This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
Actionslacks | |
---|---|
Origin | Bay Area, California |
Genres | |
Years active | 1994–present |
Labels | |
Members |
|
Past members |
|
Website | slacksaction.com |
Actionslacks is an American indie rock band formed in 1994 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band has long been associated with the region's noise pop scene.
Actionslacks formed in Northern California's East Bay in 1994 when ex-Pillbox members Tim Scanlin and Mark Wijsen met drummer Marty Kelly and discovered a mutual appreciation of late-70s English punk rock, 1980s American post-punk and guitar-based New Zealand indie rock. The band played one gig in Berkeley, California under the name King Friday but changed their name after Scanlin realized he "just couldn't be in a band named after a puppet."
The band soon became a regular on the San Francisco and West Coast club circuit and released the "Tugboat Mutiny" b/w "A.C.R.O.N.Y.M." 7-inch single on their own Permanent Records imprint. In 1996 the band's first full-length, Too Bright, Just Right, Good Night was released on the Minneapolis Skene! label. Actionslacks' second LP, One Word (a reference to the spelling of their name as well as a nod to the influence of Overwhelming Colorfast's second album Two Words) was recorded in 1997 and released in 1998 by the Arena Rock Recording Company. The band toured with labelmates Harvey Danger and an ascendant Death Cab for Cutie in support of the record.
Wijsen left the band in late-1998 and Scanlin and Kelly began working on more pop-oriented songs, first with producers Greg Freeman (Pell Mell, Virginia Dare) and Jeff Palmer (Granfalloon Bus, Sunny Day Real Estate, Mommyheads) and later with new band members Aaron Rubin (bass; Mr. T Experience, Samiam) and Chuck Lindo (guitar and vocals; The Nukes, Jumbo Shrimp, The American Professionals). The Scene's Out of Sight was recorded in the fall of 1999 with producer/engineer (and Jawbox-frontperson) J. Robbins at John Vanderslice's Tiny Telephone Studios and released in early 2001 by the Self-Starter Foundation. The band's following grew in part due to well-timed promotions with Napster, various song placements in television shows and video games, and a strong showing on college radio. Prior to touring in support of the album, Rubin left the band and Lindo took time off to attend to other projects. Enter new permanent bassist Ross Murray and touring guitarist/singer Doug Modie.
In 2002, Scanlin moved to Los Angeles and the band began a continuing long-distance relationship. Full Upright Position was written and recorded between 2001 and 2003 in various studios in California and Washington, DC. J. Robbins once again engineered and the band produced, venturing into the far-ranging territory of multi-instrumentation, elaborate arrangements and stylistic diversity (including elements of pop, alt-country and electronica). The album's release was complicated by Kelly's relocation to Maine in late 2003 and record label issues. Nevertheless, the band managed to tour both the East and West coasts, adding keyboard/vocalist Darice Bailey to help reproduce the band's new sound. Actionslacks took a semi-hiatus beginning in late 2004, with occasional live appearances and writing sessions amid individual projects, careers, and family life.
In early 2008, the band was reinvigorated by the idea of a new writing and recording paradigm, writing new tracks via online collaboration and meeting up at Tiny Telephone to rehearse and record over the course of 8 days with engineer Aaron Prellwitz. The resulting collection, which marks a return to the aggressive yet tuneful punk sound of The Scene's Out of Sight, was self-released as Kids With Guitars in spring 2009. Downloaders were invited to pay however much they wished for the record.
The long-distance writing approach was repeated in late 2009 and also culminated in a recording session at Tiny Telephone. While gathered the band celebrated its 15th anniversary with a show at the Bottom of the Hill. The six songs recorded during the session ultimately made up the band's final release, 2012's self-titled EP.
X is an American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles. The original members are vocalist Exene Cervenka, vocalist-bassist John Doe, guitarist Billy Zoom and drummer D. J. Bonebrake. The band released seven studio albums from 1980 to 1993. After a period of inactivity during the mid-to-late 1990s, X reunited in the early 2000s and continues to tour as of 2023.
Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent record labels, by the 1990s it became more widely associated with the music such bands produced.
The Dwarves are an American punk rock band formed in Chicago, Illinois and based in San Francisco, California as of 2009.
Psychobilly is a rock music fusion genre that fuses elements of rockabilly and punk rock. It's been defined as "loud frantic rockabilly music", it has also been said that it "takes the traditional countrified rock style known as rockabilly, ramp[ing] up its speed to a sweaty pace, and combin[ing] it with punk rock and imagery lifted from horror films and late-night sci-fi schlock,... [creating a] gritty honky tonk punk rock."
"Eeny, meeny, miny, moe" – which can be spelled a number of ways – is a children's counting-out rhyme, used to select a person in games such as tag, or for selecting various other things. It is one of a large group of similar rhymes in which the child who is pointed to by the chanter on the last syllable is chosen. The rhyme has existed in various forms since well before 1820 and is common in many languages using similar-sounding nonsense syllables. Some versions use a racial epithet, which has made the rhyme controversial at times.
The Troggs are an English beat music band formed in Andover, Hampshire in May 1964. Their most famous songs include the US chart-topper "Wild Thing", "With a Girl Like You" and "Love Is All Around", all of which sold over 1 million copies and were awarded gold discs. "Wild Thing" is ranked No. 257 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and was an influence on garage rock and punk rock.
The U.S. state of Washington has been home to many popular musicians and several major hotbeds of musical innovation throughout its history. The largest city in the state, Seattle, is known for being the birthplace of grunge as well as a major contributor to the evolution of punk rock, indie music, folk, and hip hop. Nearby Tacoma and Olympia have also been centers of influence on popular music.
Brian Baker is an American punk rock musician. He is best known as one of the founding members of the hardcore punk band Minor Threat, and as a guitarist in Bad Religion since 1994. In Minor Threat, he originally played bass guitar before switching to guitar in 1982 when Steve Hansgen joined the band, and then moved back to bass after Hansgen's departure. He also founded Dag Nasty in 1985, was part of the original line-up of Samhain, and has had stints in Doggy Style, The Meatmen, Government Issue, and Junkyard.
Joan of Arc was an American indie rock band from Chicago, Illinois named after the French saint Joan of Arc. They formed in 1995, following the breakup of Cap'n Jazz.
Les Savy Fav is an American indie rock band based in New York City. Their style is influenced by art punk and post-hardcore. The group is known for the stage presence of lead singer Tim Harrington. The band is signed to Frenchkiss Records, which is owned by the band's bassist, Syd Butler.
Jawbox is an American post-hardcore band from Washington, D.C., formed in 1989 by J. Robbins (vocals/guitar), Kim Coletta (bass), and Adam Wade (drums). After the trio released the album Grippe in 1991, Bill Barbot (guitar/vocals) joined as the fourth member. Jawbox released their second album Novelty in 1992, followed by Wade being replaced by Zach Barocas that same year. Jawbox signed to the major label Atlantic Records and released their third album For Your Own Special Sweetheart in 1994, which spawned the band's most recognizable song "Savory". After the release of their fourth album Jawbox in 1996, the band departed from Atlantic, and subsequently disbanded in 1997. They reunited for a brief one-off show in 2009, followed by a full-time reunion in 2019. Barbot left the band in 2021 and he was replaced by Brooks Harlan.
Serbian rock is the rock music scene of Serbia. During the 1960s, 1970s and the 1980s, while Serbia was a constituent republic of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Serbian rock scene was a part of the SFR Yugoslav rock scene.
The Dirtbombs are an American garage rock band based in Detroit, Michigan, notable for blending diverse influences such as punk rock and soul, while featuring a dual bass guitar, dual drum and guitar lineup. The Dirtbombs were formed by Mick Collins as a side project and started recording songs by 1995.
Ky-Mani Marley is a Jamaican reggae musician. In 2001, he received a Grammy nomination for his album Many More Roads. He is the only child of reggae musician Bob Marley and Anita Belnavis, a Jamaican table tennis champion.
Tim Kinsella is an American musician, author, and film director from Chicago, Illinois.
"Wild One" or "Real Wild Child" is an Australian rock and roll song written by Johnny Greenan, Johnny O'Keefe, and Dave Owens. While most sources state that O'Keefe was directly involved in composing the song, this has been questioned by others. Sydney disc jockey Tony Withers was credited with helping to get radio airplay for the song but writer credits on subsequent versions often omit Withers, who later worked in the United Kingdom on pirate stations Radio Atlanta and, as Tony Windsor, on Radio London.
Grippe is the first album by the post-hardcore band, Jawbox. It was released in May 1991 on Dischord Records.
Negative is a Serbian rock band formed in Belgrade in 1999. Fronted by vocalist Ivana Peters, the band enjoyed large popularity and was one of the most notable acts of the Serbian rock scene during the 2000s.
Edsel was an American post-hardcore band from Washington, D.C. who formed in 1988. They released four albums on a yearly basis from 1992 to 1995, which included the Techniques of Speed Hypnosis album on the major label Relativity Records in 1995. They went on a hiatus in 1997, followed by brief reformations from 2000 to 2001 and 2012 to 2013.
H is for Hellgate was an indie pop band based in Seattle, active from 2007 until breaking up in 2009.