I had a few that you could consider local.

I was a huge fan of From Zero in the early 2000s. Absolutely loved them and thought they would easily skyrocket to stardom. I have a lot of their early demo stuff and their two Arista releases. Saw them countless times at the Metro and once saw them open up for Nothingface at the HOB. Really miss them. Their singer, Jett had one of the best rock/metal voices I have ever heard....EVER. All of the guys in the band were top notch musicians.
Listen to the song Pressure!


12 Rods. I guess they were local b/c the singer went to DePaul, but these guys were primarily a Minneapolis/St. Paul band. Loved them as well. First time I saw them was in 1998 at the Double Door and followed that up with many more shows. 12 Rods is partly responsible for my love of that venue. Some of my friends have suggested that Ryan, (singer-guitar) sounded like a young Ozzy, but the music had nothing to do with black sabbath. I'm not even sure who they sound like, b/c they were the only band that I listen to that sound like this.
listen to telephone holiday!

If anyone is interested, pm me and I'll burn mp3 data discs of their catalogs.

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@audioidkid

I was just thinking about a local band last night that I used to love.
Anyone ever get into Blue Meanies? Grandma Shampoo? Me grandma, grandpa on me mind all the time!

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

pi Theory, what ever happen to them?

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When I am stuck and need to figure something out I always remember the Immortal words of Socrates when he said:"I just drank what?"

Not local, but The Exploding Hearts were pretty great - and then all but one member died in a van wreck.

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literally.....

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Pi Theory

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I did some post-work on a couple of videos for the Blue Meanies (the drummer was an aspiring director). I got to see a lot of their shows for free. They kicked ass.

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Shouldn't this be in the R.I.P. section?

Naked Raygun. I guess they got back together a few years ago but they had broken up for 15 years and are pretty much dead to me.

I always kind of liked MEST. The lead singer killed some dude last year in a self defense knifing in LA. I think they had a reunion tour this last winter. I listened to Allister as well back in the day and they cease to exist now. Slapstick rocked, at least the members went to form some even better and way more successful bands.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

Anyone who is my age (49) will remember these guys...PEZBAND!

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

Yeah the Blue Meanies were pretty good. I saw them at U of I quite often. I have one of their albums, haven't listened to it in forever

I was at that show at the House of Blues. Never really got in to From Zero though. Are they even still together anymore?

Ive got two that aren't really dead, but might as well be.
Smoking popes: I can't believe this band never got bigger than they did. I think they wrote some of the best pop-punk songs ever played. They are still around, after getting back together in 2006 (might of been 2005). They still sound great, but there's something missing. Their shows lack any of the energy they had in the past. I guess it's mostly because their fanbase is now 10 years older than they were in the 90's. They are playing the Double Door in June if their are any Popes fans still out there.

Local H: Another band that just got alot of bad breaks over the years and was just never able to regain any kind of major following. I have probably seen them more times than any other band out there. Scott Lucas is probably one of the best musicians to come out of Chicago in the last 20 years. Pack up the Cats will always be one of my all-time favorite records, I played that thing to death. A band that used to be an almost monthly fixture at the Metro and The Double Door has fallen to headlining shows at sports bars in the suburbs, it's pretty sad. I try to stay away from those because of the meatheads they attract and how sad it is to see the band fall that low. They are still putting out new music, but you can tell Lucas is growing tired of this band and wants to do something else. He has many other projects going on, some good, some meh. I may be checking them out for the first time in a year. They are playing the Double Door on Thursday night, so it may bring me back to the "old days".

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Nice, i was in the opera boxes screaming "Pressure!"
they played it as their encore.

they broke up in 04.

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@audioidkid

The Arrivals

dovetail joint, rollover

saw them both numerous times live around chicago area, liked them both a lot. rollover in particular, they had a great sound. i almost went deaf watching them in the beat kitchen, loudest show and/or venue i have ever been too, my ears were ringing for days afterward.

I dont know if they died but...

Speaking of bands that actually did have somebody die, Material Issue was a pretty solid local act.

+1

Three more to add to the Chicago Alternative Scene:
Figdish
Triple Fast Action
Stabbing Westward

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Local group-Holland-albums included "Wake Up The Neigbhorhood"

Led by Tommy Holland and guitarist Mike Biddio (spelling??), they were regulars on "Real Precious Metal" which was heard on 103.1 (WVVX at the time). The primary host was Scott Loftus along with "Glen the Phone Man" while Paul Kaiser handled weekends. A great, great show which was underwritten by Jam Productions who used it as an outlet to support shows at their venues.

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"Phineas J. Whoopie, you're the greatest"
Tennessee Tuxedo

Saw them at some q101 show...on the bus on the way home some jag off was telling everyone how Stabbing Westward had never seen Moshing til they came to america.

To America from Chicago I guess.

Spies Who Surf.

Enuff Z'nuff

I kinda dug Stabbing Westward

Anybody remember a NWI band called The Elvis Diet? They were a mixture of Alt/Rock/Ska. They're a band that I wish would re-unite. From what I hear, they broke up because one of the members ran over the others trombone.
Am I right on that Mac, Matt In The Crown, DD, OKC? Anybody know?

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-"God is great. Beer is good. And People are crazy!"

Shut Up and Drive!

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

They did do some crazy shows though. I was able to see them three times in their existence. The last time was a record release show for their final album at the Metro. Good god, that show was nuts, and I think the Metro oversold because you couldn't move in there. The whole crowd was just packed together. The only way you moved was if the entire crowd moved with you. I still to this day can't believe I didn't pass out at that show. If the set went maybe two or three songs more I probably would have.

I've been to some pretty wild concerts in my day (Slayer, Pantera, Metallica) but this one was by far the roughest/hottest/wildest I have been to. Another funny thing about the show was that my friend who was there with me had his glasses kicked off by a crowd surfer during the show. He couldn't pick them up off the floor because of all the moving that was going on and he thought they were lost. But after the show he found them undamaged. That had to be a one in a million kind of chance those things didn't get stepped on and smashed.

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The Smoking Popes, Local H, Naked Raygun, and The Arrivals are all still performing.

I saw NR and The Arrivals on the same bill with Hot Water Music back in January, and it was a fantastic show.

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It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a goddamn shame.

http://www.TheCommittedIndian.com/

Stabbing Westward

In case anyone cares, former SW lead screecher Christopher "Don't Call Me Chris" Hall is now in an equally god-awful band called the Dreaming.

http://www.myspace.com/thedreaming

Fucking poseur is in his mid 40's. Give it up douchebag.

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Just chillin' like Garret Quillin.

Do or Die
Crucial Conflict

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Man...I saw Crucial Conflict open for EPMD about 10 years ago. Terrible, terrible show. CC was just a Bone Thungs N Harmony ripoff, and EPMD played for about 30 minutes.

Ron Hardy

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