Visqueen - My House

Visqueen is a Seattle based power pop/punk band that formed in 2001. The band formed from former members of Hafacat (singer/guitarist Rachel Flotard and drummer Ben Hooker) and legendary punk band Fastback (bassist Kim Warnick).

With the release of their first two albums, King Me and Sunset on Dateland, the group quickly moved from a local band with a loyal following to a nationally known power punk band. Following their second release in 2004, Flotard took a hiatus to care for her father after he was diagnosed with cancer. She then worked with Neko Case before regrouping with the others and releasing Message To Garcia in 2009.

My House is off their debut release, King Me.

Trivia: The band takes their name from the brand of polyethylene film that US Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge once recommended as a defense against bioterrorism.

Rush - The Spirit Of Radio

I've been a Rush fan since an old friend had me listen to Fly By Night. Uh, wow, that was a long time ago. Anyway, since then, they have always been on my music rotation.

Rush started out in 1968 in Toronto. After the release of their first album in 1974, original drummer John Rutsey, left the band right before their first US Tour due to diabetes and a distaste for touring. He was replaced by Neil Peart. This change would have a monumental impact on the band as Peart soon took over most of songwriting and helped move the band from a straight forward Rock 'n Roll band to one that played unique and technically complex compositions. Their sound is only possible due to the incredible talent of each member. Each has won several awards in magazine readers' polls for their particular instrument; especially Peart who is widely recognized as one of the greatest rock drummers of all time.

Over the years, Rush has had incredible success. They have had 24 gold records and 14 platinum (including 3 multi-platinum) records. According to the RIAA, Rush's sales statistics also place them fourth behind The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Aerosmith for the most consecutive gold or platinum albums by a rock band.

Their sound has changed over the years and recently, they have gone back to more solid rock sound devoid of synthesizers. But their fan base after 3 decades is still strong and they continue to find new fans who can still be amazed at the decades old releases like 2112 and Moving Pictures.

Today's Hump Day Retro-Closet track is the excellent tune The Spirit of Radio is off their 1980 release, Permanent Waves.

Bob Schneider - 40 Dogs (Like Romeo and Juliet)

Austin, Texas based, Bob Schneider, gained his initial fame in the late 90's as the frontman for the Ugly Americans, a Phish style jam band, and later with The Scabs. They were regulars in the Austin scene and gained some national recognition when they toured with the Dave Matthews Band.

In 1999, he went left the band and started a solo career. He has an diverse and eclectic sound; a little bit singer/songwriter, bits and pieces of funk, country, rock, and folk. He released his first solo album, Lovelyland in 2001 and followed up with I'm Good Now in 2004. Bother releases were very well received.

During this same time, he released several albums as side projects on Vanguard records with limited number of copies released. Although he could play to larger crowds, Schneider would rather play smaller venues and he tours relentlessly.

Schneider dated Sandra Bullock for two years and it was speculated that the breakup following their passionate relationship became fodder for his music, although Schneider has been known to deny autobiographical content in his music.

40 Dogs (Like Romeo and Juliet) is off his 2009 release, Lovely Creatures and is perfect example of Schneider's unique writing style.

7 Worlds Collide - Hazel Black

7 Worlds Collide is a musical project by New Zealand singer/songwriter, Neil Finn. He first put together the group in 2001 and released an album under the name 'Neil Finn & Friends'. The group consisted of many artists like Eddie Vedder, Johnny Marr, Ed O'Brien, Tim Finn, Sebastian Steinberg, Phil Selway, Lisa Germano, and Betchadupa (featuring Neil's son Liam Finn).

Finn got the project back together at the end of 2008 and recorded a new album with most of the original members and some new ones like Jeff Tweedy and three other members of Wilco, KT Tunstall, and New Zealand songwriters Don McGlashan and Bic Runga.

Hazel Black is off the excellent 2009 release, The Sun Came Out.

TRIVIA: Finn takes the band name from the line "Seven worlds will collide / whenever I am by your side" from Crowded House's 1993 single "Distant Sun".

Corneille - Too Much of Everything

Originally born in Freiburg, Germany, Corneille, spent most of his childhood in Rwanda. He discovered his passion for music in 1993, and joined an R&B group doing most of the songwriting and musical composition. However, his life changed after the Rwandan genocide in 1994. His father, Émile Nyungura, was a leader of a political party and as a result his parents and some of his relatives were killed in the massacre.

Corneille fled back to Germany, where some of his parents' friends took him in. In 1997, he decided to leave Germany and pursue a degree in communications at Concordia University in Montreal. But the draw of music was strong and Corneille founded the R&B group O.N.E. Although it did not last long, he continued to pursue music writing and composing music.

In 2003, he released his first solo album, a French language release called Parce qu'on vient de loin, which became a success, selling more that one million records. He then released Les marchands de rêves in 2005. Most recently, in 2007, he released his first English language album, The Birth of Cornelius.


Too Much of Everything is off his The Birth of Cornelius release.

The Call - The Walls Came Down

Santa Cruz, California band, The Call, is an incredibly underrated band. They released three albums in the early 80's with little success. They went 2 years without a contract due to to what singer and guitarist, Michael Been, describes as "legal bickering" between The Call's former record label and their management company. It wasn't until the 1986 release, Reconciled, that they had commercial success with the songs, Everywhere I Go and I Still Believe. Peter Gabriel, Simple Minds's Jim Kerr, and from The Band members Garth Hudson and Robbie Robertson all helped out on the album.

1989's release, Let The Day Begin, was the height of their success with the title track reaching #1 on the US Mainstream Rock chart. The band has not officially broken up, but has not recorded or toured since 2000. Been's son is currently the frontman for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Michael Been tours with them as their sound engineer.

Today's Hump Day Retro-Closet track is an excellent song, The Walls Came Down, off their 1983 release, Modern Romans.

INXS - The One Thing

Today's Hump Day Retro-Closet track is from INXS. They started out in 1977 as the Farriss Brothers in Sydney, Australia. They released their first album, a self-titled release, in 1980 gaining moderate success in Australia. Shabooh Shoobah, released in 1982, was the first release to gain a foothold in the US, peaking at #46 on the billboard charts.

They became international stars with Listen Like Thieves in 1985, Kick in 1987 and X in 1990 and had several top 10 singles. The band's sound that made them so successful was also a cause for their downfall as the were boxed in by that sound as people tastes changed. But they continued to record and tour throughout the 90's. The band hit the low point in 1997 with the dead of front-man, Michael Hutchence. They continued to tour with several different singers like Terence Trent D'Arby and Jon Stephens, finnaly settling on a new singer, a former Elvis impersonator from Canada, J.D. Fortune. They released the album, Switch, in 2005 reaching #17 on the Billboard Top 200.

The One Thing, off Shabooh Shoobah, was the first song I ever heard from INXS, first hearing it on a low-watt local St. Louis Radio station, KYMC and then seeing the video on MTV (when MTV showed music videos 24 hours a day).

Sheryl Crow - Detours

Sheryl Crow burst onto the scenes in 1993 with the song Leaving Las Vegas off her debut release Tuesday Night Music Club. But there is a lot that happened leading up to that.

Crow was raised in Kennett, Missouri (a small town in rural Missouri) and attended the University of Missouri, majoring in Music. She became a music teacher in suburban St. Louis. This allowed her time sing in bands on weekend where she met local musician and producer Jay Oliver. From his home studio he helped her record advertising jingles for local and national ads.

From this she eventually became a back up singer with Michael Jackson on his Bad World Tour from 1987-1989 and often performed with Jackson on "I Just Can't Stop Loving You". After that she recorded several songs for TV and movies. In 1992, she joined a group of musicians known as the 'Tuesday Night Music Club' which was a casual songwriting collective that rapidly developed into a vehicle for her debut album after her arrival.

In 1993, she released 'Tuesday Night Music Club' and her success has only grown, releasing 8 albums and winning 8 Grammys.

Detours is an excellent song off her 2008 release of the same name. The album was written as perpective on her life after her battle with breast cancer, her relationship with Lance Armstrong and her adopting a baby.

Charlie Mars - Listen To The Darkside

Mississippi born, Charlie Mars, released three independent albums before finally catching a break with the 2004 release of his self-titled album on V2 records. Since that release, he has toured relentlessly. He made the album on his own, borrowing the money to pay for it and the CD is pretty much what was recorded with very minimal post production mixing.

Mars has good mix of southern rock with some more friendly pop sound. He polished his songwriting skills by majoring in English at college in Dallas and concentrating on the romantic poets.

Listen to the Darkside, is a solid Mars tune off his 2009 release, Like a Bird, Like a Plane. Interesting note: Mary Louise Parker stars in his video.

Dolores O'Riordan - Human Spirit

Former singer for the Irish group, The Cranberries, Dolores O'Riordan, took several years off after the band breakup in 2001, to take care of family affairs. In 2006, she went back to the studio to record a solo album.

During the time between 2001 and 2006, she was not musically inactive. In 2004, she teamed up with Italian artist, Zucchero and recorded 'Pure Love' for his album Zu & Co. The same year, she worked with composer Angelo Badalamenti on the Evilenko soundtrack, providing vocals on several tracks, including "Angels Go The Heaven", the movie theme. In 2005 she appeared on the Jam & Spoon's album Tripomatic Fairytales 3003 as a guest vocalist on the track "Mirror Lover". O'Riordan also made a cameo appearance in the Adam Sandler comedy Click, as a wedding singer performing an alternate version of The Cranberries' song "Linger", set to strings.

In 2006, she went into the studio to record her first solo album, Are You Listening. Human Spirit is a excellent tune of he debut solo release. Her second solo release, No Baggage, was release in August of this year.

Los Lobos - Hurry Tomorrow

Los Lobos has been playing and recording for over 30 years achieving 3 Grammys. Formed in Los Angeles, Los Lobos ('The Wolves') in 1973, they released their first album independently in 1978. They teamed up with T-Bone Burnett and released How Will the Wolf Survive? The album was a sort of coming out and put Los Lobos on the map.

In 1987, they released By the Light of the Moon and also recorded several tracks for the soundtrack to the movie La Bamba. The title track became a #1 hit.

They have released over a dozen albums including their most recent release of a Disney covers.

Hurry Now, written by Robert Hunter (who wrote many of the Grateful Dead songs) is off their 2006 release, The Town and the City.

The Donnas - Take It Off

The Donnas are like a female version of the Ramones and AC/DC mashed together. These girls can definitely rock. Hailing from Palo Alto, CA, The Donnas formed in eighth grade as a metal band called The Electrocutes. After high school, they decided to create a second band with the same four members with a bit less edge and called themselves the The Donnas. Like the 70's hard rock girl band, The Runaways, they all changed their names with each taking the name Donna and their last initial: Donna A., Donna R., Donna F., Donna C.

Darin Raffaelli, a onetime member of trash-punkers Supercharger, heard them and presented several Ramones style songs he had written and then took over as their manager. Almost from the beginning, they became an underground rock favorite. They released their first Album, a self-titled release, in 1998 and their fan base has only grown.

Take It Off is a rocking song off their 2002 release, Spend The Night.

Kings of Leon - Use Somebody

Kings of Leon is a family affair, consisting of brothers Anthony "Caleb" Followill, Ivan "Nathan" Followill, and Michael "Jared" Followill, with their cousin Cameron "Matthew" Followill. Each member of the family group is known by their second name as opposed to their first name.

The brothers spent their childhood traveling the south while their father, a preacher, preached at churches and tent revivals. They were essentially home schooled until 1997 when their parents divorced and they moved to Nashville. Here, they honed their songwriting skills and the two older brothers, Caleb and Nathan signed on with RCA Records, but the label wanted them to have a band.

In an interview, Caleb admitted to "kidnapping" their cousin Matthew from his hometown in Mississippi in order for him to join the band. They told his mother that he was just staying for a week, but they just never let him return home. Drummer Nathan added, "When we signed the deal with RCA, it was just me and Caleb. The label told us they were going to put a band together, but we said, 'We're going to buy our little brother a bass, he's a freshman in high school. Caleb will teach himself the guitar. Our cousin Matthew played guitar when he was 10 and I'll play drums.' The record label agreed,". Jared was just 16 when they released their first album, and EP titled Holy Roller Novocaine.

From there, they're fan base grew and since 2003, they have released four albums. Use Somebody, is off their fourth full release, Only by the Night.

Useless trivia: They named themselves Kings of Leon in honor of Nathan, Caleb, and Jared's father and grandfather, who were both named Leon.

Dire Straits - Six Blade Knife

Dire Straits was formed in 1977 by Mark Knopfler, his younger brother David Knopfler, John Illsley, and Pick Withers. They named the band after their financial situation. In 1977, they recorded a five-song demo tape and took it to BBC Radio London DJ Charlie Gillett, who had a radio show called "Honky Tonk". The band simply wanted advice, but Gillett liked the music so much that he played "Sultans of Swing" on his show. Two months later, Dire Straits signed a recording contract with Phonogram Records and in 1978 recorded their self-title debut album.

The album did not do well at first in the UK. However, after a re-releasing "Sultans of Swing" and it climbing the UK charts, they began a tour as opening band for the Talking Heads. This led to a United States recording contract with Warner Bros. Records and, before the end of 1978, Dire Straits had released their self-titled debut worldwide. They received more attention in the United States and landed at the top of the charts in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Their debut album eventually went top 10 in every European country.

Mark Knopfler, the creative force behind the group, began doing soundtrack work and the band took a brief hiatus. After the break, the group went back to the studio and record Brothers In Arms. The album became their biggest selling album and became the first CD to sell 1 million copies. In support of the album, they toured extensively during the next two years, playing 247 shows in over 100 different cities.

Knopfler continued to do solo projects and again the the band took another hiatus, this time for 3 years. They go back together in 1990 and a recorded a final studio album before disbanding for good.

Six Blade Knife is today Hump Day Retro-Closet track off their debut album. The song highlights Knopfler's slow hand fingerstyle guitar style.

Hot House Flowers - Thing of Beauty

A great track for the Hump Day Retro-Closet. Irish band Hothouse Flowers combines traditional Irish music with influences from soul, gospel and rock, which they do with gusto. Their songs pack in a lot of emotion.

They formed in 1985 when Liam O'Maonlaí and Fiachna O'Braonáin began performing as street musicians, or buskers, on the streets of Dublin, Ireland as "The Incomparable Benzini Brothers". Others joined the band and they renamed themselves Hothouse Flowers. In 1986 U2's Bono saw the Flowers performing on television and offered his support. They released their first single, "Love Don't Work This Way", on U2's Mother Records label, which quickly led to a deal with the PolyGram subsidiary London Records. They then released their first album, People, in 1988 and it became the most successful debut album in Irish history.

They never gained the popularity in the US as they did in the UK and Australia, but did have a loyal following. In 1994, they took a one year sabbatical that turned into several years. Their last studio release was 2004's Into Your Heart, but still continue to tour.

Thing of Beauty is off their 1993 release, Songs From The Rain.

Ben Harper and The Innocent Criminals - In The Colors

Ben Harper grew up with music. His grandparents owned a music stored called 'The Folk Music Center and Museum' which listed Leonard Cohen, Taj Mahal and David Lindley as patrons.

Since, recording his first album at age 20, Harper has continued to explore music, playing and recording with a wide range of artists. His early music was more popular in Europe and Australia than in the US, but that slowly changed and his 2006 release, Both Sides of the Gun debuted at #7 on the Billboard charts.

In The Colors is an excellent song off his 2007 release with The Innocent Criminals, Lifeline.

Van Morrison - Into The Mystic

Today's Hump Day Retro Closet track is one of my favorite tunes of all time. Into the Mystic off Van Morrison's 1970 release Moondance, was not even released as a single as the record company did not feel it worthy.

It was covered by Johnny Rivers and was a top-40 hit for him. But Morrison's original version is so much better and contains the true essence of the song. As a lyricist, Morrison is often less interested in using words for meaning than for sound and Into the Mystic is perfect example of that. The exact lyrics have been debated for years; but it's not the words of the song, but the mood it induces that makes this one of my favorites.

Golden Smog - Ill Fated

Golden Smog is a loosely connected group of musicians comprised, at various times, of members of Soul Asylum, The Replacements, Wilco, The Jayhawks, Run Westy Run, The Honeydogs and Big Star. Golden Smog's lineup has often changed, but relative constants who appear on all the recordings are guitarists Kraig Johnson (Run Westy Run), Dan Murphy (Soul Asylum) and Gary Louris (The Jayhawks), along with bassist Marc Perlman (The Jayhawks).

Their beginnings are a bit fuzzy due to their evolving nature. But it is said they debuted in January 1987, when a band billed as 'The Take It To The Limit Band' played an (almost) all-Eagles cover show at the Uptown Bar in Minneapolis. This band consisted of Dan Murphy and Dave Pirner (both of Soul Asylum), Jim Boquist (later of Son Volt), and Martin Zellar (Gear Daddies). The show ended with a cover of then Bangles hit song "Walk Like an Egyptian." This same group later played a Rolling Stones-themed show in 1989 under the band name "Her Satanic Majesty's Paycheck."

They finally appeared under the name Golden Smog in 1989 in Minneapolis and released their first album, an EP called On Golden Smog, in 1992.

The group took their name from the name of a Flintstones character, which, in turn, was a parody of singer Mel Tormé's nickname (The Velvet Fog).

Ill Fated is off their 1995 recording, Down By The Old Mainstream.

Willie Nile - Game of Fools

Willie Nile (real name: Robert Anthony Noonan) came from a musical family. His grandfather was a vaudeville pianist and his uncles played boogie-woogie. Nile began playing piano at age eight and took classical music lessons until he was a teenager, when he taught himself his first rock & roll song. He soon began to compose short songs and continued the habit into his college years, when during the summers he made trips into New York City to frequent clubs like Folk City and the Gaslight.

After college, he went to Greenwich Village, determined to make a name for himself as a latter-day troubadour, which he did throughout the 70's and became a fixture in the Village. He released his first album in 1980 which garnered high critical praise. After his second album, he ran into legal issue with his record company and did not release a new album for the next 10 year, although he continued to write songs and tour.

Hard Times in America is off a great 1992 EP of the same name. The song seems to have relevance, even today.

Griffin House – The Guy That Says Goodbye to You Is Out of His Mind

Griffin House describes his music as rock/folk/punk. Electing to remain on his own, he mostly operates as an unsigned act, releasing his albums through Evening Records. However, his first release, Lost And Found, in 2004 and his latest release, Flying Upside Down, were in major record labels. He also tours extensively.

The Guy That Says Goodbye to You Is Out of His Mind is off both his independent release, Homecoming, and major label release, Flying Upside Down.