2nd tier Bands/Entertainers from your country ....who have played a part of your life


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I was in high school in the early '80s in the San Francisco Bay Area and there were two local bands that we listened to all the time and I still listen to today. The first is GAMMA (featuring Ronnie Montrose) and the second is Y&T. Both had moderate success but never really hit it big outside of the Bay Area. And while Montrose (RIP) is a revered rock guitarist who has influenced many, it seems whenever I have asked friends not from the Bay Area if they've heard of GAMMA, that nobody has. What a shame. Great stuff if you like classic hard bluesy rock.

The GAMMA classic "Voyager"

Y&T "Barroom Boogie"

http://youtu.be/gmZmOhgwoqw

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Replacements

Husker Du

Pixies

Everclear

7 Seconds

GOB

Walt Mink

Mustard Plug

Fugazi

Like Sky said, too many to name them all, but these stand out.

Hang your head in shame. Pixies in the second tier? Unforgivable. Jesus. Surprised Mustard Plug and Fugazi are there also. Please apologise for your error.

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One band that checks all the boxes for me has to be the Tragically Hip. Tough picking just one tune to share.

I don't really think it's fair to call the Hip a 2nd tier band. :) Sure... most people in the US have probably never heard of them, but they've got to be one of the most successful bands out there. I saw them for the first time in 1990 in a club in Seattle (Under the Rail for anyone who knows it) and was hooked right away. Between Seattle, Vancouver, and Fargo I can't even count how many times I've seen them in the last 24 years. The dudes are indeed very awesome!

Cheers,

~ Greg ~

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Not 2nd tier but definitely not mainstream either: Rush.

Seen them at least 5 times in concert. Fantastic musicianship, interesting lyrics, great music overall.

Next up. Anvil. Long time, little success heavy metal band from Toronto. Good documentary on them from a few years back is worth the watch. Saw them early on in a dive bar. Great, loud metal. Lots of fun.

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Good topic.

My band would have to be Mother Love Bone:

These guys were poised to become the greatest band in Seattle history. They were *huge* back in Seattle in 1989 and 1990. Their first album, Apple, was slated to be released in mid-1990 and it would certainly have been the first step in a long career for these guys. Except that the lead singer, Andrew Wood, died from an OD just a few days before the album. Wood’s death was a huge deal in Seattle… a day I’ll certainly remember anyhow. The death of Kurt Cobain four years later, as tragic as it also was, was only slightly bigger in severity.

Mother Love Bone’s most famous song, Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns, is one of my all-time favorites:

The influence of Andrew Wood and Mother Love Bone absolutely lived on. A year or so after Wood’s death, two former band members, Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament, and Wood’s former roommate, Chris Cornell, collaborated on a tribute album using the band name Temple of the Dog. Another local fellow by the name of Eddie Vedder did some of the background vocals on a few tracks on that album, most notably on Hunger Strike. Those guys all clicked rather amazingly and they knew that had a good thing, so Gossard, Ament, and Vedder would later go on to form Pearl Jam (along with Mike McCready). Cornell would continue along with his band, Soundgarden. Any 90s Seattle band you can think of – Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Screaming Trees, Tad, Mudhoney, and so many others – were absolutely influenced by Andrew Wood and Mother Love Bone. Wood’s death was tragic and sad, but at the same time it’s great to see just how much the Seattle music scene was influenced by a band that most people have probably never heard of before now.

It’s not uncommon at all for Pearl Jam to perform Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns during their shows. The video below is from last year – and it’s cool seeing how Eddie Vedder shows his appreciation to the band (especially the former Mother Love Bone guys) for taking a chance on him during such a dark time for everyone involved. I still like original version better, but the tribute decades after Wood’s death only shows just how much he meant to those in the Seattle music scene.

Cheers,

~ Greg ~

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Hang your head in shame. Pixies in the second tier? Unforgivable. Jesus. Surprised Mustard Plug and Fugazi are there also. Please apologise for your error.

Damn iPad won't let me put up any smiley faces!

I was going off what people had said about Rush. Not really 2nd tier but not mainstream. They are certainly top tier in my book, but not most.

Don't get me wrong, those are some of my all time favorite bands. Have seen all but GOB multiple times in concert. The Plug was epic at the Triple Rock Social Club in the Fall. For the record, the Pixies are just not the same without Deal.

I clearly have overlooked your list. My bad, brah!

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I don't see how Rush is even mentioned.. lol.

14 platinum albums

Almost 50 million total albums sold

Canadian Music Hall of Fame

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart are some of the most talented musicians to ever touch their instruments. Geddy Lee is no slouch either. They are about as mainstream as it gets in my opinion. Their unique approach doesn't make them a 2nd level band.

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Easy answer: Clutch. Best band most people don't know about.

10001110101

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

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John Prine

(been listening to him for about 20 yrs now)

Don't know if he's "2nd tier", especially as a songwriter, but a lot of people never heard of him. His peak was like the late 70's & 80's, but he's still around.

He's folksy/country, but his music is awesome. I had a chance to see him a few years back. He is losing his voice a bit, but it was still pretty cool.

Mike Pinto

A buddy of mine turned me on to Mike Pinto about 5-6 yrs ago. His music is a mix of a couple genres... Reggae, Ska, Blues & good old R&R. Hes mostly acoustic, which isnt for every one. He started out locally in the Philly area, but now lives on the west coast. He's all over youtube. Great music!

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Mine would have to be Primus as well for when I was a budding bassist. But to be original, Taproot always gets me going.

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