger and Grand Funk Railroad — but these two bands hold a special mystique for fans tracing the roots of punk to the Motor City.

The post-garage music scene in eastern Michigan was tightly intertwined, bursting with talented bands connected to these breakout acts. Here are five you should know about: Continue reading “Like Iggy Pop and the MC5? 5 bands you should know about”

Like the Violent Femmes? 5 bands you should know about

Richard LaValliere of Oil Tasters sings “My Girlfriend’s Ghost.”

Footnotes of fandom: I was the Violent Femmes’ first California follower. My family lived in Milwaukee for a couple years before we moved to San Diego in time for junior high. I kept friends there, though, and that’s how I ended up seeing the Femmes at Milwaukee’s Jazz Gallery in June 1981, just a few months after the band formed. On August 23, 1981, the Pretenders spotted the Femmes busking in front of the Oriental Theatre and invited them to open that night; the rest is college-radio history.

If you’re interested in Violent Femmes prehistory and the Milwaukee scene at the turn of the ’80s, here are five bands you should know about: Continue reading “Like the Violent Femmes? 5 bands you should know about”

Like the Replacements and Hüsker Dü? 5 bands you should know about

Suicide Commandos album cover — Cover: “The Suicide Commandos Make a Record”

The April passing of favorite son Prince turned media attention back onto Minneapolis’ musicians of the late ’70s and early ’80s. One Magnet Magazine piece gathered tales from close to 40 witnesses to the scene that spawned two other Minneapolis legends: Hüsker Dü and the Replacements.

Both bands’ earliest gigs — from 1979 to 1981 — focused on the scene’s hottest clubs (The Longhorn and the 7th St. Entry, a small room that was part of the bigger First Avenue). The Hüskers and the ‘Mats circled each other, often playing the same venue within days of each other, but apparently didn’t share a gig until both bands opened for the Neglectors at the 7th Ave. Entry on Sept. 5, 1981. (Down the line, Hüsker Dü and the Replacements would make their New York debuts at Great Gildersleeves on April 17, 1983, supported by a New York band called Young and the Useless that coincidentally included future Beastie Boy Adam Horovitz.)

Hüsker Dü and the Replacements: Two monster bands starting their careers on tight parallel paths at the same Minneapolis clubs. But what other bands traveled with them at the very beginning of their ride? Here are five bands you should know about: Continue reading “Like the Replacements and Hüsker Dü? 5 bands you should know about”