Artist Biography
by MacKenzie Wilson
The
Primitive Radio Gods'
smashing chart debut "Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money
in My Hand" was an unforgettable radio mainstay and MTV favorite during
the summer of 1996. It quickly defined the band as another alterna-rock
innovator integrating catchy hooks and a hip-hop/new wave mix. The debut
album
Rocket went gold, and earned the band top spots across the album and singles charts as well. Not too bad for frontman
Chris O'Connor.
This was a rock & roll fantasy come true for this air traffic
controller, whose side gig, the I-Rails, had been struggling for ten
years prior. However, the hype surrounding
the PRG
quickly faded. Music industry politics played into the scheme and
before the new millennium dawned, the band's sophomore effort was
scrapped and the band was dropped from Columbia. Another quickie deal
from Hi-Fi/Sire Records came to the rescue, but that too failed when
contractual differences and a shift in bandmates created more chaos for
the PRG. A whirlwind time, more than three years since their debut, and the band played on. In early 2000,
the PRG resurfaced with a complete roster including Jim Sparks, Tim Laurterio, and
Luke McAuliffe. A deal with What Are Records? marked the second coming of this stereotyped one-hit wonder, and the long-awaited follow-up,
White Hot Peach,
was issued in early 2001. Sparks left the group the following year to
pursue other projects, but the remaining members continued on. The
independently released Still Electric, which moved the group in a more
shoegazey direction, arrived in 2003, followed in 2006 by the
like-minded Sweet Venus, and Out Alive in 2010.
Tracklist
| 1 |
Women |
4:18
|
| 2 |
Motherfucker |
5:19
|
| 3 |
Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth With Money In My Hand |
5:39
|
| 4 |
Who Say |
3:24
|
| 5 |
The Rise And Fall Of Ooo Mau |
3:50
|
| 6 |
Where The Monkey Meets The Man |
4:17
|
| 7 |
Are You Happy |
5:35
|
| 8 |
Chain Reaction |
4:47
|
| 9 |
Skin Turns Blue |
4:27
|
| 10 |
Rocket |
4:41 |
