 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(December 2010) |
The Miracle Workers | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Portland, Oregon, United States |
| Genres | Garage rock |
| Years active | 1982–1992 |
| Past members | Gerry Mohr Joel Barnett Ron Sheridan Dan Demiankow Gene Trautmann Matt Rogers Robert Butler Aaron Sperkse Jeff Grassi |
The Miracle Workers were a rock and roll band in the 1980s, who began as a garage rock revival band in Portland, Oregon.
The Miracle Workers were formed in January 1982 by Gerry Mohr (vocals), and Joel Barnett (bass guitar). The original guitarist and drummer, who were friends of Gerry's, left the band early on. Matt Rogers, a friend of Joel's, became the guitarist. Ron Sheridan became the drummer, though would later leave to pursue a business career. The band stabilized in 1984, with the addition of Dan Demiankow (guitar, organ), and Gene Trautmann (drums).
The Miracle Workers lineup in 1987 became Gerry Mohr (vocals), Matt Rogers (guitar), Robert Butler (bass), and Gene Trautmann (drums).
Several songs on compilation LPs, with the band line up being Gerry, Matt, Joel, and Ron. Recordings from 1982.
These recordings, and the band's style was in line with contemporary garage rock revival acts, such as The Chesterfield Kings and Lyres.
The Miracle Workers' liking for harder edged, late-sixties/early-seventies bands such as the MC5, The Stooges, and Flamin' Groovies came to the fore. Their sound became very influenced by this and it can be heard on their LPs Live at the Forum, Overdose, Primary Domain, and Roll out the Red Carpet, with the first two being especially notable, regarding that influence.
The 1989 LP on Get Hip Records, Moxie's Revenge , supplemented this period with outtakes and unreleased recordings.
In the Spring of 1986, the band decided to move to Los Angeles. Joel Barnett left the band at that time. Robert Butler, from The Untold Fables, became the bass player and Dan Demiankow quit over musical differences. Due to internal problems within the band, they split up in 1992. The band came together back in Portland to record "Anatomy of a Creep" a year later. The Triple xxx recording would be their last, produced by Thee Slayer Hippie (Steve Hanford/Drummer Poison Idea) and involved original drummer Gene Trautmann, replacing Aaron Sperske who was relieved of duties near the time of recording "Anatomy of a Creep".
Gene Trautmann quit the band circa 1990 and was replaced on drums by Aaron Sperske. Aaron Played on the Roll Out the Red Carpet album. The Miracle Workers split in the early 1990s, but before calling it quits they returned to Portland and recorded a new CD, Anatomy of a Creep, for their label, Triple X. Gene Trautmann resumed drumming duties. This record was apparently issued, but in small quantities, as it is difficult to find.
Members of the group resurfaced in Portland, Oregon in the mid-1980s and in Switzerland in the late 1990s, in several bands playing blues, psychobilly, and garage rock, such as The Bo Diddley Headhunters; Cavemannish Boys; The Wicked Ones; [1] The Get Lost and Queens of the Stone Age. In LA the band incorporated more hard rock and alternative rock influences paralleling the grunge scene in Seattle. The Miracle Workers were amongst the founding bands of the stoner rock movement.
In the late 1980s, alternative cartoonist Joe Sacco followed the band on their Europe tour, as T-shirt salesman and chronicling comics journalist. These comics have been collected in the compilation But I Like It, published by Fantagraphics in 2006.
Eugene Bertram Krupa, known as Gene Krupa, was an American jazz drummer, bandleader and composer who performed with energy and showmanship. His drum solo on Benny Goodman's 1937 recording of "Sing, Sing, Sing" elevated the role of the drummer from an accompanist to an important solo voice in the band.
The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in Tacoma, Washington, in 1958, by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle. The band, which was a quartet for most of its existence, helped to popularize the electric guitar across the world during the 1960s. While their popularity in the United States waned in the 1970s, the group remains especially revered in Japan, where they toured regularly. The classic lineup of the band consisted of Wilson, Bogle, Nokie Edwards, and Mel Taylor (drums).
The Dandy Warhols are an American alternative rock band, formed in Portland, Oregon, in 1994 by singer-guitarist Courtney Taylor-Taylor and guitarist Peter Holmström. They were later joined by keyboardist Zia McCabe and drummer Eric Hedford. Hedford left in 1998 and was replaced by Taylor-Taylor's cousin Brent DeBoer. The band's name is a play on the name of American pop artist Andy Warhol.
Codeine is an American indie rock band formed in 1989 in New York City. They released two full-length albums—Frigid Stars LP in 1990 and The White Birch in 1994. The band broke up in 1994 shortly after the release of The White Birch, but reunited to play a handful of shows in 2012. The band has reunited again for a series of shows in New York and Los Angeles in 2023.
Inspiral Carpets are an English rock band, part of the late-1980s/early-1990s Madchester movement. Formed in Oldham in 1983, the band's most successful lineup featured frontman Tom Hingley, drummer Craig Gill, guitarist Graham Lambert, bassist Martyn Walsh and keyboardist Clint Boon.
The Pandoras were an American all-female garage punk band from Los Angeles, California, active from 1982 to 1991. The band is among the first handful of all-female rock bands to ever be signed. From the beginning, the band found a strong following in the Hollywood garage rock and Paisley Underground scene, making the gossip pages almost weekly. The Pandoras enjoyed strong radio support from DJ Rodney Bingenheimer. The band graduated from the garage rock sound to a more contemporary, hard rock style in later years, spawning the off-shoot band The Muffs. The Pandoras founder/singer/songwriter, Paula Pierce, died of a brain aneurysm on August 10, 1991, at the age of 31. The Muffs frontwoman/founder Kim Shattuck, who played bass in the Pandoras from 1985 to 1990, appeared as lead singer/lead guitarist of the reunited Pandoras until she died of complications from ALS on October 2, 2019, aged 56.
William "Benny" Benjamin, nicknamed Papa Zita, was an American musician, most notable as the primary drummer for the Motown Records studio band The Funk Brothers. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003 and was named the eleventh best drummer of all time by Rolling Stone magazine in 2016.
The Fuzztones are an American garage rock revival band formed in 1982.
The Wailers, often known as The Fabulous Wailers, were an American rock band from Tacoma, Washington. They became popular in the Pacific Northwest from the late 1950s to the early 1960s, performing saxophone-driven R&B and Chuck Berry rock and roll. Their biggest hit was "Tall Cool One", first released in 1959, and they have been credited as being "one of the very first, if not the first, of the American garage bands."
Gene Trautmann is a former drummer for Queens of the Stone Age, Eagles of Death Metal, Dig, and the Miracle Workers.
The Walkabouts were an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1984. The core members were vocalist Carla Torgerson and vocalist and songwriter Chris Eckman. Although the rest of the line-up changed occasionally, for most of the time the other members were Michael Wells, Glenn Slater and Terri Moeller.
The Chesterfield Kings were a rock band from Rochester, New York, who began as a retro-1960s garage band, and who have heavily mined 1960s music, including some borrowing from the 1960s recordings of The Rolling Stones. Core members were former Distorted Level singer, underground music journalist and avid record collector Greg Prevost, and Andy Babiuk ; others have come and gone. The band, named after a defunct brand of unfiltered cigarette, was instrumental in sparking the 1980s garage band revival that launched such groups as the Unclaimed, Marshmallow Overcoat, The Fuzztones, The Pandoras, The Malarians, Mystic Eyes, The Cynics, The Optic Nerve, the Secret Service, and the Stomachmouths.
The Surf Trio was a surf rock band which formed in Eugene, Oregon, in 1984.
Alan Clark is an English musician who was the first keyboardist and co-producer of the rock band Dire Straits. In 2018, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a significant member of the band.
Spain are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1993, and led by singer/bassist Josh Haden. Their syncretic music contains elements of country, blues, folk, jazz, and slowcore. In a career spanning more than two decades, Spain has released five studio albums, a live album, and a best-of collection.
"It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" is a song written and performed by Billy Joel, from the hit album Glass Houses. Released in 1980, the song peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks, from July 19 through August 1, 1980. The song spent 11 weeks in the top 10 and was the 7th biggest hit of 1980 according to American Top 40.
Collin Hegna is a Portland, Oregon-based musician, composer, and recording engineer. Hegna founded the Spaghetti Western-themed indie rock combo Federale and remains their principal songwriter. In addition, he has played bass with The Brian Jonestown Massacre since 2004.
Dig is an American alternative rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, they achieved success with their 1993 album Dig, which featured the charting single "Believe". The band then released the album Defenders of the Universe in 1996. It was followed by their third album Life Like in 1999, in which they then disbanded that same year. They reunited briefly from 2004 to 2008, and again in 2016. Vocalist/guitarist Scott Hackwith and guitarist Jon Morris are the only members to stay in the band for its entire run, although the current lineup also consists of original guitarist Johnny Cornwell.
The Marshmallow Overcoat is an American garage rock band, formed in Tucson, Arizona, in 1986 by lead singer Timothy Gassen under his "Randy Love" persona. They are considered an essential part of the paisley/neo-psychedelia bands that formed the 1980s.
The Index were an American garage rock/psychedelic rock band from Grosse Pointe, Michigan who were active from 1966-1969 and are known for a sound characterized by droning guitars, as heard on their two albums, both released in 1968. Though they remained largely unknown for a number of years, since the 1980s they have come to the attention of garage rock collectors and fans.
| International | |
|---|---|
| Artists | |
