Bands I thought would "make it" that didn't....

[Bag]

List some bands you've seen locally or semi-locally that you thought had a shot at the "big time."

1- Dirty Looks, they were awesome, had stage presence, good songs... Heard Henrik pissed in the Atlantic records exec's office,(might have had something to do with it!)
2- Harpo, awesome covers and I liked the album they put out... (heard they're gonna reform and do some shows this summer)
3- Hybrid Ice, any band that can do "Bohemian Rhapsody" live and sound exactly like Queen doing it, HAS to be good!
4- Bashful (don't laugh), the early version of this band, Jeff, Brian, John and Robert, put on a really great live show! And the E.P. they put out was good. I remember when they won the B.O.T.B. at York and won studio time and stuff. They beat out some decent bands that day.
5- Overkill, you guys have probably already figured out that this is my all-time favorite band, and I think they blow away their contemporaries, (Metallica, Medadeth, etc...) They kinda "made it" in the late 80's with videos on MTV and stuff and I've recently (last week) seen them play to packed houses in NJ and NY. But the last time they played at Sab's there were maybe 100 people in the place. They just put out their 14th record and are touring it now. The goods news is that MegaDave Mustaine is maybe gonna take them along on his "Gigantour."

You're lists don't have to be metal or even rock, just curious who you've seen that blew you away, but never became mainstream popular.

Bag

[esa]

Honestly? I thought Deviance had it in the bag... thought they would be famous by now.

[Victor Synn]

Harpo's already reformed and have been touring. Mostly in eastern Pa. I wonder if they plan on coming to central Pa anytime soon?

[rreihart]

Coinmonster - still the greatest band I have ever seen play on Altoona stages.

Mercury - Pittsburgh band that we should all be hearing and seeing by now. They just keep experiencing turnover for some reason?

[DMFJ03]

Deviance had my vote, hands down.

I wish The Grimm would blow up too - there is just too much talent there to be wasted in this dead end music area.

[313]

List some bands you've seen locally or semi-locally that you thought had a shot at the "big time."

4- Bashful (don't laugh), the early version of this band, Jeff, Brian, John and Robert, put on a really great live show! And the E.P. they put out was good. I remember when they won the B.O.T.B. at York and won studio time and stuff. They beat out some decent bands that day.

Bag

Nobody's laughing here (Bashful). They were damn good, and I have said before that if the right person would have heard their second release "Time Will Tell", they would have been signed instantly to a major.

The best live band I have ever witnessed is Wrathchild. They were signed to Atlantic, and experienced some level of success but not what I thought they deserved. The reasons (legal battles over the name) for this are pretty well documented though so I'll stop there.

Others that I have seen that looked like they had what it takes include:

Dead End Kids (Philly) These guys influenced and were ripped off by every single one of the other Philly bands that later "made it" (Cinderella, Britny Fox, Tangier). Despite their influence, DEK are relatively unknown outside of the Delaware Valley. What a shame.

Teeze - Fantastic live band (live show derived/borrowed from Dead End Kids!)

Deuce - with Marty Friedman on guitar.

Silencers - not my favorite style of music, but they had it together.

Triple X - Every band needs Tim Aymar on vocals!

Blaz-On - Huntingdon county band had some great songs on their two CDs, esp. their first.

World War III (from Philly - NOT the band with Mandy Lion)

Slammer - I prefer the Giornesto era version of Slammer, although their later recordings as a 4-piece are also excellent.

August - Maryland band

Blackwulf

Fatal Maim - great local metal/thrash band.

[Keifer]

I am suprised The Clarks didn't get the national recognition I think they deserve.

I also have to agree with Bag- Overkill Rocks! I would love to see them and Dave.

[Killjingle]

as a member of Deviance I have to thank you for your vote of confidence Esa and DMF. Those are some of the nicest things anybody ever said about a project I was involved with. It was because of ppl like you we were so successful.

[wiskerbisket]

I thought i was the only Overkill fan
man..personal faves were hello from the gutter/shred/anything off of the underground and below/my fav song though is Drunken Wisdom
we opened up for them at Fiddlestys as Scarred for life..man they were the best guys around.Bobby is the shit...whatever happened to gant...specialyy psyched bout old Anthrax line up/...I would like to see Megadeth/Anthrax/Testament/Overkill/DRI Tour Called
Hereshowudoit Tour

[ASB10]

I coul write a book about the really good Pittsburgh bands that had the talent and the songs, but for one reason or another never really "made it".

The Clarks - such a great band, great songs, great show, great musicians...but somehow it hasn't caught on nationally. It was wierd to hear a friend of mine from PA tell a story about seeing them a few years ago at a bar in Phoenix, AZ, and there were only about 50 people there.

Push - another great band with great songs, and they could f'in play, but members left and the whole thing fell apart, but definitely check out thier CD (can't remember the name, and too lazy to go look for it)

Brownie Mary - great looking front woman who could sing like hell. The songs were honestly a little ahead of their time, but still a great listen today

and there are so many more: Vibro Kings, Ice Cream Headache, etc.

and lest we not forget some of PA's finest songwriters - The Badlees, these guys wrote some great stuff that did make it relatively big in that small window in the early to mid-90's when lighter rock fare was appreciated (Gin Blossoms, Toad the Wet Sprocket, etc.) Also, we have had the opportunity to play with these guys several times, and they are great guys who will probably continue to jam for years, because it's what they love to do, and they love the music, always super cool with Third Standard.

[Bag]

Oh man, I can't believe I forgot Slammer! Todd and I were friends way back then. Lost touch a long time ago tho. They kicked some serious butt! I never got to see Deviance, is there a site or somewhere I could give them a listen?

Whisker & 313, I think Gant quit to race motorcycles or something(?) F.T.U.A.B. is my favorite OK album." Long Time Dyin'" has to be one of the best metal songs ever written. I saw them at Fidelstix on that tour too, so I must have seen you too! I remember the opening band being good, but couldn't remember the name.(Beer will do that, lol) If you dont have their DVD, "Wrecking Everything", get it. I was at that show in Asbury Park, NJ, and it was the best concert I've ever been to. There's a "Wrecking Everything" CD that only has stuff on it that wasn't on their "Wrecking Your Neck Live" CD. The DVD is the WHOLE concert. They have a cool website. I'll link it for you so you can check it out.

http://wreckingcrew.com/crew/

[DMFJ03]

The Badlees - they sorta made it, but they never really caught on. Which is a shame - those boys could play.

[esa]

Weren't the Clarks local too?

Badlees...yes...
Grimm.. They have the talent.. they just need to get the crowds crazy... but they have the potential.
Deviance..they should have... honestly...

I wish I could remember the one heavy metal band from J-town... they were going places and then just disappeared. Within the last two years.

[gymnast]

esa wrote:

I wish I could remember the one heavy metal band from J-town... they were going places and then just disappeared. Within the last two years.

Do you mean Pivot??

The Clarks are IUP Alumni. So yeah they're local to PA.

[JayBird]

The Clarks and Brownie Mary used to play IUP all the time. I've seen Brownie Mary at least five times, have all of their albums. I've seen The Clarks probably ten times or more. Both bands did get major label deals, but after one CD they got dropped. Brownie Mary even had some MTV exposure when one of their songs was the theme song on some show which aired a few years back. They were under Blackbird Records. The Clarks where on Univeral or someone like that. Anyway...The Clarks are under booking agent, The Agency Group. They are a $10,000 a show band for bigger venues and festivals. I'd say theat they are doing just fine without major lable support! All members except for Kelsey left Brownie Mary. She kept the band going after the label dropped them and still plugs away doing shows in and around Pittsburgh. You can also hear her on 93.7 KRock's, 15 minutes of Fame show.

In my opinion...April from Shades of June (their originals) sounds just like Kelsey

[Keifer]

I have the Badlees' River Songs CD and although I prefer harder rock, it is a pretty good CD. Never seen them live but I could see it being a somewhat melow show. They are very talented.

On a harder note, I am very excited that Anthrax has the original line up back. I saw an interview on VH1 Classic with Scott Ian and I think they are going to kick some ass!!

[Bert|Evil]

A lot of people mentioned The Clarks, and I never know what to say there. It is, however, ironic that they achieved late night stardom concurrently with their Bud Light jingles (a.k.a. career suicide). For the record, they are all from Pittsburgh, but they just happened to meet at IUP. In their first CD there is a special thanks to my fraternity for giving them their first gig. Unfortunately, it was before my time.

Brownie Mary might as well be renamed to the “Kelsey Friday Show”. She’ll take advantage of any moment to promote herself, even car dealership commercials. She was hosting a show on one of the Pittsburgh radio stations called 15 Minutes of Fame.

I certainly can’t dismiss Inside Out from this topic. Their originals and image were great, but the timing with the rest of the industry was bad. I guess that you could put Triple X in that category, as well. Heck, I still listen to those CDs.

[rocker x]

The Evil Rules

[Bert|Evil]

The Evil Rules

Yeah, Professor Bert in 'da hizzouse!

[no surrender]

Anybody remember Korruption? local, a few years back, disbanded now

[esa]

esa wrote:

I wish I could remember the one heavy metal band from J-town... they were going places and then just disappeared. Within the last two years.

Do you mean Pivot??

The Clarks are IUP Alumni. So yeah they're local to PA.

No... but they weren't too bad either.
Pivot-tool

[Possessed]

Was it Necrotomie?
I was involved with them for about six months during the latter stages of their run.
I thought they should have made it long before I joined.

[gymnast]

I assumed this was given but I'll throw it out there:
Badwrench

Ah the piano song.

[Banned]

I assumed this was given but I'll throw it out there:
Badwrench

Ah the piano song.

If it is the same Badwrench I'm thinking of, they became Wrench, then Stept-on, and now In. They did come very close to making it, I beleive that was covered in previous posts though.

[Bert|Evil]

I assumed this was given but I'll throw it out there:
Badwrench

Ah the piano song.

The Music Box in Indiana is closing (or has recently closed). One of discounted items was a Badwrench T-shirt, featuring the easy chair from the first album cover. I thought that was kind of funny when you consider that it probably was sitting there since 1994 or 1995.