“Late to the party”: An expression meaning “to find out about something, or start becoming involved in something later than most other people.”
I suspect all music fans have discovered bands they like which somehow had eluded them for several years and multiple albums. What follows is a description of my experience with a few such bands. There are a couple that you may not have heard of either, and a couple that may make you scratch your head and ask “How did JCE possibly not get a clue on them for so long?” Anyway, here’s the who, what, when and where of each band.
Who: AVOID ONE THING
What: Avoid One Thing is a band from Boston that now has three records out. All three are truly excellent in my opinion. Their records were released in 2002, 2004 and 2019. The band is fronted by Joe Gittleman, formerly of Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Gittleman plays bass and is the vocalist on most of the songs. His bandmates are Amy Griffin on guitar and John Lynch on drums. I cannot recommend this band strongly enough. Every song is just a pleasure to listen to.
When: I only just discovered them in February of this year, a mere twenty years after the release of their first record.
Where: Where did I find out about them? I was listening to a podcast that I cannot remember the name of. It featured an interview with John Lynch, who plays drums for the current line-up of The Neighborhoods. As it turns out, John Lynch plays drums for all kinds of great Boston-based bands (Dirty Truckers, Watts). In the interview, John was asked if Avoid One Thing was still active. The mention of that band did not initially pique my interest until he answered that indeed, they had an opening slot for Dave Hause coming up. I am a Dave Hause fan, so I decided to check them out, and now I am very glad that I did.
Side Note: Avoid One Thing wrote and recorded the song “Lean on Sheena” which was later covered by the band The Bouncing Souls and is one of their most popular songs. I was familiar with that song long before I learned that it is a cover.
“Chopstick Bridge” by Avoid One Thing
Who: THE HOLD STEADY
What: Most Pencilstorm readers, I imagine, are well aware of The Hold Steady. This Minneapolis band formed in 2003 and they were pretty good right out of the gate with the album Almost Killed Me which was released in 2004. Separation Sunday came in 2005, followed by Boys and Girls in America in 2006, Stay Positive in 2008 and Heaven is Whenever in 2010. The frantic pace of releases slowed down after that. I don’t like every song on every record, but if you cobble together maybe thirty songs or so from those first five albums, you will have one really freaking excellent collection of tunes. The lyrics are awesome and the vocal delivery is unlike anyone else. Sometimes it feels like Craig Finn is talking more than actually singing (which reminds me a little of Ricki C). Teeth Dreams, Thrashing Through the Passion and Open Door Policy have been strong releases as well, coming in 2014, 2019 and 2021, respectively.
When: I discovered The Hold Steady in 2011. Granted, that’s over a decade ago, but the point is, they had five good records out before I knew who they were.
Where: I am fuzzy about how I finally wised up, but when I did, I cobbled the aforementioned thirty plus song compilation together and I was hooked. I have followed the bands’ releases since that time. One cool thing was that The Hold Steady came to a venue near me just a few months after I was finally clued in, and I got to see a killer show at exactly the time that they were my favorite band of the moment. Sometimes timing is everything.
Side Note: There is an excellent book by Rob Sheffield, a true story set in Charlottesville, VA, called Love Is a Mix Tape. The book was published in 2007, although I am not sure when I actually read it. Anyway, near the very end of the book, which is very music-centric, the author mentions his new favorite band, The Hold Steady. I can’t believe I didn’t get to the party then, but unfortunately it was another couple of years before I arrived.
“Stuck Between Stations” by The Hold Steady
“Stay Positive” by The Hold Steady
Who: RICKY WARWICK
What: Ricky Warwick is from Northern Ireland. He has been in a plethora of bands, getting his start in New Model Army, followed by The Almighty. I still don’t know much about The Almighty, even though they have made something like seven studio albums. After The Almighty, several solo records were released, followed by his formation of a band called The Black Star Riders. The Black Star Riders spun off from a later incarnation of Thin Lizzy, which Warwick fronted, 25 years after the passing of Phil Lynott. The Black Star Riders made about four records, and then there was one more solo record that just came out in 2021. The solo records, and The Black Star Riders have contained some great rock and roll. There was also a project called Circus Diablo (with Billy Duffy of The Cult), which resulted in just one album, but it is a very good release. The bottom line is that if you like guitar-driven rock & roll, this guy has played guitar and sung an awful lot of it, in an awful lot of pretty damn good bands.
When: I stumbled upon the 2021 solo effort by Ricky Warwick called When Life Was Hard and Fast.
Where: I don’t even know how I happened on that 2021 record, but I went back to all of his solo stuff and it was great. Then I went to The Black Star Riders and that was great. I already loved Circus Diablo, but had no idea who Ricky Warwick was or that he had been involved in so many bands. As I said, I still need to look into The Almighty. Early indications from a quick look-back are that they were a pretty heavy band in their day, and had some chart success in the 90’s.
Side Note: Warwick also had a band in the 2014-16 timeframe called The Fighting Hearts. The band toured with Stiff Little Fingers, and something tells me they were probably great. They released a double album in 2016, but I am unable to find it streaming, on Amazon, on Ebay or even on the website of Nuclear Blast Records, which released it. Huh.
“When Life Was Hard and Fast” by Ricky Warwick
“Fighting Heart” by Ricky Warwick
“Finest Hour” by Black Star Riders
Who: LYDIA LOVELESS
What: I’m sure I don’t need to tell anyone that Lydia Loveless is a musician from Columbus, OH, home of Pencilstorm. Her first record, called The Only Man came out in 2010. After moving to the Bloodshot record label, she made Indestructible Machine, Boy Crazy, Somewhere Else and Real between 2011 and 2016. I have mostly heard her described as alt-country, but I think she defies any cookie-cutter description. I just saw one write-up that described her as country punk. I kind of like that one, although I don’t find it to be accurate. In 2017, Bloodshot released Boy Crazy and Singles. Her most recent record is called Daughter. There are a pretty good number of very talented, female alt-country musicians out there. Jade Jackson and Nikki Lane come to mind. And I tend to put Lilly Hiatt in that category. But Lydia Loveless has the voice of an angel. There is something about her vocals, and lyrics, that I am drawn to.
When: Frankly, I don’t know when I started listening to Lydia Loveless. All I know for sure is that when I started listening to Lydia and fell in love with her voice, pretty much all of her releases were already out except for Daughter.
Where: Pencil Storm of course! I’m not sure who mentioned or wrote about her, but I definitely learned about Lydia Loveless from reading Pencil Storm, I think from something Jeremy Porter penned at some point. [Lydia Loveless: The Pencil Storm Interview]
Side Note: I have a playlist I call “Alt Country” that includes a bunch great female vocalists. Notably, it features a few Columbus, OH-related artists, including Lydia, Erica Blinn and Angela Perley. Must be something in the water in Columbus…..
“Longer” by Lydia Loveless
“Let’s Make Out” by Lydia Loveless
“Really Wanna See You” by Lydia Loveless