Dream Syndicate are at the foundation (alongside the Velvet Underground, the Stooges and R.E.M.) of contemporary alternative music sheerly because at the time when most bands were experimenting with new technology, the Syndicate deigned to bring back the guitar. Fronted by Steve Wynn (b. Feb. 21, 1960) and including Karl Precoda (guitar), Dennis... [+] Read More

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In the wake of the Rickenbacker revolution started by R.E.M., Flying Color formed in San Francisco in 1984 when bassist Hector Penalosa, from the Southern California cult band the Zeros, hooked up with guitarist Dale Duncan from the San Francisco underground band Love Circus and guitarist Richard Chase and drummer John Stuart. The band released... [+] Read More

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Game Theory formed on the fringe of the Paisley Underground movement of the early-'80s and though they certainly had a retro-'60 sound with psychedelic leanings, the band owed its greatest debt to the proto-power pop of Big Star.

Leader Scott Miller's song craft, distinctive voice (self-described as a "miserable whine") and... [+] Read More

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Always wary of their Paisley Underground tag, it was only Green on Red's debut EP that leaned on the psychedelic sounds of the '60s before they traded it in for a boozy, all-American sound. They have been credited as latter-day forbears to the No Depression sound forged by Wilco and Son Volt.

Singer and songwriter Dan Stuart, Chris... [+] Read More

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20 years to the day of their last gig as support act on BIG COUNTRY'S 1986 UK Seer tour, The PRIME MOVERS have reunited.

In 1987, The Prime Movers fell from favor with their label Island Records, although the reason is unknown. It was then that The PRIME MOVERS hit on the bright idea to record new music under an assumed name - the... [+] Read More

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A powerful and graceful band that was too post-punk to be folk-rock and too folk-rock to be post-punk, Shiva Burlesque began as a partnership between vocalist Jeff Clark and guitarist Grant Lee Phillips. The two had previously played together in Clark's band, the Tom Boys, in northern California. Following the death of their percussionist (a... [+] Read More

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Best known for the shimmering "Under the Milky Way," their lone Top 40 hit, the Australian band the Church combined the jangling guitar pop of '60s icons like the Byrds with the opaque wordplay of frontman Steve Kilbey to create a lush, melancholy brand of neo-psychedelia rich in texture and melody. Formed in Sydney in 1980 by vocalist/bassist... [+] Read More

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Along with Let's Active, the dB's defined the Southern power pop/jangle pop movement of the early to mid-'80s. The band's music was a quirky blend of smart pop and psychedelia crossed with the more experimental side of new wave. Though they never received widespread recognition outside of critical acclaim, they provided a key link between Big... [+] Read More

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The Three O'Clock were the quintessential L.A. Paisley Underground band. Lead singer and bassist Michael Quercio in fact coined the term to describe the set of bands, including the Dream Syndicate, Rain Parade, Green On Red and the Bangles, who incorporated the chiming guitars of the Byrds and the Beatles into their pop songs with a psychedelic... [+] Read More

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The Mississippi-based power-pop group the Windbreakers primarily comprised the duo of singer/guitarists Tim Lee and Bobby Sutliff. After debuting in 1982 with Meet the Windbreakers, a seven-inch EP issued on their own Big Monkey label, the band enlisted the aid of producer Mitch Easter for the follow-up, 1983's Any Monkey With a Typewriter,... [+] Read More

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Out of the same mold as L.A.'s Paisley Underground bands, True West didn't fit because they were from Davis, CA (operating out of the nearby nexus for guitar bands, San Francisco) and a little darker and less dreamy than the others. They debuted with True West, an EP in 1983 on Bring Out Your Dead Records. It was produced by the band's Russ... [+] Read More

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