Well, if the adage goes that everybody’s famous for 15 minutes, then I guess it could stand to reason that no great band ever truly breaks up.
Yes, two of the most idolized (and shamelessly copied) bands of the 90’s are reuniting and doing a limited amount of shows next year.
Regrettably, I never got to see the Gories (blame it on geography) but I was fortunate enough to see The Oblivians many, many beer-soaked times. Hell, they even released a live record of a show I recorded and let me put out a 7" of their slop! It’s still all such a blur…
My old buddy (and former Athenian) Debbie Daughtry informed me of these happy developments today along with a link to a live video of the band in Athens in 1996 as part of Trash Bash. Of course, Debbie sent me this link to inform me of the numerous sightings of yours truly throughout the video. I swear, it’s like Where’s Waldo….. As I recollect, this ’96 gig was right after the Oblivians had returned from Europe and they had a handful of hash that we all smoked prior to their set. Later that night, I remember seeing the worst Man or Astroman? set ever and yes, I admit that I was partly responsible.
As I remember, it seemed like there were a lot of regional garage beer bashes in the ’94-’96 era with many of the same lineups (as an aside, the continual inclusion of the Labrea Stompers is still an absolute headscratcher), but any time the Oblivians showed up, I was front and center. Such a brilliant band. Perhaps I should refrain my gushing for another time and just let the jokers at the Goner message board do their thing.
Anywhoozle, I’ve included parts of an Oblivians live show from ’94 using the same equipment that Byron Coley compared to being recorded using "shoe leather" in his review of "Rock N Roll Holiday" which I had taped mere months before. More photos, set lists, posters and other garbage are here at Chunklet HQ. Who knows? I might actually have the energy to dig through them one of these days.
Oblivians – Motorcycle Leather Boy (Athens ’94)
Oblivians – Jim Cole (Athens ’94)
Oblivians – No Reason To Live (Athens ’94)
Oblivians – Love Killed My Brain (Athens ’94)
Oblivians – Blew My Cool (Athens ’94)
Oblivians – Some Song (Athens ’94)
Oblivians – Some Other Song (Athens ’94)