Seven Mary Three - "Cumbersome"

Hell has frozen over! I've written a new blog post. I apologize for not updating this blog regularly and can't make any promises about the future, but I will try my best to make this a consistent thing. I've gotten requests to do this band since the beginning, so hope you all enjoy.

The Basics: Seven Mary Three (aka 7M3--their decal ready abbreviation) were a mid-90s grunge band who released the single "Cumbersome," which his #1 on the Mainstream Rock charts, #7 on the Modern Rock Charts and #39 on the Hot 100. At the time, the band was heavily criticized for being Pearl Jam imitators. If the accusation is indeed true (spoiler: it is) then 7M3 were some sort of pioneer--one of the first in a long line of PJ imitators that would come to include Nixons, 3 Doors Down, Creed, Nickleback, and yes, even my beloved Stone Temple Pilots. The band cried all the way to the bank as their first album, 1995's American Standard sold millions.

Tell Me More: 7M3 originated in Williamsburg, VA. The songwriting duo of Jason Ross and Jason Pollock met while attending the College of William & Mary and began an acoustic duo--Ross sang, Pollock played guitar and they split the song-writing duties. Soon, the duo were joined by drummer Giti Khalsa and bassist Casey Daniel, and the band (named from a bit of dialogue from CHiPs) toured bars and clubs throughout the Southeast. In 1994 they released their independently produced debut, Churn. The album caught the attention of several entities including the label Mammoth Records and was given airtime by rock-radio DJs in Orlando, FL. Spurred by the attention their single "Cumbersome" received, the band moved to the crap-music mecca Orlando re-recorded Churn, added two new songs and slapped a new title on it: American Tradition. "Cumbersome" became a mega-hit, and soon the band was offered a contract with Atlantic Records. After seven months of bad reviews and hundreds of hours of airplay, the album went platinum.

The First Single: "Cumbersome" is an extremely hateable song. If one was so inclined, it would be quite easy to trace a path that led from this song to the entire post-grunge movement. Nickleback, Puddle of Mudd, Creed, Staind, even Daughtry--this song is the cornerstone for that sound in the same way glam rock was kicked off by Marc Bolan's "Ride a White Swan," or how "6 in the Mornin'" by Ice-T started gangsta rap. It's arguable, but when you hear it, you just know. This is the birth of the sound that has ruled rock radio for nigh on fifteen years.

Now, am I blaming Seven Mary Three? Not at all. They were just doing what was popular at the time. The sound was still somewhat vital then--at least in parts of the country outside Seattle. They were there for the last gasp--the death rattle--of grunge. They didn't know that sound would rape radio listeners' ears for over a decade--pouring sludgy riffs, hoarse vocals and unnecessarily angsty and laughable lyrics into the heads of teens (though 7M3's careers would be in much better shape right now had they had that kind of foresight). They were just college guys in a bar band mimicking the music they loved, like tons of bar bands imitate the Stones or Stevie Ray Vaughn or Dave Matthews. I can't hate them for that--but I don't have to like the music either.

It's not that it's a bad song, really. It rocks pretty hard and has a decent hook and it does a fine approximation of the Seattle sound (if a bit more straight forward and wholly without much in the way of nuance or dynamics), but it's hard to hear it with fresh ears after being subjected to the bands that sprung fully formed from 7M3's crusty afterbirth. Granted, if forced to choose between 7M3 and the bands they influenced, I'd take them any day of the week. But at the end of the day, why listen to the east coast facsimile of the Sub Pop sound at all? Why not just throw on Ten instead? Or one of the less-successful but far superior Washington-area bands like the Screaming Trees or Mudhoney?

As noted in the first part, the song was a huge hit on radio and MTV and gave way to another single that did surprisingly well.




The Second Single: "Water's Edge" A surprisingly lame song considering it was rumored to be based on the badass '80s Keanu Reeves movie River's Edge. Like the film, the song is about a young narrator finding a dead body by the river. Just like with their hit, 7M3 kept things dreary and gray on the second single. The one thing you can say for this song is that it may be the entire basis for (ultimate-crap rockers) 3 Doors Down's entire sound. Honestly, I'm getting more and more fired up about trying some sort of voodoo thing where we cut off the collective head of 7M3 with the idea that their minions--3DD, Daughtry, Hoobastank, etc.--will turn to ash.

The video featured a young boy walking in the woods and spotting a strange man and discovering a tent and...you know what? This video is pretty fucking boring. I apologize, but I can't be bothered to finish it. I read the description of the rest of it on Wikipedia and there's some shit about puppets cavorting in a tent and harassing a woman or something. Sounds like I should have kept watching but c'mon--there's a full minute of an old man walking before the song even starts, what do you want from me? If you can make it through, kudos, tell me if I'm missing something great.

"Water's Edge" reached #7 on Mainstream charts, #37 on Modern Rock charts and failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100.

Where are they now? Seven Mary Three's day in the sun didn't last long. Their follow-up album, RockCrown, veered away from the hard-rock angst towards a more folky-acoustic angst, but it didn't matter--they were seen as grunge and grunge was dying (or hibernating). Reviews were no good (Rolling Stone gave it two out of five stars), sales were poor, and the rock radio DJs who had previously championed the band had turned their backs on 7M3 in favor of the pop-punk, rap rock and nu metal that would soon slither their way into the tape decks of every rock radio station in the country. RockCrown reached #75 on the Billboard charts. If we've learned nothing from this site, it's that more often than not, the public can smell a one hit wonder before even the record label. Atlantic gave them another album.

Orange Ave. arrived in 1998 to poor sales, although it spawned a minor hit with "Over Your Shoulder." The single reached #7 on the Mainstream Rock charts, a position they would reach once more in 2001 with "Wait" from The Economy of Sound, their first album after the departure of founding member Jason Pollock. The album also featured a return to Mammoth Records (no longer affiliated with Atlantic). The song (which also appeared on the soundtrack to the Kirsten Dunst vehicle Crazy/Beautiful) featured a decidedly lighter 7M3; far more classic rock oriented than their previous output--they no longer sound like they're auditioning to be the background band in Cameron Crowe's Singles. It's actually not half bad as far as turn of the century rock radio goes--but that could just be the scantily clad Dunst from the video hynotizing me with her dance moves.



Two more albums have followed with minimal fanfare and terrible titles--2004's Dis/Location and 2008's day&nightdriving. 2008 also saw a re-release of their independent debut, Churn. The new songs feature a band that has moved far closer to folk and roots-rock oriented sound. In other words, they sound like a band from Virginia, instead of a band from Virginia trying to sound like they crawled out of a rain-drenched Seattle suburb. Can't say I blame them, and actually give them props for it. Not sure I'd ever buy their albums, but by making a point to move away from "the song that launched a thousand shitty bands" towards something more enjoyable, I gain a new found respect.

7M3 can still be found touring the country, and in fact are coming to my neck of the woods this October. If there's any interest, I may trek out to the club to see them and write up a review. "The Second Single -- ON THE SCENE" how does that sound? Or is this one of those ideas that sounds better on paper?

Download: Seven Mary Three - Cumbersome
Download: Seven Mary Three - Water's Edge

Straight Outta the Buzz Bin #2: Toadies and a rant on post-grunge

In the wake of Nirvana's success, tons of bands deemed "grunge" got signed to major labels. I'm not talking about the indie, alternative bands that majors raided to fill up their rosters in a vain attempt to discover the next Nirvana. No, I'm talking about the bands that were heavily mining Nevermind for how to construct this new sound even before Nirvana's tragic end.

Around the same time, a young, unknown comic progeny named Ben Stiller had a short-lived show on the Fox network entitled, The Ben Stiller Show, featuring Andy Dick, Janeane Garafalo and Bob Odenkirk and written by some dude named Judd Apatow.

Anyways, the show featured skits mostly making fun of movies or TV shows, and a whole lot laughing at the self-seriousness of the Gen-X movement. One of the best was a parody of the '60s live-action cartoon show The Monkees--The Grungies.

The Grungies

Ahead of its time, if you ask me.

Grunge was still cool at the time of Stiller's show and the genre hadn't yet given way to the awful crap that was to come--a type of music that essentially was a parody of the Seattle scene. Indeed, this genre continues to plague us almost 15 years later. You hear it any time you turn your dial to the modern rock station, under the guises of bands with nonsensical names like Hoobastank and Nickleback. It spills out of the car windows of teenagers driving their grandma's car while they sit bobbing their head in the driver's seat wearing their backwards hats and black t-shirts they bought at Sam Goody. That's right, it's POST-GRUNGE!

I will give you a minute to clean up, because you no doubt just shit yourself at the very mention of that name. Now, what is the difference between grunge and post-grunge? Funny you should ask.

Grunge - adopting the sludgy sounds of metal gods Black Sabbath and the lyrical and musical attack of punk godfathers like The Stooges, grunge conveyed elements of heavy metal and punk with loud, distorted guitars, apathetic lyrics, and loud-soft dynamics. Hardcore punk/sludge metal bands like Black Flag and the Melvins--from nearby Montesano, Washington--were often name checked as huge sources of inspiration. However, there was also a notable influence from indie-rock, an influence which grew after heavier grunge bands like Mudhoney, Soundgarden and Green River gave way to more melodically inclined bands like Nirvana, who were as influenced by indie-rockers like R.E.M., the Pixies and Dinosaur Jr as they were hardcore and metal. Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and their hybrid, Temple of the Dog, also show a large classic rock influence--namely that of Led Zeppelin.
Other grunge bands of note: Mother Love Bone, Screaming Trees, Alice in Chains.

Post-grunge - (with help from allmusic.com) a subgenre of alternative rock and a derivative of grunge music that began after the mainstream success of bands out of Washington like Nirvana, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam around 1994. Post-grunge incorporates many of the features of grunge music: loud-quiet dynamics, distorted guitars, angst-ridden lyrics, lead singers with scratchy, angsty voices or voices that flat out rip-off Kurt Cobain or Eddie Vedder, BUT, the music is generally more slickly produced, radio-friendly and without the idiosyncrasies and nuances of the bands that influenced them. Post-grunge bands generally took the loud guitars, angsty singers, perceived self-seriousness, and of course, the long, greasy hair and flannel shirts, and homogenized it into faceless commercial radio-rock. Also note that post-grunge started off okay, quickly became mediocre and now is the scourge of the music world.
See: Days of the New, Bush, Live, Collective Soul* and later Creed, Hinder, Seether, Staind, etc. As of 2009, post-grunge has gone from being "alternative rock" in the mid-90s to taking over modern rock radio almost entirely.

That's not to suggest that all post-grunge bands were bad and all grunge bands were good. Post-grunge had some great acts like Local H, and grunge had its fair share of crappy acts, one of which I choose not to name for fear of an enormous backlash from their rabid fanbase.

One of the bands who came straight out of the gates following the success of Nevermind--and happened to be actually decent--was the Ft. Worth, Texas band, Toadies. Clearly influenced by the Pixies as much as Nirvana and grunge, the band mixed their post-grunge sounds with a menacing psychedelic influence and an occasional touch of southern blues rock (think a hard-edged ZZ Top).

Started in 1989 by head songwriter/lead vocalist Todd Lewis, the band issued a series of self-released cassette singles before releasing an EP titled Pleather in 1993. The EP--which featured an early version of the soon-to-be-classic "Possum Kingdom"--gained the attention of major record labels and after singing to Interscope, the band released their first full-length, Rubberneck, in 1995.

The first single, "Possum Kingdom" (or as it was listed on Napster back in the day, "Do You Wanna Die?") is one of the best and best-known hard rock singles of the post-Nirvana era. It's one of the few classics to come from this period, and one listen to the song shows why. Something of a grunge epic, the tune features a crushing riff, three distinct (and equally ass kicking) sections, a time signature change, and tells a strange story that--depending on whom you ask--is either about vampires, the Zodiac killer, a girl losing her virginity, a rape, or some kind of ghost story. Taking a cue from Phil Collins, whose "In the Air Tonight' has experienced years of success based on its creepy plot, Lewis never gave a straight answer to the press or fans, but did explain his inspirations. The song is named after Possum Kingdom State Park and Lewis claimed at the time that it was inspired by stories he'd heard concerning the park's "eerie lake" where he and his family used to barbecue. Nevertheless, the group reportedly gained a large vampire following--that is to say, lame Buffy fans in Tampa liked to put in fake teeth and dress like Dracula and come to Toadies shows and sing along. Think of the old SNL skit, "Goth Talk" with Molly Shannon and Chris Kataan and you've got a good idea of this fanbase. Don't get any ideas, Twilight fans.

The supremely creepy music video--which opens with a body bag being pulled from a lake--did nothing to dissuade any creepy interpretations of the song. (Oh yeah, and that is a chick bass player--the ultimate sign of a good alternative rock band. Or at least a sign that you like the Pixies and/or Sonic Youth.)

The song was a smash hit, charting high on the Modern Rock and Mainstream Rock charts and even cracked the Hot 100. Not bad for a song that repeatedly asks the listener if they would like to die.

"Possum Kingdom" was one of five singles off Rubberneck released by the label, which may sound like overkill, considering that means nearly half the album being played on rock radio--not a common occurence unless you're Red Hot Chili Peppers. Despite the airplay, "Mister Love," "Backslider" and "Tyler" all failed to chart, even though the latter even featured its own video. The only one that had any staying power was "Away"--the direct follow-up to "Possum Kingdom."

"Away" starts out like a Nirvana deep cut with its soft-loud-soft dynamics and guitarist Darrell Herbert's snakey lead fills which sound possessed by the Pixies Joey Santiago. But once you get past the obvious influences and realize that the Toadies concern themselves more with crafting great riffs and writing above average lyrics than creating something original, you start to realize just how good the song is. It's not quite as epically awesome as "Possum Kingdom"--though it does feature a similar, truncated structure--but it's got that same underlying creepiness, a bone-crushing riff and a good level of head-bangability. When Nirvana has ended prematurely and the Pixies have folded, and you're still yearning for some heavy, well constructed rock, the Toadies--and "Away" especially--fit the bill.



"Away" went to #23 on the Mainstream Rock chart and #28 on the Modern chart.

I also have to include "Tyler," just because it's a great rock song. Talk about unoriginal--I'm fairly certain this song is on Doolittle by the Pixies. But guess what? I don't care, cause the song is so goddamn hooky and fun. If you're going to steal, do it well, and steal from the best (but maybe don't let Frank Black hear you, he might start asking for royalties). While it wasn't a hit, it became a favorite at Toadies shows and still received tons of airplay.

So now then. With a hit album that went gold immediately and platinum a year later, the Toadies were primed to be a successful band, and not just a one-hit wonder. So what the hell happened?

Like with most of these bands, their label screwed them. After touring for two years with bands like Butthole Surfers and Red Hot Chili Peppers, the band eventually headed back into the studio. After recording a full album titled Feeler, which was being eyed for a 1998 release, the band handed the finished recordings to Interscope--but the label rejected them. After the rejection, the band, worn out from the road and without an album to promote, decided to take a break to write new songs and didn't reconvene until 2000. Salvaging some of the Feeler songs, the band finally went back into the studio with Rubberneck producers Tom Rothrock and Rob Schnapf, and came out with Hell Below/Stars Above. The album was a commercial failure

That's when the real trouble began. The album was released in spring 2001, seven years after their debut and things had changed. Five months after the album's release, Lewis called the Dallas Observer to announce that bassist Lisa Umbarger had quit and that the rest of the band would not be continuing on as the Toadies. The band would reconvene sporadically to play a few dates in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area but did not officially reunite until 2007.

During the interim, Todd Lewis began a new band, Burden Brothers, with Reverend Horton Heat drummer Taz Bentley. The band released a full-length in 2006, but a funny thing happened with the Toadies. The band released a couple of live albums in 2002 and 2006, and sales were enough to suggest to Lewis that maybe the Toadies weren't dead after all. With some old members and new bassist Doni Blair, Lewis brought the Toadies back for a couple of local festival shows in 2006, and a year later, the Toadies hit the road for a small tour around Texas, hitting spots in Houston, Austin and Dallas.

After a couple of years of activity on their MySpace page, in May 2008, the group announced the release of their third album of all new material, No Deliverance. The album was released in August 2008 and received a big promotional push from the Toadies new label, Kirtland Records. The single "Song I Hate" shows the Toadies back to doing what they do best--hard, catchy rock that's derivative as hell, but still damn good.

So for all my blathering about post-grunge (and really, there is some horrendous crap out there), there are a lot of worse things in music than being unoriginal. If you're looking for a solid rock band that will bring to mind the greats of '80s indie rock/grunge, check out Rubberneck or Hell Below/Stars Above next time you're in a a CD store with a cutout bin or used section. And catch these guys on tour this year, their live show will melt your sneakers.

Download: Toadies - Possum Kingdom
Download: Toadies - Away
Download: Toadies - Tyler
Download: Toadies - Possum Kingdom (live)

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*Collective Soul was really more of a pop-rock band that had been marketed and styled as grunge, but had no real connection to the genre and are unfairly labeled "post-grunge," even by assholes like me