I just stumbled across this website/forum by accident. Boy does this topic bring back a lot of memories. I can contribute a few more names from the mid- to late-80's:

The Adam Schmitt/Lars Gustafsson band was The Farmboys, also with Charlie Dold and Don Gerard.
Don't Talk Back - Tommy Garza, who later joined Last Gentlemen as their human drummer.
The Housepets - Ric Menck/Paul Chastain, later of Velvet Crush and Matthew Sweet's touring band.
Wierd Summer - I think Charlie Dold played with them.
Didjits - not technically from CU, but played Mabels frequently.
Mudhens
Otis and the Elevators



Malcontent wrote:

Quoted message: Here's my reminiscence of some early-mid 1980's regulars that I haven't seen mentioned yet: Club acts: * The Rave * B-Lovers (later Turning Curious. Opening for them and Nix 86 at Mabel's in 1983 was my first live performance). Nick Rudd also did some solo recording (Spine Trail) which was interesting. * Mystery Dots * Peyton, Pace, Tripp (anything with Carla Peyton or Chuck Tripp was awesome, and Andre Valentino Mossotti was an awesome bassist) * Combo Audio * The Elvis Brothers (best live shows ever. If you didn't see them live you can't know how great they were. I was their roadie when I was in high school) * Coalkitchen (w/Carla Peyton, Rob Elvis. "Falling in Love With You" should have been a national hit!) * Mark Rubel's party band was always a huge draw, but I'm drawing a blank on the name. Seminal indie-type stuff from when kids first started picking up guitars: * The Breeders (Ted Purves, Jonno Peltz) * Dangerous Acquaintances (with Henry Frayne and Dave Teitelbaum, I think) * The Permanent Buzz (Charlie Dold. I believe this was the first teen band ever in C-U) * Nanda Devi (Josh Kellman, Eddie ...?) * Adam Schmitt and Lars Gustafsson had a great band in 1984-1985, but I don't remember the name. Adam's 4-track stuff from this time was really great, too. * Adam and Todd Walker had a cool band while Adam was still in H.S. too, covering Talking Heads and stuff like that. Girl singer. Anyone remember? Adam?

Before this thread goes cold, I want to thank Alex and Dennis for the best thing here in a long time. I wish that I could eavesdrop on a conversation among Alex, Dennis, Santanu, and Scott.

NP: Nix 86 ~ SECRETARY

a few old favorites of mine...

Big Daddy Sun and the Outer Planets
Crucial
Mode Zero
Organ Donor

"Snake-neck" Hunter wrote:

Quoted message: Before this thread goes cold,..

OK, I forgot to mention the two vinyl albums I transferred to CD-R for WEFT's local collection:

Coal Kitchen -- A Carbondale band that sold something 40K copies of their album.

Mosaic -- an early 70s C-U band that if I'm not mistaken evolved out of "Afterbirth", which was made up of elements of "Eddy and the Sensations" and perhaps some "Hound Dog" band.

Yeah I played some of the Mosaic album that feldman is talking about on Melifluous Cacophony (WEFT). I think the tracks had some strange titles like: "I'm just a primitive bebop caveman" "stray birds" "present tense"

They reminded me (sonically) of another fusion group called Juggular. (But they didn't have the live juggular onstage) Anyone know where Juggular is now?

There may (med. long shot) be a stray copy available of the Mosaic album at Record Swap. I think that is where my friend picked it up a long time ago (but long after it was being printed.)
edited on 2004-03-09 14:03:30 by DrSalmonDrano

How about…

The Finchley Boys, Shel Silverstein, Dee Dee Bridgewater, REO Speedwagon, Starcastle, Head East, Champaign, Dan Fogelberg, The Vertebrats, The Farmboys, The Martyrs, The Outnumbered, The B-Lovers, The Reverbs, Choo Choo Train, Paul Chastain and Ric Menck, Turning Curious, Artifical Limbs, Buckethead, Dead Relatives, The Breeders, Ack Ack, Rebel Ducks, Weird Summer, The Mudhens, The Elvis Brothers, The Field Triggers, The Bowery Boys, Didjits, Cries and Whispers, The Evidence, Tugrik Dhugugrik, bad flannel, Poster Children, Sixteen Tons, Cabin Pressure Loss, Chrissy Buzzsaw, Love Cactus, Obvious Man, Barbie Army, Last Gentlemen, Nix 86, Combo Audio, The Arms Of Someone New, Area, Titanic Love Affair, Flat Earth Society, Rise, Cowboy X, Load, King Frog, Captain Rat and the Blind Rivets, Reaction Formation, Stamp Act, Lonely Trailer, Proof Of Utah, Adam Schmitt, Matt Allison, Dark Echo, Club Crack, Otis and The Elevators, Black Mannequin, Thumper, Ward, Springfields, Secret Goldfish, Big Jesus Trashcan, The Gutter Poets, Wonkavision, Millipede, Over End Ever, Little Engine, The Shakes, The Judy Gang, Designer Mustard Gas, Lugnut, The Forks, Matt Vic and Dave, Groovy Nipple, Moon Seven Times, We Ate Plato, Mike Clayton/Hot Glue Gun, Honcho Overload, Hum, Mother, Twiggy, The White Family Singers, Zu Zu’s Petals, Overhum Motherload, Buttslamarama, Lovecup, The Lee Harvey Oswald Band, Corndolly, Stark, Sidecar Racers, Spoon, Tiny, Jumpknuckle, Grout Villa, Beezus, Grover, Hubcap, Third Stone, Funky Butt Drum Club, Pathfindaz, Pink Awful, The Viper, Milo, Charlie Dold, Menthol, Catgut, Candylarks, Life Parade, Hinckleys, Spoonbenders, Lorenzo Music, Difficult Listening, C-Clamp, Steakdaddy Six, Morning Becomes Electric, The Texas Navy, Absinthe Blind, April Crash, Bale, The Beauty Shop, Belva Plane, Big Bright Lights, Big Hello, Blown, Bludgers, Braid, Busytoby, Mathlete, Castor, Dick Justice, Mary Me, Feaze, Brendan Gamble, The Great Crusades, Hardvark, Angie Heaton, Karen Hellyer, Herring Boys, Judge Nothing, June & The Exit Wounds, Lanterna, Last Straw, Laurie McColley, Brian Leach, The Like Young, Liquorette, Jack Logan & Bob Kimbell, Lonely Trailer, The Mezzanines, Moon Seven Times, Wendy O'Neal, Philo, Nick Rudd, Salaryman, Sarge, Shades Of Al Davis, Signalmen, Sixteen Tons, Steve Pride, Steve Pride & His Blood Kin, Suede Chain, Sugarbuzz, Superhero Forehead, Three Hour Tour, Tractor Kings, Tummler, Uptighty, Velvet Crush, Very Secretary, Viewfinder, The Violents, Williwaw, Wolfie…

Record Service has the Flat Earth Society album on sale.

Well, now, that's a mighty impressive list! Even though much of it has been covered elsewhere in this post, it did remind me of a couple I'd forgotten about. Somewhere in my junk boxes I have years' worth of Mabel's schedules... have to dig those out someday!

I got to my pal Andy's house this week -- where I like to store my things when I go off gallivanting around the country or the world for years at a time (I just got back Tuesday from a year and a half in China, Burma and Tibet) -- and found a couple of old C-U abums of mine that had sneaked into his record collection, two of which I haven't seen mentioned yet: The First Things and Crayon Rubbings.

The First Things were pretty entertaining, and I thought I'd shoot their album cover and throw it up here for y'all to see. Well, I ended up shooting all three C-U records I found as well as the TFT band photo insert, whch is pretty funny, and put them up on my domain. If you have any interest, you can see them at:

http://www.malcontent.info/albums/albums.htm

That made me think it might be a fun project to try to create a video archive of album covers from C-U. Hmmm... hmmmm.....

Hmmmm,.... I've got an old Combo Audio EP (weren't they more of a Carbondale band?) but what I'm really missing is my old college roomate's copy of "The Ship's" album. Know where I can find one (even on a cassette)?

A few other bands from the 80s that used to play Mabel's...

Carla and the Untouchables
Modern Humans
Organic Advisor
Difficult Listening

Seeing all of these band names brings back memories. One of my first recording sessions doing freelance work was with Last Gentlemen, IIRC...