Bands who were big regionally and never broke big

[JinglesTheChristmasMouse]

Michael Stanley Band.

[Rocker4Real]

Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes

It's really amazing that Southside continues to tour year-round 50 years later without having any gold, platinum or top 40 hits as far as I know. Those first 3 albums are cult classics thanks to Bruce and Little Steven. Great band! Not 80's rock by any means but if you like Bruce, you'd at least like those first 3 records and a few others.

Jon Bon Jovi did a guest appearance on the '91 album and it still didn't go Gold. Wrong genre for BJ fans, I guess.

[Wiseacre]

Oingo Boingo. Yes, they became known worldwide, but only because of Elfman's film career. The band itself stayed fairly local in actual practice.

I’m not sure how “big” they were, but I think most people old enough to have been around in the’80s knew the band from MTV and only later, after the Simpsons and Nightmare Before Christmas realized he was “that guy from Oingo Boingo”. Not sure how many people went back and checked out the band because of his later work. it’s not like him becoming a household name did anything for the band. It’s more of a trivia question.

[DangerZone]

Oingo Boingo. Yes, they became known worldwide, but only because of Elfman's film career. The band itself stayed fairly local in actual practice.

I’m not sure how “big” they were, but I think most people old enough to have been around in the’80s knew the band from MTV and only later, after the Simpsons and Nightmare Before Christmas realized he was “that guy from Oingo Boingo”. Not sure how many people went back and checked out the band because of his later work. it’s not like him becoming a household name did anything for the band. It’s more of a trivia question.

yeah, this mojo take is rubbish.
They were featured in ‘back to school.’

[DangerZone]

people saying Kix?
I guess you could say Shark Island, but they had a major label album and were on MTV. Same as Tuff.
I’d say that’s beyond regional.

A band like Vyper from KC fits the bill

[Sleek]

Outside their 2.5 good songs off the one album...they were the definition of a regional band.

Yep. A regional band who had a hit song on constant rotation on MTV, played the cruises and festivals until their retirement, and are still on heavy rotation on the various national stations.

Blow My Fuse went platinum. They had five videos on MTV that got decent to strong rotation. While not world-conquering achievements, they were far from a regional band.

They definitely broke through...but they had been selling out big clubs on the east coast for 10 years at that point, while being totally unknown anywhere else. From what I understand, THE classic gig was Kix at Hammerjacks.

[Bono Nettencourt]

Oingo Boingo. Yes, they became known worldwide, but only because of Elfman's film career. The band itself stayed fairly local in actual practice.

I’m not sure how “big” they were, but I think most people old enough to have been around in the’80s knew the band from MTV and only later, after the Simpsons and Nightmare Before Christmas realized he was “that guy from Oingo Boingo”. Not sure how many people went back and checked out the band because of his later work. it’s not like him becoming a household name did anything for the band. It’s more of a trivia question.

yeah, this mojo take is rubbish.
They were featured in ‘back to school.’

Two different trains that never met. By the time Elfman became famous for his soundtrack work, Boingo was long since over.

[DemonFilth2001]

On a larger scale, I'd put KIX in that category.

Outside their 2.5 good songs off the one album...they were the definition of a regional band.

Yep. A regional band who had a hit song on constant rotation on MTV, played the cruises and festivals until their retirement, and are still on heavy rotation on the various national stations.

Terrible ballad (it's the 0.5 good tune). Then the 2 good ones. All on their only album that sold shit. Cruises are a result of that one album. If they played Charlotte, it'd be at Amos' or Fillmore Underground. They'd get 300 people. If they play Baltimore, they'll get 3000.

Regional band.

[metalnyc]

My dad said the good rats were always big on the club circuit during his days booking shows in nyc and nj. I remember as a kid in the 90s at this bar he had called orphan Annie’s and people would come out like Springsteen was playing in nj

The Good Rats were HUGE in the NY area.

Bruce Kulick even played with them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68xGkL_ZE10

[Hatchets Molly]

Michael Stanley Band.

Good call. A couple of great "hits" but never got too big outside of Cleveland and the north coast.

[HoldenSSV]

Michael Stanley Band.

Good call. A couple of great "hits" but never got too big outside of Cleveland and the north coast.

Agreed. "He Can't Love You", "My Town", and "Lover" are all the songs you need.

[Hatchets Molly]

Michael Stanley Band.

Good call. A couple of great "hits" but never got too big outside of Cleveland and the north coast.

Agreed. "He Can't Love You", "My Town", and "Lover" are all the songs you need.

Poor guy had a ton of health issues leading up to his death. I think once the band dissolved, he DJ'd in Cleveland for WMMS (maybe). They did draw big in Cleveland. I was just a tad too young for my parents to agree to a Bucyrus to Cleveland road trip back in the day.

[daveg]

Tragically Hip. Could sell out any size place in Canada for years yet they played tiny clubs everywhere else. And if it gets sold out, it's all transplanted Canuks.

Even before Gord died, I'd guess Loverboy would draw more in the US, but would be in small clubs in Canada, where the Hip would be in huge arenas.

[Bono Nettencourt]

My dad said the good rats were always big on the club circuit during his days booking shows in nyc and nj. I remember as a kid in the 90s at this bar he had called orphan Annie’s and people would come out like Springsteen was playing in nj

The Good Rats were HUGE in the NY area.

Bruce Kulick even played with them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68xGkL_ZE10

Joe Franco played for them right? Killer drummer.

[Earl Skakel]

First band that popped into my head was Shark Island as they were pretty popular on The Strip and although they got a few videos on MTV they should have been alot bigger IMO as Black was a great frontman who could write good tunes. The band kind of looked like an Amber Alert Billboard but fuck it it was the 80's.

[Shinerrox]

Tragically Hip. Could sell out any size place in Canada for years yet they played tiny clubs everywhere else. And if it gets sold out, it's all transplanted Canuks.

Even before Gord died, I'd guess Loverboy would draw more in the US, but would be in small clubs in Canada, where the Hip would be in huge arenas.

Absolutely.. in 07 The Hip played near me in a absolute tiny club(scout bar, Houston) that maybe 300 people max. Anywhere else they would have been in arenas..
Also here locally maybe the Galactic Cowboys? I know they played larger venues in the late 80s/early 90s here but anywhere else not so much..

[HoldenSSV]

Good call. A couple of great "hits" but never got too big outside of Cleveland and the north coast.

Agreed. "He Can't Love You", "My Town", and "Lover" are all the songs you need.

Poor guy had a ton of health issues leading up to his death. I think once the band dissolved, he DJ'd in Cleveland for WMMS (maybe). They did draw big in Cleveland. I was just a tad too young for my parents to agree to a Bucyrus to Cleveland road trip back in the day.

I think it was WNCX. He hosted a local entertainment TV show too.

[gtrjay]

From Michigan

19 Wheels (E. Lansing / Grand Rapids) - these guys were in the cusp of hitting it big.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5 ... iFGFF87DWf



Domestic Problems (Grand Rapids area but all over State)

https://youtu.be/owaGhEdW_yg?si=m4zrstGopYjK5dKO



The Fags - Detroit. Best band that never made it. Yeah I know the name issue. But their songs were great!

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5 ... lxdaY1ciOV

[Playboyliquor59]

My dad said the good rats were always big on the club circuit during his days booking shows in nyc and nj. I remember as a kid in the 90s at this bar he had called orphan Annie’s and people would come out like Springsteen was playing in nj

The Good Rats were HUGE in the NY area.

Bruce Kulick even played with them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68xGkL_ZE10

I figured this! When I was a kid when my dad would book them in my small town it would be PACKED

[AnthonyFocxsFogMachine]

Cowboy Mouth

The Samples

[DemonFilth2001]

A hair band from Rock Hill, SC. Suburb of Charlotte. Named New York

Huge light show. Props. The works. Released an ep. Signed with a label then vanished.

[Bourbon Cowboy]

people saying Kix?
I guess you could say Shark Island, but they had a major label album and were on MTV. Same as Tuff.
I’d say that’s beyond regional.

A band like Vyper from KC fits the bill

Vyper and Banshee. Vyper were big in KC, Sedalia, Mo and Wichita.
Banshee could sell out shows in KC and Omaha. No real exposure anywhere else. I think they played a couple of clubs in Hollywood after they got signed but never returned.
Got one video on MTV, then the singer got them dropped from Atlantic because he couldn't keep his dick out of their manager's girlfriend.
Too bad for the guitarist who supposedly turned down a gig with Ozzy to stick with the band when they got signed.

Kix was well known around KC since their debut but I don't think they made it here until the Ratt tour in 1988. Local DJ used to play The Kid, Body Talk, Cool Kids and Midnight Dynamite before they released BMF.
Co-headlined a huge sold out show with Warrant, The Front and a couple of local groups in 1990 at Sandstone. Was the same night Warrant filmed the Heaven video.
Every time they've played here before their retirement, they sold out this 500+ capacity club every summer.

[metalmetalrdu]

Sedalia, Mo

This has to be the first mention of Sedalia on this message board. In 1982 or so, I saw my very first concert in Sedalia: The Oak Ridge Boys at the Missouri State Fair.

The Oaks may not have been a regional band, but you know which Missouri band was? The Urge. I'm surprised the St. Louis guy above didn't mention them when he was talking about Pale Divine and KINGOFTHEHILL.

Once when I was in college (about '94), I woke up on a Saturday morning to two guys from The Urge sleeping on my living room floor. They had gone to the same high school as one of my roommates.

#brushwithgreatness

[TheDeadBastard]

Pittsburgh:

Donny Iris
The Gathering Field
Rusted Root (although they did have one national hit)

DC:
Chuck Brown
basically every other Go-Go band

[Bono Nettencourt]

Pittsburgh:

Donny Iris
The Gathering Field
Rusted Root (although they did have one national hit)

Donnie Iris doesn't compute either. He had 3 top 40 solo hits and a #2 with the Jaggerz.

[TheDeadBastard]

Pittsburgh:

Donny Iris
The Gathering Field
Rusted Root (although they did have one national hit)

Donnie Iris doesn't compute either. He had 2 top 40 solo hits and a #2 with the Jaggerz.

I include him simply because his records / concerts continued to sell really well in Western PA looooooong after his National hits.

[Bono Nettencourt]

Whattabout that Joe Gruschecky dude who was a poor man's Springsteen...

[TheDeadBastard]

From Michigan

The Fags - Detroit. Best band that never made it. Yeah I know the name issue. But their songs were great!

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5 ... lxdaY1ciOV

Fucking LOVE anything by John Speck (and frankly all his bands could be in this list: Hoarse, HiFi Handgranades), but that name was instant commercial death. I know they were going for “British euphemism for cigarettes” but no one was going to care.

Another to add to the list, Fags friends/label-mates from Ohio: Watershed. The Fags cover of their song “Black(Bootleg) Concert T-Shirt” is amazing.

[TheDeadBastard]

The Samples

Sean Kelly is the patron saint of career self sabotage.

[Hatchets Molly]

Does anyone know anything about a band from the 90s (I think) named Blackfish? It's hard to find information on them. They put out one album with one song that got radio play, Sweet Sixteen. I dug the CD at the time. I'm assuming they were more regional and didn't break through.

There was also a band in the Carolinas named Still Rain. I think they mainly played the beach coast: Virginia, N and S Carolina, and Ga.