Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Cream / Creamtastic / Hot Goss Reunited and It Feels so Good: On the Return of Govern and Other Potential Reunions
Posted by Seth Graves on Tue, Oct 27, 2009 at 7:08 AM
So back in the day, years before I lived here and years before most of you who did were of age to get into a rock show, Nashville had a pretty diverse and vibrant rock, punk and metal scene that some might even argue trumps the one we're enjoying today. It was an era of four-track demos, weekly trips to Kinko's to make flyers and booking shows over the telephone. I'm talking roughly 1994 and a band of young hooligans called Govern were playing its first shows at Lucy's. Govern toured the country in a van courtesy of MMR's Book Your Own Fuckin' Life, put out a bunch of cassettes and a little bit of vinyl, got reviews in a few zines, flirted with notable indie labels and even did a tour with Unsane before breaking up in 1999. All this without logging onto MySpace, dialing a cell phone or even burning a CD. Totes Amazing.
Chances are, you don't give a shit--and I don't say that begrudgingly because I barely give a shit myself. The only reason this is remotely relevant is because Govern is reuniting for a show this Halloween Saturday at Springwater--surprisingly their first-ever Springwater show and also a release party for their first digital release (ninth total), G:IX Death To America (And Those Who Love Her) where they've rerecorded many old hits and added a few new ones.
OK, so yeah...blah blah some old band got back together. Who cares, right? What's up with band reunions anyway? They're often kind of like movie sequels: rarely necessary and almost never as good as the first incarnation. Are they ever as fun for fans as they are for bands? Are there any local bands you personally would truly enjoy seeing reunite and performing at least once more? I just asked myself all those same questions and the answer is "yes." Yes, I think there are a few bands I'd dig seeing just one more time, sans new material without the aid of new recordings or a subsequent tour.
The Bang Up: Murfreesboro post-punk quartet circa 2003. This is perhaps the loftiest request on my wish list given bassist Matt Sullivan now resides in Alaska, singer Henry Daggs in St. Louis and guitarist Linwood Regensburg is perpetually on the road drumming for Those Darlins. And I guess drummer Ricky Bizness stays busy playing bass with How I Became the Bomb, too. But hey, a dude can dream.
Fun Girls From Mt. Pilot: I can't decide if this would be amazing or awful, but either way, it wouldn't be pretty. Seeing four middle-aged dudes in half-ass drag playing snotty, bone-crunching punk rock tunes about hating things, breaking things, cat fights, and Billy Dee Williams might either make me recoil with unpleasant high school flashbacks or start an old school circular mosh pit like I was 17. Either way, I'd like to give it a shot.
Practical Stylists: Given that I was just learning to read around the time these guys were first recording, they were long gone before I ever heard them. Nashville has yet to want for another power pop band since the Stylists' demise--we've spit out more than our share--but all those have owed their existence more to Superdrag than say The A's, The dB's or Big Star.
Booby Hatch: While I had plenty of opportunities to see these dudes during their short stint as a band, I passed them all up only to regret it years later upon discovering their only 7" EP, Hip-Shaking Ass Core--a seven-song karate chop to the throat and basically the best example of Nashville-style crossover thrash you're gonna get. I'm sorry I missed it, and I'd like another chance, please.
Comments (32)
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Good post! I would love to see the Bang-Up again, and all the rest you mentioned for the first time. Some more probably impossible reunions I'd like to see one more time...
Asschapel
Birdfeeder
Clockhammer
Turtleneck and the Sweats
Ladycop
On Command
Butler
Surprise Party Surprise
Tan as Fuck
the Glitter Dragons
the Young Livers
Z-28
A Day in the Life of the Dailies
Father Figure
And the ones I wish I was playing in again...
Grinning Evil Death
Scorpio Rising
Triote
Flock of Werewolves
The HTML snob in me really wants to point out that you've got an extra div centering all your text but that's off topic so I'll keep it to myself.
@Michael: I know. I tried to fix it, but there's some weird shit going on in there. I don't know what Graves did, but I can't fix it.
yeah. don't ask me. fucking shit up is what i do.
also, it was tough narrowing this list down. some honorable mentions:
Verde
The Lipstick Killers
Stupid Americanz
The Cycle
The Bubblegum Complex
The Darling Hearts
Turtleneck fo sho. Character. Even tho we were a Chatty band, Im happy Hopsing got back together.
Daggs is actually in Murfreesboro these days. I have been trying to put together a Bang UP reunion for years.
I graduated High School in 1994. My primary concerns that summer:
1) Where can I go to get intoxicated?
2) Where can I get the money to purchase said intoxicants?
3) Who's better - Dimebag Darrell or Dave Mustaine?
on the upside: I saw Superchunk for the first time.
Incidentally, are we 100% sure that this Govern show is happening? I'm a little hesitant when the Springwater MySpace page is the only source I can find . . .
@simple mike Alex Zhort is my neighbor, actually, and he insists that it's going down.
I AM WORKING ON THE BUBBLEGUM COMPLEX REUNION SHOW.
ANYONE INTERESTED IN PLAYING?
Joe, Marc's Brother (full time)
Slack
Original De Novo Dahl line-up
Character (!)
Self
yes. all of this. I almost got character to do a show for my 30th birthday. almost asked them for my 31st... maybe they can surprise me for 32?
daphne's operation was good too.
i have some fun girls shows on video tape somewhere. how about some little monkey on a stick??????
Youtube told me that your link was malinformed, but I think I found the video. JJ gettin' awkward.
this first band I saw when I moved to Nashville in 1995 was Slack. I'd love to see them reunite.
What about a Spongebath night with The Katies, Self, The Features, and Caeser's Glass Box? I know the Features wouldn't be reuniting but maybe we could get Parish and Don Sergio to show up.
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