5 Bands That Should Have Been Enormous – But Blew It.

The Replacements

Origin: The ‘Mats (as their dedicated fan base used to refer to them) were formed in Minneapolis as a punk rock garage band in 1979. One of the band members – Tommy Stinson – was just 12 years old at the time. They played punk rock music with pop sensibilities and the crackling energy of an arena rock band.

Band Members: Paul Westerberg (vocals, guitar); Chris Mars (drums, vocals); Bob Stinson (guitar); Tommy Stinson (bass)

Best Album: “Tim” (1985)

Second Best Album: “Let It Be” (1984)

Best Song: “Can’t Hardly Wait”

Second Best Song: “Bastard of Young”

Why They Should Have Made It: Rock and roll magazine “Trouser Press” once declared the Replacements “the world’s greatest rock and roll band.” The band played legendary live shows – filled with seething energy and punk-rock power. They toured with R.E.M. and Tom Petty. For awhile the Replacements were the darlings of the music press and popular with their peers in the industry.

What Went Wrong: They were drunks. The band often showed up to gigs totally shit-faced. They refused to release any videos for MTV at a time when it was necessary in order to break into the national scene (they submitted a video for “Alex Chilton” that showed the band sitting on chairs and a couch doing nothing). They were banned from “Saturday Night Live” because they were drunk on stage and Paul Westerberg swore during their performance. In the end, they all hated each other and broke up.

Shrewd DP Observation: They were so damn close, but arrogance proved to be their downfall.

Where Are They Now?: Paul Westerberg launched a solo career. Bob Stinson died at age 35 in 1995 after years of drug and alcohol abuse. His brother, Tommy Stinson, is a member of Guns ‘N Roses. Chris Mars joined Golden Smog and then had a solo career and is a talented artist.

Screaming Blue Messiahs

Origin: The Screaming Blue Messiahs formed in 1983 in London. The trio had a distinct sound: a hard-driving, punk-infused rockabilly with amazing guitar work from Frontman Bill Carter.

Band Members: Bill Carter (vocals, guitar); Chris Thompson (bass, vocals); and Kenny Harris (drums)

Best Album: “Gun Shy” (1986)

Second Best Album: “Bikini Red” (1987)

Best Song: “Wild Blue Yonder”

Second Best Song: “Let’s Go Down to the Woods”

Why They Should Have Made It: The album “Gun Shy” is an alternative gem – a ferocious foray into Americana. The band tour with Echo and the Bunnymen and David Bowie once declared them his favorite band. They became extremely popular in England – often showing up on the cover of “Sounds” magazine. In a review of “Gun Shy,” Melody Marker magazine said: “This is the album The Clash meant to make when they recorded ‘Cut the Crap’.”

What Went Wrong: The band’s first top 10 hit was “I Wanna Be a Flintstone,” a novelty song (although a good one). It was a pop-infused number that didn’t do justice to the driving, angry rock from their previous efforts. It was simply the wrong image and ultimately it killed them. Dropped by their label, increase infighting among the members, finally led them to call it quits in 1989.

Shrewd DP Observation: The Screaming Blue Messiahs should have stuck to their roots. The Flintstones? Come on, man!

Where Are They Now?: In 2005, Bill Carter joined MySpace and released three previously unreleased Screaming Blue songs. He works as an artist in England. We don’t have any information on Chris Thompson or Kenny Harris (although Harris is the main contact on the SBM’s web page).

The Rave-ups

Origin: The band was formed in Pittsburgh in the early 1980s, but relocated to Los Angeles were they became an alternative cult hit. They played straight alternative rock and garnered strong reviews from critics.

Band Members: Jimmer Podrasky (vocals); Tim Jemenez (drums); Chuck Wada (guitar); and Douglas Leonard (bass)

Best Album: “Town and Country” (1985)

Second Best Album: “Chance” (1990)

Best Song: “Positively, Lost Me”

Second Best Song: “Respectfully, the King of Rain”

Why They Should Have Made It: The Rave-Ups were damn fun. They were the “it” band of Hollywood’s young actors in the 1980s – including Molly Ringwald. They played two songs in the movie “Pretty in Pink,” which lead to them being signed by Epic Records. Their punchy, pop-infused tunes were hits on college and alternative radio stations. Many critics predicted them as the “next-big-thing.”

What Went Wrong: The producers of “Pretty in Pink” screwed the Rave-ups by leaving them off the bestselling movie album – which most likely would have propelled them to stardom. Then the band became embroiled in a lawsuit with their record labels which put them on a three year hiatus at the peak of their popularity. In a nutshell? Bad luck ruined their chances.

Shrewd DP Observation: After a Rave-Ups show in Providence, Rhode Island in the late 1980s, DP spoke with Frontman Jimmer Podrasky and he was still bitter about being rejected by the producers of “Pretty in Pink.”

Where Are They Now?: Jimmer Podrasky has reformed the band and has an album – but no record contract. No word on the other band members.

Treat Her Right

Origin: Boston blues rock band, Treat Her Right, was founded in 1984. The band is often mentioned as helping make punk-blues (known as cowpunk) popular.

Band Members: Mark Sandman (guitar, vocals); Billy Conway (drums); Dave Champagne (guitar, vocals) and Jim Fitting (harmonica, vocals)

Best Album: “Treat Her Right” (1986 – reissued 1988)

Second Best Album: “Tied to the Tracks” (1989)

Best Song: “I Think She Likes Me”

Second Best Song: “I Got A Gun”

Why They Should Have Made It: Treat Her Right could play – and their concerts were dynamite. Their bluesy, barroom grind became popular on college radio. They signed with RCA records that reissued their debut and put a lot of money into the band’s second album. They were also popular with other musicians. Rolling Stones backup guitar player Bob Anderson urged them to reform in 1995 and under his direction they released an acoustic album of cover songs.

What Went Wrong: Another talented, original band screwed by their record label. When “Tied to the Tracks” didn’t sell well, RCA basically pulled the plug.

Shrewd DP Observation: Mark Sandman and Billy Conway went on to form the band Morphine, which had some success in the 1990s with albums like “Cure for Pain” and “Yes.”

Where Are They Now?: Mark Sandman died during a Morphine concert in Italy in 1999. His death was deemed a heart attack. He was 46. Billy Conway works for Hi-N-Dry, an independent record label he helped found. He still plays. Jim Fitting went on to play with the band The The. Dave Champagne founded the Jazz Popes and occasionally plays with his wife under the name the Heygoods.

The Screaming Trees

Origin: The band was founded by high school students in Ellensburg, Washington (about 90 miles from Seattle) in 1985. They were part of the growing grunge scene and their music mixed elements of psychedelic, punk, and heavy metal music. They were named after a guitar distortion pedal. And they were damn good.

Band Members: Van Conner (bass); Gary Lee Conner (guitar); Mark Lanegan (vocals); Mark Pickerel (drums)

Best Album: “Sweet Oblivion” (1992)

Second Best Album: “Uncle Anesthesia” (1991)

Best Song: “Nearly Lost You”

Second Best Song: “Shadow of the Season” (1993)

Why They Should Have Made It: The Screaming Trees were one of the few grunge acts that got great reviews. They were the peers of Nirvana and Soundgarden – both bands which became huge acts when the grunge sound went national. The band’s single “Nearly Lost You” was one of the best songs on the movie soundtrack for “Singles,” which was an enormous commercial success. They were a headline act in 1996’s Lollapalooza tour.

What Went Wrong: The Screaming Trees just couldn’t put personal difference aside. In-fighting, bickering, and various side projects got in the way. When “Nearly Lost You” hit big the band already had a new drummer. After the tour to support the bestselling “Sweet Oblivion” album, they basically broke up. The grunge scene passed by and well – that’s all she wrote.

Shrewd DP Observation: Dedication proved to be The Screaming Trees downfall. All the band members had side projects. Van Conner played with Dinosaur Jr. for most of 1991 rather than help support the release of the band’s first major studio album “Uncle Anesthesia.” Bad move.

Where Are They Now?: Mark Lanegan has been a vocalist for many bands since The Screaming Trees broke up. Gary Lee Conner has a new band called Amanita Caterpillar. He works as a newspaper courier in Texas. Van Conner (Lee’s brother) has a band called VALIS and works for Boeing in Seattle. Mark Pickerel left the band in 1992. He has a band called Mark Pickerel and His Praying Hands.

Read our picks for the 10 Best Soundtracks ever here

Labels: Music, Rave-Ups, Screaming Blue Messiahs, The Replacements, The Screaming Trees, Treat Her Right

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(DaRK PaRTY was a huge fan of the band Treat Her Right in the mid-to-late 1980s. The band played a stripped down blues with two guitars, a harmonica, and a cocktail drum. Billy Conway was the drummer – a funked-out, long-haired dude with a sardonic smile. The band played soulful, haunted blues-infused rock with song titles like “I Think She Likes Me,” “I Got a Gun,” “King of Beers,” and “Where Did All the Girls Comes From.” Treat Her Right lead singer and guitarist Mark Sandman and Conway left to form the band Morphine. Morphine had a devoted fan based for their jazzy rock numbers that only featured guitar, saxophone, and Conway’s drums. Their hits included: “Honey White,” “Super Sex,” and “Sharks.” The band broke up after Sandman died of an apparent heart attack. Conway know runs Hi ‘n Dry, a recoding studio in Boston, and plays with the band Twinemen. DaRK PaRTY recently caught up with Conway to talk about his life in music.)

DaRK PaRTY: Treat Her Right was a stripped down blues band featuring Mark Sandman and Dave Champagne on guitars; Jim Fitting on harmonica; and you beating the daylights out of a cocktail drum. Can you give DaRK PaRTY readers a brief origin story on the band and what the musical philosophy was behind it?

Billy Conway: We began in the mid-1980s with Sunday jam sessions doing whatever music that moved us. Paul Kolderie was playing bass and was unable to make one of the sessions and Mark (Sandman) began playing bass lines on his guitar. We liked the sound of low guitar and high guitar and there was a precedent in the blues that we all liked. We adopted the less is more theory and focused on simplifying everything we were doing. If there were too many chords in the song we just removed them or skipped that part of the song. We held high regard for one chord songs and strived to make simple and emotional music like our heroes – Muddy (Waters), (Howling’) Wolf, and Jimi Hendrix.

We wanted to make music with the power of the blues but still our music and not reliant on the tradition. Since we all had been in rock bands with too much gear and production we decided to apply the simple approach to performing as well. Each one of us had to be able to carry our gear into the venue in one trip without help and no gear that required two people to lift. We wanted to be able to do our thing in a living room or the enormodome. We took a steady local gig and saved the money to make our first record with Kolderie's help at the original Fort Apache studio. Our record was DYI (Do It Yourself) before the acronym was popular.

We sold some records and got signed by a major label and learned a lot of lessons.

DP: When Treat Her Right broke up, Mark Sandman formed Morphine in 1989 with saxophone player Dana Colley. You came in to play the drums after the original drummer Jerome Deupree became ill. Morphine had a rabid following of fans that really dug the band's ability to fuse blues and jazz elements with rock. Why do you think Morphine became so popular?

Billy: The sound of Morphine was unique enough that we were seldom compared to other artists or genres and had to be taken on our terms. We also knew that the songs would always be the test and it was always about the songs. We stripped down the lineup and worked really hard on the road and worked on having a good live show and making the real connection out in the world. As much as we believed in ourselves we were still astonished at times that our music was finding a place in a market that had very little music similar to ours.

DP: Mark Sandman died on stage in Italy on July 3, 1999 while performing. Can you tell us about Sandman as a musician and what he meant to you as a friend and band mate?

Billy: He will forever be an inspiration to me. He was fearless and relentless musically. He worked constantly and was always moving forward. It was not uncommon to see a song title on the set list that I didn't recognize. When I would ask him about it he wouldusually say something about a jam and a riff and that I would remember it when we started playing.

He was a great old school entertainer and emcee of the show and I think it was effectivebecause he was sincere. He would comment that when on stage you can't say thank you or the name of the city too many times. Having a good show was the singular goal of everyday on the road and he lived for that.

DP: You help run a recording studio called Hi 'n Dry and now play with a new band called the Twinemen. Can you tell us about the studio and what the Twinemen are all about?

Billy: Hi ‘n Dry was the name of Mark’s studio as far back as Treat Her Right and through Morphine and we kept it after his death. Every record we made had songs that were cut at Hi ‘n Dry and our last record was made and completed there. Dana and I decided to keep the studio and began producing records there and forming our own little scene and eventually had to stumble into our own label. It is mostly a community affair and a form of musical social work. Artists without much money helping artists without much money make records. It is a rewarding community to be involved in with a great history and supportive relationships.

Twinemen began after we completed a tour with Orchestra Morphine (a nine piece band we put together to promote "The Night" Morphine's final record). Laurie Sargent had been doing some of the singing in the orchestra and Dana and I were contributing music to her solo record when we realized the music was taking on its own path. So of course we followed along. Laurie’s solo record still is not finished, but Twinemen are preparing to release our third studio record in January. We acquired Jeremy Moses Curtis on bass after we lost the previous bass player to some guy named Dylan. The music of Twinemen is ever evolving and always exploring and we really enjoy not knowing where it is going as long as it sounds new and unlike music we know about. It must be in the Hi ‘n Dry air.

The name Twinemen came from a cartoon strip that Sandman had during morphine.The character was three headed twine ball as a comic reflection of life in a band.

DP: Word has it that Treat Her Right will be releasing a new album based on some recently rediscovered recordings. Can you give us a sneak peek at the project? Where was the music found and will there be any new material?

Billy: Yesiree, there is yet another edition of Treat Her Right music. At the end of our band life we had made a record for our major label that they actually paid for but never heard before they dropped us. We printed up a bunch of cassettes and hit the road selling them from the stage and actually broke even for once on the road. Since then it has been on the shelf and we thought it was time to make it available. It is a pleasure to hear the music now with all the miles in front of it. It still has its own unique sound and that, asalways, is a difficult thing to accomplish.


Read our picks for the 5 Bands That Should Have Been Huge -- But Blew It


Read our picks for 7 Really Pissed Off Bands here

Labels: 5 Questions, Billy Conway, Morphine, Music, Treat Her Right

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