Growing up in NC, this seemed to happen over and over. A band would be on the brink of breaking out to national stardom, but for some reason the momentum would always stall. This is a short list of the ones that come to my mind. I would like to put their names out there again, and hear from people who have experiences listening to them or seeing them live, or can add to the list. 1. Nantucket 2. Arrogance 3. Glass Moon 4. The Fabulous Knobs 5. Let's Active 6. The DB's 7. Dillon Fence 8. Collapsis
Yeah I thought Nantucket should have been bigger. Heartbreaker is a southern rock classic imo. Glass Moon's Hollies cover of On A Carousel was very good too
That's a good one. That reminds me of another one Archers Of Loaf. I remember those days when some in the music press were saying "Chapel Hill is the next Seattle." Didn't happen.
I'll second the Let's Active mention. I always loved them and thought they deserved a wider audience. I'll add The Connells to that list. Fun and Games is a fantastic album.
I caught a Raleigh band called The Cherry Valence open for The Flaming Lips back in 2002 and they were HEAVY. They had 2 guys trade off between lead vocals and drums, frequently drumming together. They were great and a lot of fun to watch. They seem to have disappeared.
The Good Old Chicken Wire Gang Boys Band Brothers - a few of them made it in the Squirrell Nut Zippers
No, I think both are perfect for the list. Well-known in certain circles, but not hugely famous. Thanks for your input. All these names deserve to be remembered.
I agree that Nantucket should have been as big as 38 Special at least. My favorites were always The Pressure Boys. Still listen to Finger on a regular basis too.
I guess it could be said that the Zippers did make it pretty big. I have to mention Tom Maxwell from that band. Very nice guy, and he was in another great band called "What Peggy Wants." Maybe they weren't poised for stardom, but they were a big part of the 90's Chapel Hill music scene.
The dBs - great Power Pop. For trippy Kinks-like (even Stones) power pop combined with a touch of southern fried Allman Bros/Skynyrd/REM/hellIdon'tknow, try the new band - Nude Party: The Nude Party - "Water On Mars" [Official Video]
Paul and Cheetie left TCV about a year later and started a band called Birds Of Avalon, who were/are fantastic (and also, at the behest of former drummer Kliph, did a stint opening for the Lips). The other 3 made one more Cherry Valence record before splitting up. Nick moved to Spain and hasn't played music in years and Brian has played with a number of bands, including Polvo and Urge Overkill. Brian now is in a band called the Wayleaves and has his own solo band called The BQs, both of which have stuff available on Bandcamp.
And no one's even mentioned the Spongetones. Even tho they are well known in Power Pop circles they never really made the big time
Let's Active might have been more successful if they'd had a more stable lineup, I think. I saw them at 688 in Atlanta the year they released Big Plans For Everybody, and that was the expanded lineup, not the original trio. They were fantastic and that remains one of my favorite 80's albums.