Arthur Alexander was an American country-soul songwriter and singer. Jason Ankeny, music critic for AllMusic, said Alexander was a "country-soul pioneer" and that, though largely unknown, "his music is the stuff of genius, a poignant and deeply intimate body of work on par with the best of his contemporaries." Alexander's songs were covered by such stars as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Otis Redding, Tina Turner, Pearl Jam, and Jerry Lee Lewis.
Unrest was an indie rock band from the Washington, D.C., area. It was one of Mark Robinson's projects for what would eventually become the TeenBeat label, also created by Robinson while in high school. Developing from an experimental approach of never playing the same song twice, earlier material seemed to be influenced by everything from punk to funk to Ennio Morricone. Original members Robinson (guitar) and drummer Philip Krauth were joined by Bridget Cross on bass in 1990 and their sound evolved into a minimalist but lively kind of pop. The two full-length albums released with this line up, 1992's Imperial f.f.r.r. and 1993's Perfect Teeth featured pop songs interspersed with avant-garde percussive and sonic tracks, sometimes featuring nothing but white noise, beeps or sirens. EPs released around the same time period reveal a more pronounced gap between pop and experimental elements. The group broke up in 1994 with Krauth pursuing a solo career and Robinson and Cross continued for a time as Air Miami, which released two singles and one album, me me me. Since Air Miami's demise in the mid '90s, Robinson has continued to release various solo projects, as well as albums with his bands Cotton Candy and Flin Flon, and continues to run the TeenBeat label as well.
Jani Lane was an American singer and the lead vocalist, frontman, lyricist and main songwriter for the glam metal band Warrant. From Hollywood, California, the band experienced success from 1989 to 1996 with five albums reaching international sales of over 10 million. Lane left Warrant in 2004 and again in 2008 after a brief reunion. Lane also released a solo album, Back Down to One, in 2003, and the album Love the Sin, Hate the Sinner with a new group, Saints of the Underground, in 2008. Lane contributed lead vocals and songwriting to various projects throughout his career.
Game Theory was an American power pop band, founded in 1982 by singer/songwriter Scott Miller, combining melodic jangle pop with dense experimental production and hyperliterate lyrics. MTV described their sound as "still visceral and vital" in 2013, with records "full of sweetly psychedelic-tinged, appealingly idiosyncratic gems" that continued "influencing a new generation of indie artists." Between 1982 and 1990, Game Theory released five studio albums and two EPs, which had long been out of print until 2014, when Omnivore Recordings began a series of remastered reissues of the entire Game Theory catalog. Miller's posthumously completed Game Theory album, Supercalifragile, was released in August 2017 in a limited first pressing.
The Photos were an English new wave band fronted by Wendy Wu, who had a top 5 album on the UK Albums Chart in 1980.
Donnette Ruth Thayer is a vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter most active in the 1980s and early 1990s indie rock scenes of Northern California. Thayer was a member of the band Game Theory, and later formed Hex with Steve Kilbey of The Church.
The Shambles is an American power pop and rock group from San Diego, California.
Jonathan Charles Poole is a British musician and songwriter. A multi-instrumentalist, singer and producer, he is best known for his work as guitarist for Cardiacs and as bass player for the Wildhearts and Lifesigns.
The Chevelles are a power pop band from Perth, Western Australia. They formed in 1989 and have toured Australia, Europe, the United States and South America.
20/20 was an American power pop band based in Hollywood, California. They were active from 1977 to 1983 and reunited during the mid-1990s to the late 1990s. In the mid-1970s, Steve Allen and Ron Flynt played together in Tulsa. Allen and Flynt were graduates of Nathan Hale High School, and both attended Oklahoma State University, where Flynt earned a degree in music. Allen decided to move to Los Angeles in 1977 after fellow Tulsa natives Phil Seymour and Dwight Twilley met with success. Once in Los Angeles, Allen met with Mike Gallo (singer/songwriter/keyboardist/drummer), who had already conceived of the idea and name for the band. Gallo first started writing with Allen, and later auditioned Allen's friend from Tulsa, Ron Flynt, for 20/20. The three-piece band signed with Greg Shaw's Bomp! Records in 1978 to record a single. Between the release of the single, and their first LP on Portrait Records, Chris Silagyi joined the band as a keyboardist.
English Freakbeat, Volume 1 is a compilation album in the English Freakbeat series, featuring recordings that were released decades earlier, in the mid-1960s.
The Green Pajamas are a musical group from Seattle, Washington. They formed in the spring of 1984 when Jeff Kelly and Joe Ross recorded and released their first album, Summer Of Lust. They are probably best known for the regional hit single "Kim the Waitress".
Richard Daniel Warren is an English musician, songwriter and producer.
Wanderlust is an American power pop band of the mid-1990s based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Chagall Guevara is an American rock band formed in 1989 by solo artist Steve Taylor, guitarists Dave Perkins and Lynn Nichols, bassist Wade Jaynes, and drummer Mike Mead.
The Grip Weeds are an American rock band from Highland Park, New Jersey.
Bucketfull of Brains was a London-based music magazine, founded in 1979 and published until 2015. An associated record label was launched in 2010.
The Other Kids was an American alternative pop band formed in Madison, Wisconsin in 1985 by Steve Watson, Allyn Watson, and Chris Fink. One of the most popular Madison rock bands of the mid-to-late 1980s, The Other Kids disbanded in 1992, just as the alternative pop sound they were known for began to break into the commercial mainstream. The Milwaukee Shepherd called The Other Kids "probably Wisconsin's best classic pop-rock band, working those Alex Chiltonesque melodies together with empathetic intelligent lyrics, edgy guitars and a solid beat." The band's sound was a melodic mixture of power chords influenced by classic bands like The Who and the pure, guitar pop of The Hollies.
George Gilbert "Gil" Ray was an American rock drummer, guitarist, and vocalist, best known for his recordings in the 1980s and 1990s as a member of the bands Game Theory and The Loud Family. In late 2012, he joined Rain Parade as drummer for a series of reunion performances.
Thomas Howard Stevens was an American bassist, guitarist, singer, and songwriter, often associated with the Paisley Underground and alternative country movements as bassist for roots rock band the Long Ryders. He was a member of Magi and Danny & Dusty, and recorded as a solo artist. In his solo work, Stevens incorporated elements of folk rock, country, psychedelia and garage rock into his music, and released what music reviewer Stewart Lee calls "fascinatingly different solo albums." Stevens was based in Los Angeles in the 1980s, but later returned to his native Indiana.
