The Embarrassment

Referred to by fans as "the best band you never heard of," The Embarrassment also holds the distinction of being Wichita, KS' most influential band. The group's eclectic yet distinctive sound wrapped a post-punk approach and a deadpan sense of humor around pop, country, disco, and metal elements, crafting songs that rivaled the work of better-known contemporaries like Gang of Four, Mission of Burma, and The Feelies. Though they toured and recorded consistently from their formation in 1979 till their breakup in 1983, The Embarrassment won only a small -but intensely devoted- following while they were an active outfit. However, the group's cult grew over the years, culminating in a reunion in the late '80s and the release of two anthologies in the '90s. 

Vocalist/guitarist Bill Goffrier, vocalist/organist John Nichols, and drummer Brent "Woody" Geissman were childhood friends who played together in several groups during their school years. When Geissman met bassist Ron Klaus at college, the quartet became The Embarrassment, a reference to Kurt Vonnegut's novel "Bluebeard" in which a character notes that "embarrassment" is the one word that sums up the human existence. Late in 1979, the group debuted with the 'Patio Set/Sex Drive' single, which introduced The Embarrassment's angular, multi-guitar attack and paved the way for appearances on compilations from Bomp and the Kansas-based label Fresh Sounds. 

The group experienced their first breakout success with their self-titled 1981 EP, which brought them widespread attention from college radio and fanzines. The Embarrasment's combustive live shows also added to their prominence and earned them gigs with Iggy Pop, John Cale, and William S. Burroughs. The group's 'Lifespan' and 'Sound of Wasps' singles were among the first Sub Pop releases, back when label founder Bruce Pavitt released fanzines and cassettes under that name. 1983's dark, ambitious 'Death Travels West' EP was The Embarrassment's longest and most fully realized work yet, but by the time favorable reviews from cultural arbiters like the Village Voice appeared, the group had already disbanded, wishing to explore other interests. Geissman became the drummer for The Del Fuegos and Goffrier formed Big Dipper, while Klaus and Nichols pursued non-musical goals. In 1984, 'The Embarrassment Retrospective Tape', which collected their unreleased studio material, live tracks, and some covers, was released; three years later, some of those studio tracks were combined with their 1981 EP into a full-length Embarassment album. 

Though The Embarrassment was no longer the quartet's main project, it never disappeared completely: the members often reunited for New Year's Eve performances in Kansas and continued to write songs together. In 1988 they reunited as a side project, releasing the 'Train of Thought/After the Disco' single in 1989 and 'God Help Us', their first proper full-length album, in 1990 on Bar None. Five years later, 'Hey Day: 1979 - 1983' gathered all of their early singles, EPs, and compilation tracks along with some covers, live material, and other rarities. During the '90s, Goffrier settled in Boston, painting and appearing with the Boston Rock Opera; Geissman worked in L.A. as a session musician after The Del Fuegos disbanded, then also moved to Boston, performing as the drummer for The Laurie Geltman Band. Nichols moved to Orlando and worked as a manager for America West Airlines, while Klaus settled in Arizona. In 2001, My Pal God released 'Blister Pop', which collected previously unissued demos, live tracks, and covers, reaffirmed The Embarrassment's place as one of the main influences on American indie rock's look, sound, and D.I.Y. aesthetic. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]

Dead Famous People

Comprised of members Donna Savage (vocals), Biddy Leyland (keyboards), Wendy Kjestrup (guitar), Jenny Renals (bass), and Frances Gant (drums), '80s alt-rockers Dead Famous People hailed from New Zealand. The group built a following in their homeland with independent releases and eventually decided to relocate to the U.K., resulting in the release of their best-known release, the mini album 'Arriving Late in Torn and Filthy Jeans' in 1989. Despite fast-turning heads in London due to their live shows, the group split up in 1990, with Leyland and Savage embarking on solo careers (Savage also guested on Saint Etienne's version of The Field Mice song "Let's Kiss and Make Up"). A final Dead Famous People release came a few years later in the form of 'All Hail the Daffodil', a collection of tunes that the quintet was working on just prior to their split. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]

The Cassandra Complex

The darkwave unit The Cassandra Complex formed in 1980 with Paul Dillion and Rodney Orpheus, a musically inspired duo in search of playing to big music events, specifically tagged "complex events." Andrew Booth, who was formerly a journalist who interviewed The Cassandra Complex, was asked to join the group and The Cassandra Complex was officially a trio rearing the industrial-dance sounds laid underground during the early '80s. 

Throughout the '80s, the band was signed to the independent label, Rouska Records. Releasing a set of 12" singles, The Cassandra Complex became a familiar favorite among the goth rock crowd, but changes were quickly occurring within the makeup of the band. Dillion left the group toward the end of the decade, being replaced by Jez Willis, Keith Langley, and John Marchini. Volker Zacharias of Girls Under Glass also joined in 1990. 

As the mid-'90s approached, The Cassandra Complex already had a slew of releases to their name: 'Theomania' (1988), 'Satan, Bugs Bunny and Me' (1989), 'Cyberpunx' (1990), 'The War Against Sleep' (1991), and 'Sex & Death' (1994). In 1995, Orpheus hooked up with Patricia Nigiani and Marcus Giltes for a side project called Sun God while balancing The Cassandra Complex. Still undeterred by his various projects, Orpheus pushed the newly directed goth-industrial sounds of The Cassandra Complex in the direction of playing festivals across Europe. Two years later, the band began working on 'Wetware', their first for Metropolis Records, which was released in fall 2000. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC] 

The Band Of Blacky Ranchette

Blacky Ranchette is the alter ego of Howe Gelb, leader of the post-punk country-rock band Giant Sand. He formed The Band of Blacky Ranchette in the mid-'80s as a way to explore straight country music, but the group's three albums nevertheless resonated with Gelb's Neil Young and Gram Parsons obsessions. The Band of Blacky Ranchette's eponymous debut album was released on New Rose Records in 1985. Its follow-up, 'Heartland', appeared on Zippo Records in 1986. Four years later, the group released its third and final effort, 'Sage Advice'; this time, their record label was Demon. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC] 

Adrenalin O.D.

A suburban thrash foursome from New Jersey, Adrenalin O.D. debuted on a 1982 compilation from ROIR Records which also included Bad Brains and the Beastie Boys. The group, including guitarists Paul Richard and Bruce Wingate plus bassist Keith Hartel and drummer Dave Scott, signed to Buy Our Records the following year, releasing an EP and their debut album, 'The Wacky Hi-Jinks of...Adrenalin O.D.' The LP was a piece of prime hardcore punk, though recorded with no discernible production values. Adrenalin O.D.'s third proper album, 'Cruising with Elvis in Bigfoot's U.F.O.', saw the group change their attack from thrash to more manageable rock & roll tempos, revealing their knack for melody and off-beat themes. After signing to Restless in 1990, Adrenalin O.D. released 'Ishtar' that year and 'Theme from an I' two years later. Still active in 1996, the group issued their sixth overall album, 'Sittin' Pretty'. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC] 

Young Marble Giants

One of the quirkiest and most idiosyncratic groups to emerge from the early British new wave indie scene, Young Marble Giants (from Cardiff, Wales) were not so much new wave in sound as in strategy. They subverted conventional pop/rock methods by stripping both song construction and instrumentation to its essence. A reverberant funky bass, a shrill organ, short choppy bursts of guitar chords, a softly clicking drum machine -that was all the trio needed. The hauntingly spacious sound was made both more intimate and foreboding by Alison Statton's coolly intoned, almost neutral vocals. The words were more important for their mood than their content. Pop minimalism of the first order, it now stands as one of the first fully formed expressions of the subgenre that would be called post-punk. 

Needless to say, it was also quite resistant to widespread commercial success, although it quickly attracted a cult following. Almost the whole of their output is contained on their debut and, as it turned out, their only album, 'Colossal Youth' (1980). After an EP in 1981, the group broke up. Alison Statton went into a more jazz-lounge-pop direction with Weekend and solo recordings. YMG guitarist and principal YMG songwriter Stuart Moxham formed The Gist, and in the 1990s, after a series of personal setbacks, began regularly releasing solo product with fuller and more traditional rock arrangements than those identified with the Young Marble Giants. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]

Wall Of Voodoo

Best known for their alternative radio classic "Mexican Radio," Wall of Voodoo formed in Los Angeles in 1977, originally as a soundtrack company. Led by singer/songwriter Stan Ridgway and rounded out by guitarist Marc Moreland, bassist/keyboardist Bruce Moreland, keyboardist Chas Gray, and drummer Joe Nanini, the group issued its self-titled debut EP in 1980. With the additions of bassist Bruce Moreland and his brother Marc on guitar (replacing Noland), the band's sound crystallized on 1981's full-length 'Dark Continent', which couched Ridgway's highly stylized and cinematic narratives -heavily influenced by Westerns and film noir, and sung in the vocalist's distinctively droll, narcoleptic manner- in atonal, electronically based settings. 

In 1982, following the exit of Bruce Moreland, Wall of Voodoo released 'Call of the West', which featured "Mexican Radio," their biggest hit. After an appearance at the 1983 US Festival, Ridgway left the group for a solo career. The remaining members enlisted singer Andy Prieboy, and resurfaced in 1985 with the LP 'Seven Days in Sammystown'. 'Happy Planet' followed two years later, while 1988's live effort 'The Ugly Americans in Australia*' (the asterisk denoting that a few tracks were recorded in Bullhead City, Arizona) effectively closed out the Wall of Voodoo story. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]

The Vernons

Formed in the environs of Liverpool Polytechnic (later the John Moore University) in England in 1986, The Vernons soon grew to incorporate almost every young man on campus capable of wielding an instrument. Tom Le Bas (drums), Jez Francis (bass) and Andy Harding (lead guitar) had formerly played with Charlie Don’t Surf, but after recruiting Simon Burchill (ex-Brits Over The Briny) on vocals they became The Vernons -a name taken from the local football pools syndicate. After several low-key exploratory gigs in Liverpool the group recorded their debut album for the noted local label Probe Records in 1988. Called 'Smithdown Road' after the street that housed so many students in that period, it featured the group’s expanded line-up with Jon Fiber (keyboards), Andy Frizell (saxophone), Simon James (tenor saxophone), Martin Smith (trumpet, flügelhorn) and Jamie McArthy (fiddle). However, by now, songs such as "Angels", which had been a live staple for years, were showing their age. Certainly the version of that song included on the album lacked the cutting edge of their live performances, where Harding’s guitar playing (often with a half-empty beer bottle) often stole the show. The album did include at least one memorable moment -"Sophie’s Present". This was written specifically by Fiber at the last minute as he had forgotten to buy his girlfriend a birthday present. The group broke up shortly after the album’s release when Burchill left for Manchester. He now works for British Rail. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC] 

Television Personalities

Britain's Television Personalities enjoyed one of the new wave era's longest, most erratic, and most far-reaching careers. Over the course of a musical evolution that led them from wide-eyed shambling pop to the outer reaches of psychedelia and back, they directly influenced virtually every major pop uprising of the period, with artists as diverse as feedback virtuosos The Jesus and Mary Chain, twee pop titans The Pastels, and lo-fi kingpins Pavement readily acknowledging Television Personalities' inspiration. 

Television Personalities were the brainchild of singer/songwriter Dan Treacy, who grew so inspired by the nascent punk movement that he recorded a 1977 single, "14th Floor", with his friends in the group O Level. The BBC's John Peel became a vocal supporter of the group, which was soon dubbed Television Personalities. A year later they issued the 'Where's Bill Grundy Now?' EP, featuring their lone hit, "Part-Time Punks".

Always a loose-knit group, the first relatively stable TVP lineup consisted of Treacy, organist/vocalist Ed Ball, and guitarist Joe Foster, who recorded the band's 1980 debut, 'And Don't the Kids Just Love It', a step into psychedelic pop typified by songs like "I Know Where Syd Barrett Lives". Treacy and Ball soon founded their own label, Whaam! (later renamed Dreamworld after threats from George Michael's attorneys), to issue 1981's 'Mummy Your Not Watching Me', which made the Personalities one of the figureheads of a London psychedelia revival. 

Ball exited around the time of the release of 1982's 'They Could Have Been Bigger Than the Beatles', a collection of re-recordings along with renditions of The Creation's "Making Time" and "Painter Man." Released in 1984, the dark and moody 'The Painted Word' was followed the next year by the live set 'Chocolat-Art', by which point TVPs were in dire straits -broke and without a label, they could do little but infrequently perform live for several years, and were forced to watch the C-86/anorak pop groundswell (a movement they directly presaged) from the sidelines. 

Comprised of Treacy, ex-Swell Map Jowe Head, and drummer Jeffrey Bloom, the band finally won a contract with Fire Records in 1989, and resurfaced later that year with the EP 'Salvador Dali's Garden Party', followed in 1990 by the mod-flavored 'Privilege'. After a handful of singles and EPs, Television Personalities issued the 1992 double-LP 'Closer to God'; despite critical approval, the album failed to find an audience, and Treacy reportedly fell prey to depression and drug problems. After several more years of occasional singles, they issued the harrowing 'I Was a Mod Before You Was a Mod', followed in 1996 by Top Gear. 

By the time that 'Don't Cry Baby...It's Only a Movie' was released in November of 1998, Treacy had gone missing. Rumors of mental illness, drug abuse, homelessness, and even death were tossed about until finally in 2004 Treacy wrote a letter to Iain Baker, an old friend and DJ at London's XFM. In it he disclosed that he was incarcerated on a prison boat in Dorset. Following his release in June of 2004, Treacy set about resurrecting TVPs, playing some gigs and posting a hilarious web journal. Finally, in March of 2006 a new album, 'My Dark Places', was released on the influential Domino label. 'Are We Nearly There Yet?' followed one year later, although some of its material had been recorded just after Treacy's release from prison. Numerous live gigs and tours followed during the rest of the 2000s, including a spot on December 2009's All Tomorrow's Parties event (curated by My Bloody Valentine). In June of the following year, 'A Memory Is Better Than Nothing' appeared on the Rocke Girl label, and the band earned high praise as well as publicity when MGMT debuted "Song for Dan Treacy" on their album 'Congratulations'. Late in 2011, however, news broke that a critically ill Treacy was in a coma after undergoing surgery to remove a blood clot from his brain. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]

Screaming Trees

Where many of their Seattle-based contemporaries dealt in reconstructed Black Sabbath and Stooges riffs, Screaming Trees fused '60s psychedelia and garage rock with '70s hard rock and '80s punk. Over the course of their career, their more abrasive punk roots eventually gave way to a hard-edged, rootsy psychedelia that drew from rock and folk equally. After releasing several albums on indie labels like SST and Sub Pop, Screaming Trees moved to Epic Records in 1989. Though they were one of the first Seattle bands to sign with a major label, the group never attained the popularity of fellow Northwestern bands (and friends) like Nirvana and Soundgarden, largely due to their erratic work schedule. Throughout their career, the Trees were notorious for drinking and fighting, which caused them to break up briefly at several points in their career. Nevertheless, the band managed to cultivate a dedicated following, which included not only fans but also fellow musicians.

Brothers Van Conner (bass) and Gary Lee Conner (guitar) formed Screaming Trees with Mark Lanegan (vocals) in the mid-'80s. Lanegan and the Conners grew up in Ellensburg, Washington, a small college town some 90 miles from Seattle. The trio were the only people in their high school who listened to punk, garage rock, and independent music, so they eventually gravitated toward each other. After falling out with the Conners before either completed school, Lanegan contacted Van Conner several years later. By that point, Van had a band with a singer named Mark Pickerel; the pair had recently kicked Lee Conner out of the band, so they invited Lanegan to sit in on drums. Eventually, Lee rejoined the group and they settled on a lineup that featured Lee on guitar, Van on bass, Lanegan on vocals, and Pickerel on drums.

Taking their name from a guitar distortion pedal, Screaming Trees recorded their first demo tape in 1985, just a few months after their formation. Their producer, Steve Fisk, was able to convince the head of Velvetone Studios to release an album by the band. The result, 'Clairvoyance', appeared on Velvetone Records in 1986. With 'Clairvoyance' in hand, Fisk was able to secure Screaming Trees a contract with Greg Ginn's SST Records, who had already been releasing albums by Fisk. The band's first SST album, 'Even If and Especially When', was released in 1987 and the Trees began working the dying American indie circuit, playing shows across the country. The following year, SST reissued the band's demo tape under the title 'Other Worlds' as well as their third album, 'Invisible Lantern'. 

Following the release of 'Buzz Factory' in 1989, the group's contract with SST expired and they made the 'Change Has Come' EP for Sub Pop early the following year. By that time, tensions in the band had grown somewhat, and the group spent most of 1990 working on side projects. Mark Lanegan recorded a solo album, 'The Winding Sheet' which featured support from Nirvana's Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic; the album appeared on Sub Pop. Both of the Conners formed new bands and released albums on the SST subsidiary New Alliance. Van's band was called Solomon Grundy; Lee's was Purple Outside. By the end of 1990, the band had signed a major-label contract with Epic Records. 

Screaming Trees reconvened to record their Epic debut, 'Uncle Anesthesia', with Chris Cornell of Soundgarden and Terry Date as producers. 'Uncle Anesthesia' appeared in early 1991 and, although it sold better than their previous efforts, the band remained a cult act. For much of the year, in fact, Van Conner was on hiatus from the band, choosing to tour as bassist with Dinosaur Jr. instead. Late in 1991, Nirvana's 'Nevermind' became an unexpected commercial success, opening the gates for the rest of the Seattle scene. Where many of their peers were able to capitalize on that success, Screaming Trees suffered more setbacks than the rest. Before they began work on their follow-up to 'Uncle Anesthesia', Pickerel left the group and was replaced by Barrett Martin. 

Once Martin joined, the band finished "Nearly Lost You," their contribution to the "Singles" soundtrack, and their 1992 album 'Sweet Oblivion'. "Nearly Lost You" became an MTV and alternative radio hit in the fall of 1992, thanks to the momentum of the "Singles" soundtrack. The single carried 'Sweet Oblivion' -which had received more press attention than any previous Screaming Trees album- to the group's strongest sales, peaking at over 300,000 copies. The band supported 'Sweet Oblivion' with a yearlong tour, during which they fought frequently. After the tour was finished, the group decided to take an extended hiatus. During that time, Lanegan recorded his second solo album, 'Whiskey for the Holy Ghost', which was released in 1994. That same year, Martin drummed in the Layne Stanley (Alice in Chains) and Mike McCready (Pearl Jam) side project Mad Season, which released its only album in the spring of 1995. 

In early 1995, Screaming Trees regrouped to begin work on their follow-up to 'Sweet Oblivion'. Following one stillborn attempt at the album, the band hired George Drakoulias, who had previously worked with The Black Crowes and The Jayhawks, as producer. The resulting album, 'Dust', was released in the summer of 1996, nearly four years after its predecessor. 'Dust' was greeted with positive reviews, and its first single, "All I Know," became a moderate hit on modern rock radio. Still, the album didn't sell particularly well, even though the band supported the record by touring with 1996's Lollapalooza. 

Following the 'Dust' tour, Screaming Trees took another hiatus, with Lanegan beginning work on his third solo album, 'Scraps at Midnight', which was released in 1998. When Lanegan completed another solo project the following year ('I'll Take Care of You'), it seemed to confirm that the Trees' strained relationships would make it impossible for the band to continue. Following a June 25, 2000, concert to celebrate the opening of Seattle's Experience Music Project, the group unsurprisingly announced its official breakup. Released in 2005, 'Ocean of Confusion: Songs of Screaming Trees 1989-1996' gathered highlights from the band's Epic years, and included two previously unreleased tracks. After the group's breakup, Lanegan pursued his solo career and worked with a variety of other projects, including Queens of the Stone Age, The Twilight Singers, The Gutter Twins, and a series of duo albums with Isobel Campbell. Van Conner performed and recorded with his band Valis, while Gary Lee Conner returned to action in 2010 with a new group, Microdot Gnome. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]