Greatest bands nobody has heard of

[mistermike40]

The one and only concert I went to growing up was triumph and The Rockets.

I grew up in SE Michigan and The Rockets were really big in the late 70's/early 80's. I never saw them live but I met their guitarist Jimmy McCarty a few times... he still plays in the area.

 

[Breedlove]

We got tickets for the first of December to see Todd Snider . Four shows and all four sold out in 24 hours . Todd always has a sing along in a parking lot before his show . This should be interesting in Tomball / Houston
This song is a true story and always brings a tear to my eye , when you think for years Ole Skip told everyone he ran sound for Dr. Hook . Nobody believed him till all of the celebrities showed up at his funeral . Play A Train Song

 

[harley]

What about:

1. Root Boy Slim and the Sex Change Band

2. The Sickee Boys (when we go to the beach.)

3. Great Big Sea (a fabulous group from Newfoundland.)

I

I went to a party once with Root Boy and the band, as well as some of the Texas Jewboys from Kinky Friedman's band. I survived, and that's all I've got to say about that.

Some of the other big name bands from the DC scene were the Nighthawks, who've gone through a lot of incarnations. The first really good incarnation of the band had Jimmy Thackery on guitar. Others have included Pete Ragusa, Jimmy Nalls, and Warren Haynes. Thackery has gone on to be a fairly big second string star. Warren, obviously, is a superstar. When I moved down to Bonita Springs in FL I heard they were going to have a blues festival, and I was all excited. Then I found out the headliner was Thackery, and it was like, I've seen him dozens of times, so I skipped it. Anyway, here's the Nighthawks:

And here's Jimmy Thackery:

Another couple of great DC/Baltimore area local superstars, Tom Principato (with the hat) and Carl Filipiak:

And finally, probably the greatest DC area guitarist of all time, Roy Buchanan:

I am proud to say I've seen all of these guys many times. Roy (and Root Boy) died way too soon, and the world is poorer for it.

 

[ERD50]

.... The first really good incarnation of the band had Jimmy Thackery on guitar. Others have included Pete Ragusa, Jimmy Nalls, and Warren Haynes. Thackery has gone on to be a fairly big second string star. ...

Memories! About 20 years ago, we took the family to Milwaukee-Fest, My son and I broke away from DW and the girls to meet up later, and we approached a side stage just as the guitarist broke into the blues intro to "Red House". So my son is about 10 years old, and his jaw just dropped at the sound of that electric blues guitar. I wasn't familiar with the name, but knew I was hearing something special. Later learned he was highly rated by Guitar Player Magazine. Yep, that was great, and totally unexpected, which made it even better.

It's gonna take me a while to catch up with the posts to this thread, so far some real gems.

-ERD50

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Memories! About 20 years ago, we took the family to Milwaukee-Fest, My son and I broke away from DW and the girls to meet up later, and we approached a side stage just as the guitarist broke into the blues intro to "Red House". So my son is about 10 years old, and his jaw just dropped at the sound of that electric blues guitar. I wasn't familiar with the name, but knew I was hearing something special. Later learned he was highly rated by Guitar Player Magazine. Yep, that was great, and totally unexpected, which made it even better.

It's gonna take me a while to catch up with the posts to this thread, so far some real gems.

-ERD50

Milwaukee's music festivals are outstanding, especially Summerfest. I confess I've become too crowd-allergic to attend in recent years, but back in the day, a lot of the original Chicago blues stars used to show up -- Muddy, Willie Dixon, James Cotton and others. Also, John Prine and Steve Goodman were regulars in the '70s. Great times.

 

[IMATERP]

I went to a party once with Root Boy and the band, as well as some of the Texas Jewboys from Kinky Friedman's band. I survived, and that's all I've got to say about that.

Some of the other big name bands from the DC scene were the Nighthawks, who've gone through a lot of incarnations. The first really good incarnation of the band had Jimmy Thackery on guitar. Others have included Pete Ragusa, Jimmy Nalls, and Warren Haynes. Thackery has gone on to be a fairly big second string star. Warren, obviously, is a superstar. When I moved down to Bonita Springs in FL I heard they were going to have a blues festival, and I was all excited. Then I found out the headliner was Thackery, and it was like, I've seen him dozens of times, so I skipped it. Anyway, here's the Nighthawks:

And here's Jimmy Thackery:

Another couple of great DC/Baltimore area local superstars, Tom Principato (with the hat) and Carl Filipiak:

And finally, probably the greatest DC area guitarist of all time, Roy Buchanan:

I am proud to say I've seen all of these guys many times. Roy (and Root Boy) died way too soon, and the world is poorer for it.

Good Call on the Nighthawks... I miss the old Wax Museum nightclub - where a lot of the local groups would play...

I

 

[harley]

It's funny how it works out, too. I used to go see this one act every year. Definitely a greatest relatively unknown performer. I saw her about 20 times over the decades, and couldn't believe she wasn't famous. The she put out an album that was a huge hit. After that the crowds at her shows changed. Kids that would talk through the entire show, only stopping when she player her hits, then right back to chattering. I quit going to her shows after that. I'm glad Bonnie Raitt got the money and fame, but it sure was nicer being her fan when she was "unknown".

 

[golfnut]

Might have been previously posted. Amy Helm (daughter of the late Levon (The Band).

https://youtu.be/qQ5pY897bv0



https://youtu.be/H_Q6q9GBna8

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

The most recent musician thread reminded me of this one -- it got me thinking of a recent house concert we attended featuring a guy named Jake La Botz. He's a Chicago native who claims he learned his guitar licks from Honeyboy Edwards and Homesick James, among others.

Steve Buscemi apparently took a liking to him and cast him in some independent films as well.

 

[FlaGator]

Not a band, solo artist with good backing - Jerry Riopelle.

Very popular in Phoenix in the 70's-early 80's. Would do 3 night performances at the end of the year at the Celebrity Theater with it's revolving stage. Great shows, saw him at least 5 times, with 3 different girlfriends, last of which became late DW Lot of fond memories of those shows. Have vaccumed up every available digital version of his music.

His performances from 35-40 years ago were much more energetic than this one from 2015. Guess there is only one Mick Glad Riopelle is still at it.

This thread came back up in my subscriptions, and I couldn't remember what I had posted and went looking.....

Riopelle concerts must have some kind of romantic mojo in my world - The first of the 3 GFs referenced above is now my fiance-40+ years after we saw him . Couldn't figure it out if I tried, and wouldn't explain it if I did

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Speaking of musical veterans -- looks like Terry Reid is performing next month in Milwaukee at Shank Hall (yes, there really is a Shank Hall in Milwaukee). I don't know that Reid can be considered an unknown, although he's fallen into relative obscurity in the years since Jimmy Page sought him out to be the vocalist for his new band, Led Zepplin (Reid was opening for a Rolling Stones tour at the time). According to rock lore, Reid recommended Robert Plant for the job, and the rest is history.

Anyway, here he is, a little worse for wear, in 2016.

 

[HFWR]

SNIPS

https://youtu.be/KGUvtIJ0LsM

 

[michelek]

We haven’t bought tickets to a live concert often but this artist caught our eye and our ear! We are going to see the show in Wilmington NC and Cary NC in May for our wedding anniversary. Hope someone finds a new artist they love too! : Tash Sultana. She has a reggae, indie influence and the coolest part is she IS the BAND. She plays all her instruments and mixes in the tracks live on stage. She is also a “they” so I am doing a disservice by calling them a she. Nonetheless, this artist deserves a watch on YouTube. @tashsultanaa

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

I just watched a Tash video on YouTube -- she is amazing! And, she's going to perform in my area in late May. Thanks for the heads-up!

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

This duo used to visit Milwaukee's Shank Hall pretty regularly. They remind me physically of Hall & Oates, but I like their music a lot more. Sadly, the tall blond guy (David Eric Lowen) became ill with ALS and died in 2014. Dan Navarro still performs.

 

[RunningBum]

Many years ago I heard a young band called Not So Dandelions in NC on New Year's Eve in a chain restaurant like O'Charlies or some place like that. Sounded kind of like Grace Sandoval and Mazzy Star. I mentioned it to a friend who recorded a bunch of shows for bands, to see if he'd heard of them. He thought they were going places. I have no idea what ever happened, but I can't find any CDs. I thought about them from this thread. I did find a FB page but it looks like someone is just posting a few old pics and songs they've been putting on Soundcloud from old recordings.

https://soundcloud.com/user-921777003

 

[HFWR]

https://youtu.be/ST9--HWOTA8

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Many years ago I heard a young band called Not So Dandelions in NC on New Year's Eve in a chain restaurant like O'Charlies or some place like that. Sounded kind of like Grace Sandoval and Mazzy Star. I mentioned it to a friend who recorded a bunch of shows for bands, to see if he'd heard of them. He thought they were going places. I have no idea what ever happened, but I can't find any CDs. I thought about them from this thread. I did find a FB page but it looks like someone is just posting a few old pics and songs they've been putting on Soundcloud from old recordings.

https://soundcloud.com/user-921777003

I like -- very atmospheric.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Nice, kind of Al Di Meola-like.

Here's a young jazz band from Madison -- love the electric recorder on this.

 

[Birdie Num Nums]

Los Shakers

From Wikipedia: "Los Shakers were a popular rock band in 1960s and was a part of the Uruguayan Invasion in Latin America. They were heavily influenced by the look and sound of the Beatles."

 

[cbo111]

Chris Duarte Group

https://youtu.be/qmMg-lnyQHE

Texas rock blues band, heavily influenced by legend Stevie Ray Vaughn.

 

[erkevin]

My college days were in Indiana circa 1980. There were a couple good local bands that *almost* had their breakthrough. From Indianapolis - Roadmaster:

From across the river in Champaign-Urbana - Starcastle. Man I remember
driving over to party at U of I and driving home cross eyed. That was back
when I had hair - lots of it

[/QUOTE

Big Flashback! My brother had that Starcastle album. Never remember listening to it however.

Hearing it, I would have guessed early Yes

 

[CardsFan]

A band I loved in college. Started local in the Boston Area. I think they had some play nation wide, but am not sure.

Pousette Dart Band

 

[Beststash]

Sopwith Camel

The Miraculous Hump Returns From The Moon - Fazon - 1973

A great band from San Francisco with a short life - they were one of the first SF bands with a big hit in a time of wonderful music. If you've never heard them before - enjoy!

 

[Koogie]

Lord Huron. Great music for hiking and the outdoors. I loved it during my hike of the PCT. Lonesome Dreams album is awesome

+1 Frozen Pines is one of my favorite songs of all time.


In a sometimes similar vein, here is a band from my little Canadian hometown...