Good local bands that should be signed...

[Dude]

I'm interested in hearing about bands that no one really knows about, but does good music.

I have a favorite group that for the life of me I cannot figure out why they can't get picked up by a major label. The group is called Grasshopper Takeover. They are a local band from Omaha that just kicks royal freaking ass. The guys are super cool and every time they play in Omaha it is a major event. They can sell out any venue.

I own every last CD and still get a major buzz every time I listen to them. I wish I lived in Omaha so I could see them live again.

If you want to sample them, I'd recommend starting with International Dance Marathon, which is a disc from a few years ago, but remains my favorite. These guys have more hooks than a tackle box. They really rock.

I'd recommend these songs to get you started, but try them all, really.

Esta Vida
Take Me With You
Purpose
Congratulations
Hit Song

 

[Brewpastor]

Big Smith out of Springfield, MO is a great act to catch. I am listening a lot to Old Crow Medicine Show, but they aren't really "obscure", however if you don't know them you should check them out.

 

[Cheesefood]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=10496

This thread has some good bands mentioned.

 

[Chairman Cheyco]

I recently started listening to Johnny Hiland. He's a little twangy for my hard-rock roots, but plays guitar like nobody's biz-nizzle.

 

[rdwj]

I'm a big fan of Poi Dog Pondering. They do fests around the Chicagoland area these days - once in a while at least. Their music is great live - very party atmosphere-ish.

That Grasshopper Takeover sounded pretty good, I might have to pick that up

 

[olllllo]

Grasshopper Takeover seems to have that worldbeat/ska underneath and 80's pop feel on top. Nice.

Johnny Hiland - How can you give this guy props without invoking SRV and still be fair?

There's obscure for obscure's sake and then there's the WTF scenario this thread seems to be about. Why haven't they been signed?

Fans of old school R&B, blue-eyed soul, and funk should check out Paul Cebar.
He's got a few cds. Supposedly he's got 2 or 3 more in the can, but can't get a label anymore.

http://www.paulcebar.com/store/index.html
http://www.paulcebar.com/video/index.html

Dude: He gets up in your parts on occasion.
http://www.paulcebar.com/schedule/index.html

 

[mbarto]

find it all. http://www.pandora.com

 

[Chairman Cheyco]

Johnny Hiland - How can you give this guy props without invoking SRV and still be fair?

I like SRV too, but he's not exactly obscure. Johnny's got more licks than Stevie ever had.

 

[olllllo]

Point was dead guy always gets the trump. Not fair to the alive guy.

 

[Chairman Cheyco]

Yeah, I guess the alive guy can just keep practicing...

 

[Dude]

I went ahead and changed the title of the thread. My "obscure" wording wasn't quite what I wanted...

 

[Cheesefood]

If you have a good sense of humor, Stevie Starlite is a helluva local act. His lyrics are racist, sexist, anti-gay and just about any other non-pc term you can throw in there, but he's fun and talented.

Mr. Blotto is also very good, as is Dark Star Orchestra.

 

[Rhoobarb]

My picks are:

A band out of Iowa called Towncrier.
Ari Herstand out of Minneapolis.
Chicago power-pop quintet Quiet Kid, although they were signed recently to a small European indie label.

Mr. Blotto is another good one! Used to see them from time to time at Hoghead McDunna's on Fullerton 'back in the day'!

 

[fezzman]

SWMBO and I like listening to Boxelder. They are a local Florida band that we've managed to catch their gig on accident. We've been listening ever since.

www.boxelder.com

 

[sause]

Pat McCurdy. The one and only. Best performer ever!!

 

[Desert_Sky]

My friend Josh is lead vocals and guitar in his band Dufreign. I think they have some definite potential.

http://www.dufreign.com/

 

[SwAMi75]

There was a band that played in some dive bar here a couple weeks ago. I think their name was "Foghat," or something like that. Really good old school rock.....can't imagine why they haven't been picked up!

 

[speed]

here's one out of lincoln ne.- robot creep closer, gotta promote it cause my son is the drummer.

 

[Dude]

I'm interested in hearing about bands that no one really knows about, but does good music.

I have a favorite group that for the life of me I cannot figure out why they can't get picked up by a major label. The group is called Grasshopper Takeover. They are a local band from Omaha that just kicks royal freaking ass. The guys are super cool and every time they play in Omaha it is a major event. They can sell out any venue.

I own every last CD and still get a major buzz every time I listen to them. I wish I lived in Omaha so I could see them live again.

If you want to sample them, I'd recommend starting with International Dance Marathon, which is a disc from a few years ago, but remains my favorite. These guys have more hooks than a tackle box. They really rock.

I'd recommend these songs to get you started, but try them all, really.

Esta Vida
Take Me With You
Purpose
Congratulations
Hit Song

Hey--if anyone liked these guys, I have a couple of limited edition EP promo CDs that I'll send out, free of charge. The band gave me these to distribute. It is disc 1 of a 3 disc set.

Hear No Evil

Lemme know, I have 5 of them.

 

[the_bird]

They're pretty cool, definately have a nice hook about them ("Esta Vida" is pretty damn catchy). I'll PM you my address if you want to hook me up.

 

[Dude]

They're pretty cool, definately have a nice hook about them ("Esta Vida" is pretty damn catchy). I'll PM you my address if you want to hook me up.

Shoot it to me. The songs on the EP are actually quite good as well. "No Pressure" kicks royal ass.

FWIW, the second edition of the 3 disc set is sweet as well. It is all cover songs. Baby Got Back, Don't Dream its Over, etc.