Hanging out so much on the Sunset Strip in the late 80's, we used to see all kinds of bands long before they really hit it big, so I kinda had the deck stacked in my favor. Stuff like GN'R, Motley Crue, Great White... when they were all club bands. It was good times. Everyone knew GN'R was going somewhere and we all thought Winger sucked, but I think that was just cuz we were all tired of every girl in the place falling over herself to get to Kip.
In retrospect, it was pretty cool to watch Reb Beach play live - the guy was amazing - it reminded me of the old days, seeing Racer X in clubs.
There were some really cool bands from that time that I always thought would be big but just never made it. Lone Justice! Rhinobucket (or, as we always called them, Angusbucket... find some of their music and you'll know why).
I remember seeing Melissa Etheridge in clubs in Long Beach and Pasadena in '88 when it was always just a solo acoustic deal. Seeing her with a full band in the spring of '89 was like night and day.
Train at Freight and Salvage in SF in 98 and 99.
I keep waiting for the Young Dubliners or Brother to make it big so I can say I've been seeing their shows for 10 years, but it just hasn't happened yet. Dammit.
Heather Lawson!! And Jonell Mosser! Both incredible, incredible local artists in Nashville. Heather's "Woke Up More" was one of my favorite CDs last year - can't imagine why it wasn't getting airplay somewhere. Jonell has one of the greatest rock/blues voices I've ever heard live. I got lucky enough to see Reese Wynans sitting in with her once, too. That lady's got some pipes. Nashville folks will probably all know who I'm talking about, but you don't hear their names outside of the city much.
Kim Richey, who used to be in Nashville, but recently relocated to Austin. If you like Sheryl Crow, you'd love Kim's most recent release, "Rise." It compares very well with Sheryl's debut... similar vibe (same producer), but Kim has a much better voice and the music is a lot more soulful to my ears. She's really amazing. Just saw her open for Joan Armatrading a couple of weeks back.
keep the music alive!