The Lead - 100 Bands You Needed To Know in 2001: Where Are They Now?

100 Bands You Needed To Know in 2001: Where Are They Now?
AP 297 marked our 13th annual “100 Bands You Need To Know” special, where we profile a hundred of our favorite up-and-coming acts from all walks of musical life. Many of our 100 Bands selections have gone onto fame, fortune and forgetting about AP entirely—and that's okay! We don't hold grudges. (Well, sometimes we do—still waiting on that gold record from [REDACTED]…) Of course, for every mega-star we helped discover, there are plenty more bands who have fallen by the wayside. So take a stroll down memory lane with us as we re-visit every artist featured in the very first 100 Bands You Need To Know special way back in 2001 (AP 152).

CONTRIBUTORS
Scott Heisel [SH]
Brittany Moseley [BM]
Jason Pettigrew [JP]
Cassie Whitt [CW]

!!!
The outfit (pronounced as three consecutive monosyllables, like “chk chk chk,” “pow pow pow,” “uh uh uh”) have continued to fly the funk flag over the course of 17 years. Their fifth album, Thr!!!er, will be issued by Warp in late April. [JP]

33.3
The last time this minimalist jazz band logged into their Myspace was in 2008, and there profile leaves much to be desired. However, aesthetics-usa.com offered a bit more info: 33.3 had a short-lived history, releasing two albums. [BM]

2nd GEN
The nom de plume of electro-terrorist Wajid Yaseen, 2nd Gen signed to Mute Records in 2001 for the release of his migraine-inducing second album, Irony Is. In 2006, he teamed up with Alice Kemp for a similarly uncomfortable project called Uniform and from all indications, he’s still making a racket and getting paid for it. [JP]

THE ACTION TIME
Taking their cues from indie nü-soul construct the Makeup (and maybe the Stooges), this British outfit recorded one album, The Action Time Versus The World, before disappearing into the ether and a dole queue. [JP]

Ryan Adams - 100 Bands You Need To Know in 2001 - Alternative PressRYAN ADAMS
We profiled this alt-country songwriter when his first solo album, Heartbreaker, came out. He's since become pretty massive in the alt-country world, releasing a whopping 12 full-lengths since then as well as marrying former teen pop star Mandy Moore. He recently started a punk band called Pornography who are releasing their debut EP on Record Store Day this year. [SH]

ADULT.
The Detroit-based electro-duo of Nicola Kuperus and Adam Lee Miller are still making great tracks. Last year, electronic label Ghostly International issued the duo’s debut album, 2001’s Resuscitation, for the first time vinyl. [JP]

THE AISLERS SET
The San Francisco indie-pop group seem to have had more resonance with the Brits in their tenure, which includes several releases (most of which were 7-inch singles.) The band toured Europe last November. [CW]

ALICE TEXAS
In the mid-’00s, singer-songwriter Alice Texas, aka Alice Schneider, had a record produced by Bad Seeds/Grinderman drummer Jim Scalvunos, Love is All Around, available for free download on Myspace. Today, we don’t know where Alice or her record went.[JP]

AMEN
Founder/frontman Casey Chaos has amassed a catalog of over 100 songs recorded by him and drummer’s drummer Shannon Larkin. The singer is currently deciding what the fate of those tracks will be. In addition, Chaos has teamed up with Gary Holt (Exodus), Nick Olivieri (Mondo Generator), Dave Lombardo (Slayer, Philm) and producer Ross Robinson for a currently unnamed project. [JP]

AMERICAN HI-FI
They earned their place in the early-’00s pop-punk world with their single “Flavor Of The Weak,” but surprisingly enough, the band are still making music. According to their Facebook page, the guys are in the studio recording a new album. [BM]

TIFFANY ANDERS
The Los Angeles native, whose debut album was produced by PJ Harvey, is still recording music, according to her Myspace. Then again, her last login was in August 2011… [BM]

ANDREW W.K.
The man who puts the “art” in “party” hasn’t let up his schedule, ever. Since we wrote about him 12 years ago, AWK has been touring, recording, motivational speaking, hosting a television show, running a nightclub and taking time to oversee the wedding of at least one AP editor. Seriously, dude makes NATO forces look like slackers. [JP]

THE ANNIVERSARY
This emo-pop quintet took a turn for the classic rock in 2002 with the awesome Your Majesty, then flamed out in 2004 due to creative differences. They've remained dormant ever since, but many of the members have stayed busy in other bands, including the Only Children, Extra Classic and Dre (the short-lived solo project from keyboardist/vocalist Adrienne Verhoeven). [SH]

At The Drive In - 100 Bands You Need To Know in 2001 - Alternative Press
AT THE DRIVE-IN

Ironically, these post-hardcore legends went on hiatus the same month this issue went on sale, when they were at the peak of their momentum. The band splintered into two camps, the Mars Volta and Sparta, before finally reconvening for a series of somewhat well-received reunion shows last summer. Sparta are still active, but the Mars Volta have officially broken up, according to singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala. As for ATDI doing anything in the future, it's doubtful, but never say never… [SH]

THE BELLRAYS
This band was given a full page next to Coldplay’s tiny blurb. We expect what we called “the best punk band Detroit never had” went on to do tremendous things. Our findings: they’re still active, at least. [CW]

BLACK DICE
The band who started as an angular hardcore quintet before morphing into a groovy effect-laden beast have slimmed down to a trio of brothers Bjorn and Aaron Copeland and Aaron Warren. Their sixth album, Mr. Impossible, was released last spring. [JP]

BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB
Peter Hayes and Robert Been remain at the core of this menacing, noisy and remarkably influential psychedelic band. Their seventh album, Specter At The Feast, was released March 19. In addition, guitarist/frontman Been has been performing with the Call, the ’80s alt-rock band his father Michael Been formed. [JP]

BLECTUM FROM BLECHDOM
This electronic music duo from San Francisco are still together making music, albeit relatively infrequently. Check out sphlargh.com for sporadic updates. [SH]

BLOWTOPS
The positively unhinged garage/scuzz-rock outfit from Buffalo, New York, called it a day in 2009, after four LPs, approximately a dozen 7-inches and a double 7-inch tribute set. [JP]

BRIGHT EYES 
Conor Oberst went on to become a saint figure for melancholic hip kids everywhere through his various projects (Desaparecidos, Monsters Of Folk, The Mystic Valley Band, etc.) after getting a massive 20-word write-up in this issue. Something to think about during our next “Lover I Don’t Have To Love” cry session. [CW]

BROADCAST
Tragedy hit this respected British electronic band when lead singer Trish Keenan died in 2011 after contracting swine flu. Their last album, the soundtrack to the film Berberian Sound Studio, was issued by Warp this past January. It’s been reported that sole member James Cargill is working on a new album with vocal performances by Keenan prior to her illness. [JP]

CALLA
Probably best known for their split EP with the Walkmen, this Brooklyn-via-Texas indie rock band have been on hiatus since 2007. They did manage to release six full-lengths before their demise. [SH]

NEAL CASAL
This New Jersey singer/songwriter ended up joining the Cardinals, the backing band of fellow 100 Bands classmate Ryan Adams, in 2005. He's also recorded with the likes of James Iha, Willie Nelson and Rufus Wainwright. His most recent solo album, Sweeten The Distance, came out in 2011. [SH]

CINEMATIC ORCHESTRA
This British electro-jazz ensemble released their first music in five years in 2012, titled In Motion #1. Former AP associate editor Tim Karan was likely super-stoked. [SH]

COLD
After disbanding in 2006, the original lineup reunited in 2008. They released their fifth album, Superfiction, in 2011 proving that some people still care about Cold. [BM]

Alternative Press | Coldplay - 100 Bands You Need To Know in 2001COLDPLAY
They fell into obscurity following the 100 Bands issue never to be heard from again. Moving on… [CW]

 

Alternative Press | Death Cab For Cutie - 100 Bands You Need To Know in 2001
DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE

Seven albums, a platinum record and a few Grammy nominations later, Death Cab For Cutie have managed to successfully navigate the blurry line between indie darling and popular artist. [BM]

RICHARD DEVINE
Kevin Devine’s big brother, currently suffering from an inferiority complex as a recluse in the woods in Georgia.* [CW]
(*We made this up.)

DILLINGER FOUR
One of the greatest—and laziest—punk bands of the modern generation, Dillinger Four have put out a whopping two albums since being included in 2001's 100 Bands special, the most recent, Civil War, coming out in 2008. They play about two shows a year, give or take one, and they're almost always in Minnesota. Still, the songs are so good that we always consider road-tripping. [SH]

DISCO D
In 2007, Disco D, David Aaron Shayman, committed suicide at the age of 26. Besides making his own music, he also produced tracks for artists such as 50 Cent, Nina Sky and Trick Daddy, and recorded commercial tracks for Best Buy, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, Sprite and Xbox. [BM]

THE DISHES
Kiki Yablon, the guitarist we interviewed for this piece went on to become a music editor at the Chicago Reader (a position she quit in 2010). As for the Dishes: They broke up in 2004, with members going on to play in Red Eyed Legends and Camaro Rouge, among others.
update: We received word from Yablon that she was music editor when tapped to be in the issue and went on to be editor-in-cheif. She is now a dog trainer. [CW]

DOVES
History is repeating itself for this U.K. ambient pop ensemble, who announced a break in 2010. They say that if ever they do return, it will be a completely fresh start. That wouldn’t be a first for the band, who restarted from scratch as Doves after they lost their second LP and equipment as former incarnation Sub Sub in a studio fire. [CW]

ECHOBOY
Multi-instrumentalist and producer Richard Warren appears to have not released any music with Echoboy since 2006, but has been working heavily as a solo artist and producer in more recent years. [CW]

ENSIGN
This long-running New Jersey melodic hardcore unit has been relatively inactive since their 100 Bands inclusion, their last proper full-length, The Price Of Progression, coming out two months after this issue was on newsstands. They're not broken up, though; they play shows here and there, and the last time we saw them (at Krazy Fest in 2011), Mikey Erg was playing drums for them. (That makes something like 397 total bands he's played in, by the way.) [SH]

Alternative Press | The Faint - 100 Bands You Need To Know in 2001
THE FAINT
Electro-clash innovators the Faint had a couple really awesome years following their 100 Bands feature, releasing the genre benchmark Danse Macabre later that year and touring the hell out of it (including opening for No Doubt). A few mediocre albums followed, though, and now the band are in the process of rebooting a little bit. Saddle Creek reissued Danse Macabre in a deluxe edition package last year, and it still sounds as killer as it did in 2001. [SH]

THE FIREBIRD BAND
The on-again, off-again project of Braid guitarist/vocalist Chris Broach released a handful of records throughout the past decade, but none have gotten as much attention as Braid's ongoing reunion, which will result in a new full-length later this year. [SH]

GODSPEED YOU BLACK EMPEROR!
The post-rock band of brothers (seriously, there are a lot of them) released Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend! their first album in more than a decade last October. [BM]

Alternative Press | Good Charlotte - 100 Bands You Need To Know In 2001
GOOD CHARLOTTE

The Madden bros make regular red carpet struts of late and these dudes are still churning out tunes (intermittently, and with more electronics now) with four out of five of the members featured in 2001 still intact. It’s all done with the help of a lot less hair gel these days. [CW]

GWENMARS
This Los Angeles alt-rock trio have been quiet for quite some time. They made a Myspace page in 2006 that was last logged into in 2009, so it's safe to say they're done. [SH]

HALF COCKED
With a name like that, is it any surprise Half Cocked are no more? They released three albums before splitting up a year after the100 Bands issue came out. [BM]

HEY MERCEDES
Formed out of the other three-fourths of Braid (sorry, Chris Broach!), Hey Mercedes had a solid few years on the Vagrant roster, putting out two great albums, 2001's Everynight Fire Works and 2003's Loses Control. They played their last show in Chicago in April 2005 (and it was awesome, by the way), but they occasionally re-form for one-off gigs. The focus is definitely on Braid for the time being, though. [SH]

HIGH ON FIRE
These fume-rock kings have continued to ply their mix of decibels and disaster for more than 15 years in ways that most bands simply can’t. Their first album, The Art Of Self-Defense, was reissued last year on Southern Lord, which should easily take your mind off of how that reunited Black Sabbath album might sound. [JP]

THE HOPE CONSPIRACY
Shortly after being featured in this issue, Hope Con played a show in San Diego that resulted in a crowd member getting injured and subsequently suing the band. An out-of-court settlement later, and the band were cleared—but in debt to their record label, Equal Vision, to the tune of $10,000. Not exactly the easiest hurdle to overcome. Unfortunately, the band's momentum has pretty much been nonexistent since, although they did release a totally killer LP in 2006 called Death Knows Your Name, and its follow-up, 2009's True Nihilist EP, wasn't bad either. Come back, Hope Con! Hardcore needs you. [SH]

NEILSON HUBBARD
The 40-year-old Mississippi native is still doing the singer/songwriter thing and has four solo albums under his belt. [BM]

IDLEWILD
These Scottish rockers don't have much in the way of a U.S. fanbase anymore, but they're still popular in the U.K., where they racked up a few gold and silver albums throughout the past decade. They've been on hiatus since 2010. [SH]

(Continue to second page)

IFFY
If we are to combine the wisdom of AP 152 and Foodchain Records, this band was a funky electronic four-piece, but no one would know that these days–their official website is just a picture of a building. [CW]

ILLYA KURYAKI & THE VALDERRAMAS
This Argentinean duo with a mouthful of a band name split in 2001 to pursue solo careers but reunited in 2011. [BM]

THE JANUARIES
Stop everything you’re doing and go to foodchainrecords.com/_januarys. Then bask in the wonderfully awful design of this web page circa 1999. It will brighten your day. The internet doesn’t offer much info on the retro-influenced band, but with outfits that would make Cher and Celine Dion jealous, who cares? [BM]

JAPANCAKES
The band released seven albums between 1999 and 2007, but not much has been heard from the alt-country/indie-rock outfit since. [BM]

JEGA
Dylan Nathan, aka Jega, came up through the late-’90s British electronica scene. His last record was a two volume set called Variance. [JP]

KID MILLION
This indie-pop band fizzled out shortly after being featured in 100 Bands, but their frontman, David Singer, went onto a reasonably successful solo career, releasing albums on Deep Elm Records and his own label, the Sweet Science. He still gigs around Chicago. [SH]

THE KILLING FLAME
Though The Killing Flame’s Equal Vision Records page still exists, more information on the Orange County hardcore collective featuring members of Unity and Ignite is hard to come by. The band released Save Yourself, tagged as “their third (and final?) full-length record,” through 1124 Records in 2010 and have remained fairly quiet otherwise. [CW]

KINGSBURY MANX
The first thing you find when you search for these guys is “Kingsbury Manx | New album “Bronze Age” out 3/5/13!” Clearly, they’re still releasing music, and if you’re interested, you can stream Bronze Age now. [CW]

LADYTRON
This Liverpool dark electro quartet have kept up their momentum over the years (mostly in the U.K.) and released their fifth album Gravity The Seducer in 2011. Just last month, they unveiled a new video for “International Dateline.” However, vocalist Helen Marnie’s PledgeMusic page for her solo project, Marnie, notes that the group are currently on brief hiatus. Note: It only took three days for Marnie to reach full funding on PledgeMusic. [CW]

LE SHOK
This scrappy post-punk synth-driven outfit featuring members of Treadwell, FM Bats and the Locust were around from 1997 before imploding in 2001 after one LP (We Are Electrocution) and a handful of 7-inch singles. [JP]

LIVE HUMAN
This hip-hop trio obviously didn’t have to worry about Google-ability when they named their group. Besides a bio ca. 2000 on matadorrecords.com, Live Human’s career remains a mystery. [BM]

LONGWAVE
This Brit-pop-inspired New York indie band last shared a new video on their beautifully designed website a year ago, but beyond actually having a website that doesn’t look like Xanga, they don’t seem to be up to much lately. For now, as their Facebook says, “the band is resting” and members are focusing on new projects Hurricane Bells, Falcon and Dead Heart Bloom. [CW]

LORAXX
Chicago noise-rockers Loraxx have been defunct for quite some time, which is a shame—but it also means that their name is fair game for a dubstep DJ to snatch up, right? [SH]

LUCID NATION
This riot grrrl band has 16 former members. Their future is looking politically active as ever, but they may want to weed out the bad seed who’s driving everyone away before they continue. [CW]

MATMOS
The electronic duo of Drew Daniel and Martin Schmidt have been making heady electronic music since 1995. They recently had their ninth album, The Marriage Of True Minds, issued by Thrill Jockey earlier this year. [JP]

MEAN RED SPIDERS
Four records and several member changes later, the Canadian band are still making music. Their last album came out in 2003. [BM]

MELLOW
French hippies who have released music sparingly throughout the years, but ‘lo! It appears they’re planning to release more of their ‘60s-‘70s-inspired music into the world this year. Righteous, dude. [CW]

SHANNON McNALLY
The singer songwriter has enjoyed a solo career, as well as a high-profile stint touring in Rufus Wainwright, as well as being in the same issue of AP (166) alongside Dashboard Confessional, Avril Lavigne, Pete Yorn and John Mayer. [JP]

MILLIGRAM
Definitely not an internet-friendly name, but luckily enough The Boston Globe caught up with the band last year. In their eight years together, they released one EP and one full-length. In 2012, they played a handful of reunion shows. [BM]

Alternative Press | Mindless Self Indulgence - 100 Bands You Need To Know in 2001

MINDLESS SELF INDULGENCE
These cuddly, smarmy electro-punk jerks have gone completely DIY for their sixth album, How I Learned To Stop Giving A Shit And Love Mindless Self Indulgence. The rec will be available on their U.S. tour beginning in late March, in case you were too dumb to back them on Kickstarter. [JP]

MIRA
These Floridian shoegazers with a demanding Spanish name (Translated: “Look”) disbanded in 2006 after seven releases, and have been heard only through The Echo Lingers On, a collection of demos and outtakes, since. [CW]

MOREL
In 2001, AP described the now dance music producer Richard Morel’s 2001 project as “a sexy gloom-pop band.” Morel spends more time remixing other artists’ work as Pink Noise than he does creating original solo pieces. [CW]

NOBODY
Hip-hop producer Nobody didn’t realize in 2001 that nobody would be able to find him under his vague moniker online in 2013, so who the hell knows where he is. (Actually, he appears to still be DJ-ing in Los Angeles.) [CW]

ONEIDA
Brooklyn psych-rockers Oneida have stayed very busy since appearing in the first 100 Bands special. They've released nearly an album a year since 1999, many of them on Indiana label Jagjaguwar. [SH]

ORGANIC AUDIO
Andy Spence started Organic Audio in 1999. Since his days in the jazz/funk/electronic outfit, he’s kept producing music, for other musicians and for films. [BM]

OXES
These next-gen no-wave/math-rock instigators from Maryland released several EPs, but are best known for writing some songs similar to hateful noise-mongers Arab On Radar, so they issued said recordings as a split 10-inch with AOR—without telling them. We’ve been told they’re still around, to the chagrin of a couple… [JP]

TRAVIS PICKLE
Another band lost in the shuffle of the internet age. But at least they had a memorable name. [BM]

THE PILOT SHIPS
Not much is said online of the Pilot Ships after their sophomore album, The Limits Of Painting And Poetry, came out in 2000. And you know, if it’s not online, it’s not important. [BM]

THE QUARTER AFTER
If you Google this folk-pop band, the first thing you get is their website, which is plastered with a quote that appeared in this very 100 Bands special. We're not sure if we should be flattered they liked our words so much or saddened that literally no one has written about them since. [SH]

QUEENADREENA
After the collapse of early-‘90s rockers Daisy Chainsaw (the band CIV stole the riff for “Set Your Goals” from), singer KatieJane Gartside and post-punk/glam guitar genius Crispin Gray relaunched their career in this band, recording six full-lengths between 2000-2008. These days, Gray slings a mean riff in his new band, the Dogbones, while Gartside makes more subdued music in Ruby Throat. [JP]

RAINER MARIA
After we profiled them in this special, coed emo trio Rainer Maria uprooted themselves from Madison, Wisconsin, to Brooklyn, but thankfully didn't change their sound to whatever hipsters were rocking at the time. They continued to put out great records until breaking up in December 2006. In this writer's opinion, they are extremely overdue for a reunion. My basement is always available, guys. [SH]

SATANICIDE
Their facebook tagline reads “Never has so much c*#k graced a single stage!” Sounds like the tongue-in-cheek, hair-metal throwback band are doing just fine. [CW]

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
This “eclectic, instrumental hip-hop” artist’s stage name makes us wonder if the eponymous magazine found and sued him into oblivion. Upon searching his “real name” (C.A. Rohrmann), I have to wonder if this is an elaborate 2001 AP joke; because, the only Rohrmann I can find is, indeed, a scientist who pens articles for journals like Scientific American. [CW]

SHALABI EFFECT
Another instrumental psychedelic rock band? Really, 2001 AP?All of their album covers are beyond stoner-hipster-tastic, and Pitchfork took the time to review their albums, so they’re still on someone’s radar. [CW]

THE SHINS
Also known as “that band that got famous because of Garden State.” Still together. Still making music. Only now they look like grown-up hipsters. [BM]


SIGUR RóS

Masters of ebbing and flowing post-rock, the Icelandic delegation issued their sixth album, Valtari in 2012, before bidding farewell to multi-instrumentalist Kjartan “Kjarri” Sveinsson earlier this year. The band are planning to continue as a trio with additional touring members, and are releasing a new album, Kveikur, on June 18. [JP]

SMALLSTONE
They were a band from L.A. who put out some music and probably broke up, but we’ll never know because they were around before Wikipedia was big. [BM]

SONG OF ZARATHUSTRA
Spazzy screamo pioneers Song Of Zarathustra came to an end in 2003, but that doesn't mean their records still aren't worth picking up. Start with their split with Racebannon and move backward, you won't be disappointed. [SH]

SUNNA
This British industrial-rock band were on the verge of breaking through in 2001, then a series of lineup changes and the changing musical tide left them out in the cold. They eventually released their sophomore album, Two Minute Terror, in 2009, but by that point, just about everybody had moved on. [SH]

SUNSTORM
The only outfit we found by this name was one featuring former Rainbow singer Joe Lynn Turner (ask your ‘rents). The one in this issue was a Los Angeles-based space-rock band that had a contact website called comeongohigher.com—which you can now buy! [JP]

TITAN
La información de esta banda es sólo en espanol. Pues, no sé. [CW]

TRAM
No, not the side project from Animals As Leaders axe master Tosin Abasi. This Tram was the British duo of Paul Anderson and Nick Avery, who created several records of moody, austere “slowcore” before adjourning in 2001. Four years ago, the duo regrouped under the name the 99 Call, with a more glitchy electronic edge. [JP]

TREMBLING BLUE STARS
The U.K. band was the brainchild of Robert Wratten (ex-the Field Mice). They released seven albums before calling it quits in 2010. [BM]

TRISTEZA
This California-based instrumental-rock band have remained active since their 100 Bands feature, releasing tons of music since on a variety of labels and touring frequently. At this point, though, they're more known as the previous band of Jimmy LaValle, who left the group in 2003 to focus entirely on his solo project, the Album Leaf. [SH]

THE TYDE
If the vague Facebook page with 32 listed band members we found for this group is any indication, they’re still active, though they have released only three albums since 2001. The surf-loving 32-some look like they’re stuck in the ‘70s. Perhaps it’s time for an update, gang. [CW]

V/VM
British sound artist Leyland Kirby would sample and electronically mangle other people’s hits with results that were at times sinister, hilarious and unfathomable. He now makes spooky, unsettling ambient records under his own name and the moniker of the Caretaker. [JP]

VANCOUVER NIGHTS
The band who are indeed from Vancouver (irony didn’t catch on until a few years later), released a self-titled album, but their Myspace bio concentrates on the band’s founder, Sarah Lapsley who studied classical music, fronted a female punk band, founded a “tongue-in-cheek” Christian-folk ensemble and took part in the riot grrl movement. Whew. [BM]

VAST
Short for “Visual Audio Sensory Theater,” VAST—aka Jon Crosby—are still plugging away at the dwindling industrial-rock landscape, having released a live album in 2011. [SH]

VLADISLAV DELAY
A pseudonym of Finnish electronic musician Sasu Ripatti, Vladislav Delay released their newest album, Kuopio, last year. [SH]

THE VOGUE
The Vogue released one album before morphing into Soiled Doves who broke up before their first album came out. Fun fact: Lead vocalist and founding member Johnny Whitney would go on to form the Blood Brothers. [BM]

VUE
These San Francisco rockers made two records for Sub Pop before jumping to RCA. The label did nothing for them, despite getting some really good tours. The members are now in a band called Bellavista who are heavy on the neo-psychedelic grooves. [JP]

THE WARLOCKS
This psychedelic eight-piece are still active, but appear to have never caught on heavily in their 14 years as a band. They have a new album in the works that is likely to be ready for release “fall 2013 or January 2014,” according to a recent blog post. [CW]

WE RAGAZZI
Fronted by the amazing vocalist/guitarist Anthony Rolando, this no-wave/garage rock Chicago trio called it a day in 2004. Go download their debut album, Suicide Sound System, and blast “I Want A New Crush To Live For” right now. [JP]

WILLARD GRANT CONSPIRACY 
The alt-country band’s only permanent member is Robert Fisher, but dozens of other musicians have contributed live and in the studio. Their latest album, Paper Covers Stone, came out in 2009. [BM]

HANK WILLIAMS III
The grandson of Hank Williams and the son of Hank Williams Jr. grew up playing in punk bands, and mixed that with his country lineage to create his own sound. Williams is still making music, and still rockin’ the cowboy hat. [BM]