A MINOR FOREST Flemish Altruism (Constituent Parts 1993-1996) 1996

by request

 

Artist Biography by Jason Ankeny

Math-rock trio A Minor Forest formed in San Francisco in 1992, and comprised guitarist/vocalist Erik Hoversten, bassist John Trevor Benson and drummer Andee Connors. Forging a noisy, melancholy sound closer in spirit to midwestern post-rock than the dominant punk aesthetic of the Bay Area, the band struggled to build a local following, and when an offer to record an LP finally arrived, it came courtesy of Chicago-based Thrill Jockey. Recorded by Steve Albini, A Minor Forest's debut LP Flemish Altruism (Constituent Parts 1993-1996) earned strong critical notice, and after a series of singles and compilation tracks, the group issued Inindependence two years later. A November 1, 1998 hometown show at the Great American Music Hall was A Minor Forest's last, with the posthumous rarities collection ...So They Were in Some Sort of Fight? appearing on My Pal God a year later. Hoversten continued on with his side project the Threnody Ensemble, while Benson and Connors reunited in Ticwar. 

BLACK MARKET FLOWERS Thicket 1995

by request

 

Discogs

Guitarist/Vocalist Matt Neth and Bassist Bryan Ray formed the band in San Francisco in 1991, and moved to Los Angeles, where they found Drummer Heath Patterson. After a year of showcasing their melodic brand of grunge on the club circuit, Black Market Flowers were signed by Relativity Records, and released their debut, Bind, in 1993.

Their first single, "Cracked Pain / Coool," was cut in San Francisco and released in 1991 on Piece of Mind Records, followed shortly by a three song demo, "Fixin' / Kenny and Cleo / Pink Heavy." After they were signed by Relativity Records, they released, "Gladiola Flower Petal II EP", on CD & 7" in the Spring of 1993. Later that year BMF released their debut full length, Bind.

They Toured the US, released a single and a video for Kenny and Cleo (video directed by Casey Nicolli), totaled their fifteen passenger van in Knoxville TN, toured some more, released Fixin as a second single, quit Relativity and then signed with Jon Pikus' label "Boys Life / Interscope" in 1995. Their second album, "Thicket," was released later that year along with the video for Rainvisor. A 10" vinyl version of Thicket was released shortly after, with switched up sequence of tracks, an additional song and different album art. Additional track included on the 10" vinyl was PTWTWABS (played the whole thing with a broken string) recorded live to DAT Tape. The song was usually reserved as a recovery song if Matt or Bryan broke a string in the middle of a live set.

While Black Market Flowers were writing and recording their third full length album in July 1997, sisters Mykel, Carli and Trysta Allen were killed in a car accident while driving home from a concert to see their father in Salt Lake City. BMF played their last show, with Weezer and That Dog, as a fundraiser for the sisters' family. They were truly the first BMF fans and helped the band from start to finish. It didn't seem right to go on with out them.

LOVE, Heath, Matt and Bryan Ray 

Tracklist

1		Intro	0:22
2		Amber	3:51
3		Rainvisor	3:30
4		Plum	3:19
5		Aunt Farmer	5:10
6		One Bolt	4:05
7		Thicket	3:28
8		New Number One	7:57
9		Untitled	4:54

 

 

 

LOWERCASE

All Destructive Urges...Seem So Perfect

1996

Kill the Lights

1997

 by request

Artist Biography by Ron DePasquale

The nucleus of this avant-garde group, guitarist Imaad and drummer Brian, met in the early-'90s desert California and shared interests in lo-fi, slow, melodic music. They soon moved to San Francisco and began working with a cycle of bass players and record labels. The band debuted with All Destructive Urges Seems So Perfect in 1996, followed by Kill the Lights with Amphetamine Reptile of Minneapolis. Lowercase experimented further with its slowcore, minimalist sound on Going-Away Present on Punk in My Vitamins, a dark album even includes a 12-minute track.

THE AMPS Pacer 1995

Discogs

Artist Biography by Heather Phares

After the overwhelming success of "Cannonball" and Last Splash took the Breeders by surprise -- and led to their quick burnout -- singer/songwriter/guitarist Kim Deal formed the Amps in 1994 as a way to release new material while the Breeders took a break. With her other group's drummer Jim MacPherson, Deal assembled a new band from members of other bands around her hometown of Dayton, OH, including Nathan Farley and Luis Lerma of the Tasties. Originally called Tammy & the Amps, the band sounded like a rougher, rawer version of the Breeder's skewed pop. The Tipp City EP heralded Pacer, their first and only album, which was released in late 1995. That year, the Amps toured with friends and like-minded acts such as Helium and Sonic Youth. The following year, Deal folded the Amps lineup into a new version of the Breeders -- which also included Pod-era member Carrie Bradley -- for a handful of California dates with Primus. As the Breeders' notoriously unstable lineup changed, all of the former Amps left the group within two years. 

Tracklist 

1	Pacer	2:31
2	Tipp City	2:08
3	I Am Decided	2:28
4	Mom's Drunk	1:42
5	Bragging Party	4:32
6	Hoverin	2:46
7	First Revival	2:53
8	Full On Idle	2:18
9	Breaking The Split Screen Barrier	3:07
10	Empty Glasses	2:39
11	She's A Girl	1:50
12	Dedicated	4:12

 

COMPOUND RED Always a Pleasure 1998

  Tracklist

1		Versus The Ocean
2		Return
3		Goodbye To Paris
4		Volcano Kisses
5		Sway
6		Color Of Contrast
7		Cancel The Sound
8		Sky
9		Speed To Slow
10		The Learning Curve
11		Art Of Building

Artist Biography by Mike DaRonco

Based out of the Mid-Western semi-metropolis of Milwaukee, Wisconsin -where cheese, beer and the Promise Ring being the three most popular exports- is where Compound Red got their start. Consisting of Andy Reis (bass), Mike Allen (guitar), Dave Henderleiter (drums) and John Lyman (vocals), the Red reinforced the sound of melodic guitars, complexed rhythms and screamy vocals -first brought on by the likes of Drive Like Jehu, Fugazi and Cap ‘n Jazz. Displayed on their 1995 full-length Mr. Microcosm, and the split EP with Sandbox that same year, the band eventually broke up with Lyman's move to Minneapolis while the remainder continued on writing new material. Upon the recruitment of second guitarist Jim Minor, Lyman found himself back in Milwaukee which all resulted in the resurrection of Compound Red in 1996. With the single "Now I'm an Anchor"b/w "Angel Danced Away"and the split with Chicago's Sidekick Kato both released that same year, DeSoto Records hooked them up the following year and put out the single "Peter Pan's Shadow" b/w "20 Miles Up There Is No Air." After a US tour with the Promise Ring and Lyman's replacement Greg Steffke, the band eventually called it quits in early 1999.

P self titled 1995

Discogs

Artist Biography by Mark Deming

While Johnny Depp has developed a massive international fan following as an actor (especially since the release of the blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl), he's also been a musician and a passionate music fan most of his life, and one of his best-known musical projects was the band P. Depp began playing guitar when he was 12, after his mother gave him a second-hand acoustic instrument as a present; he taught himself to play using a Mel Bay chord book, and by his late teens he was gigging with a number of band in his native Florida and dropped out of high school to devote his time to his music. Depp's most successful group during his days in the Sunshine State was the Kids, a hard-edged new wave band who developed a significant local following an opened for a number of national touring acts, most notably Iggy Pop, who would work with Depp again years later, both as an actor and as composer of the score for Depp's directorial debut, The Brave. After recording a four-song demo, the Kids changed their name to Six Gun Method and moved to California in hopes of landing a record deal. Their big break didn't come and Depp quit the group, though bassist Bruce Witkin went on to play with Adam Ant and currently fronts the group Supremium, while Depp met Lori Anne Allison, a makeup artist who would become his first wife, through Six Gun Method's drummer. Depp then joined the hard rock band Rock City Angels, though in 1984, on the advice of Nicholas Cage, a friend of Allison's, he landed a role in the film A Nightmare on Elm Street and left the band to pursue acting full-time, though a song he co-wrote for the group, "Mary," appeared on their debut album, released by Geffen in 1989. In 1993, while Depp was in Texas shooting the film What's Eating Gilbert Grape, he and Sal Jenco, a close friend and fellow musician turned actor, struck up a friendship with two Lone Star rockers, guitarist and songwriter Bill Carter and Gibby Haynes, infamous lead vocalist with psychedelic punk firebrands the Butthole Surfers. The four decided to form a band, and P was born, with Depp and Carter trading off on guitar and bass, Jenco playing drums, and Haynes handling the vocals. The band made their debut at the 1993 South by Southwest Music Festival and became the informal house band at the Viper Room, the Los Angeles rock club co-owned by Depp. In 1995, Capitol Records, then home to the Butthole Surfers, released P's self-titled debut album, which featured guest spots from Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones, and pianist and L.A. scene fixture Chuck E. Weiss. A song from the P album, "Michael Stipe," gained some alternative rock airplay, and sales were respectable if modest considering the fame of the participants. The group proved to be short-lived, as Depp and Jenco returned to acting, Haynes continued touring and recording with the Butthole Surfers, and Carter released solo albums and collaborated with Howe Gelb of Giant Sand. However, Depp still plays guitar in his spare time, popping up on some Oasis sessions, guesting with his long-time paramour Vanessa Paradis, appearing on the first album by Shane MacGowan & the Popes, and playing a reunion show with the Kids in early 2007 at a memorial concert for Shelia Witkin, the group's manager and a longtime fixture on Miami's underground rock scene. Depp has also told interviewers he remains friendly with his P bandmates and wouldn't rule out recording a second album with them. 

Tracklist 

1	I Save Cigarette Butts	3:43
2	Zing Splash	3:16
3	Michael Stipe	4:25
4	Oklahoma	3:38
5	Dancing Queen	3:47
6	John Glenn (Mega Mix)	9:00
7	Mr. Officer	3:43
8	White Man Sings The Blues	6:40
9	Die Anne	4:43
10	Scraping From Ring	7:51
11	The Deal	6:05

CMJ New Music Monthly Volume 28 1995

by request

 

Tracklist 

1	Velvet Underground, The –	Ocean	5:43
2	David Bowie –	The Hearts Filthy Lesson	4:57
3	Thurl Ravenscroft –	You're A Mean One, Mr Grinch	2:56
4	Ramones –	Spider-Man	2:05
5	Loud Lucy –	Down Baby	2:30
6	Amps, The –	Tipp City	2:10
7	Menswe@r* –	Daydreamer	2:17
8	P –	Michael Stipe	4:24
9	Lotions, The –	Marijuana Vietnam	4:48
10	Stabbing Westward –	What Do I Have To Do?	3:36
11	Sister Machine Gun –	Hole In The Ground	5:28
12	For Squirrels –	8:02 P.M.	3:28
13	Capsize 7 –	The Safe	2:57
14	7 Seconds –	See You Tomorrow	3:23
15	Superchunk –	Hyper Enough	3:30
16	Goops, The –	Build Me Up, Buttercup	2:38
17	Spookey Ruben –	Wendy McDonald	4:00
18	Chris Knox –	Half Man/Half Mole	2:35
19	Tracy Chapman –	Give Me One Reason	4:28
20	Radiohead –	Just	3:52
21	Jonathan Fire Eater* –	When Prince Was A Kid	3:19