Early times
Frankfort, Joliet, Chicago, the World...
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Early times Frankfort, Joliet, Chicago, the World... |
| Dan Sopher and Paul Kamp met at a local dive bar, Reflections in Frankfort, Illinois, in early June 1989. The two discussed starting a band based on their shared "likes", Husker Du, Replacements, Smiths, REM, the Cure, and as a counterstatement to the current popularity of hair metal acts. The first gig (6/14/1989, with Mark Blachowicz on bass) was only a few days later, and sure enough the gig was shared with hair metallers "Blue Steel". The club owner invited Busker back for that weekend's opening slot. Busker played 15-20 shows around Chicago that year with Chris Klein joining on bass in mid-December. On 12/29/1989 that lineup, which played together for the next 11 years, did their first show (at Reflections). | 
Busker
in 1990, Sue Egizio
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Demo Uno Cover |
The band recorded their first
"studio" tape, after a couple of amateur 4 track efforts, with Jeff Islinger
at Hairbear Studios in Alsip, Illinois. Demo Uno was finished in
October 1990. It was sent it to New Route magazine (N.Y.C.) and to
the band's surprise, Busker Soundcheck was picked as one of the Top Five
new bands in the U.S. Around this time Busker played regular shows at places like PJ Flaherty's in Evergreen Park, occasionally with two other bands from the southside of Chicago, Boom Hank and the Poorboys. All three bands were gauging their progress by the gigs they were getting from clubs in Chicago, in particular Metro, and any mentions in the Chicago Tribune, Illinois Entertainer and Daily Southtown. |
| In 1991, Busker Soundcheck played the Saturday night Midwest Music Conference showcase at Metro. This was a 2 AM slot, but because Urge Overkill, Poster Children and some other big shows of the weekend were letting out around 1 AM, the venue was packed. This was when Busker started to feel like rock stars, and both the Reader and New City hinted strongly that the new band was the smash of the conference. This was the same treatment the press had given a band called the Smashing Pumpkins the year before. Busker Soundcheck also played a showcase at the New South Conference in Atlanta that year with "big hype" response, most notably by Paul Sachsman, editor of Musician magazine. | 
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St Paul Minn, 1991 Great White North Tour, orange van - Chris Klein on tripod |
Touring in the early years was always an adventure. Busker made several trips north through Wisconsin and Minnesota (Great White North Tour in '91), a few southwest (Mason-Dixon tour fall '91) and the southeast in late 1991. Busker played their first show in New York at CBGB's in the winter of 1991, driving out in a 17" blizzard. Even though the band was unknown there were some great shows, and support from radio and press. Detroit was always a good trip, usually playing two nights at Finney's on Woodward and landing a spot on the "Fistful of Chaos" compilation. Orbit magazine called Busker Soundcheck "one of the top four unsigned bands in the world" (in response to the New Route article). |
| By mid 1992, Busker Soundcheck had played over 200 shows and
were set to release their first single. A few quotes: "Busker Soundcheck is not easy to pin down...they can startle you with an in-your-face garage sound and still be melodic enough to have you singing along with the words which happen to be much better than average... a hot tip: they are a band you will hear from in the future." Chicago Flame 5/91 "They may seriously run the rish of spontaneous combustion... raucous on stage antics and anthem- like melodics from three riveting musicians...Busker Soundcheck's conquering of the garage band genre is what every garage band hopes to sound like when they start out...If they continue to improve at this exponential rate, Busker Soundcheck may approach a height almost nose-bleed inducing." IE 4/91 |
First Press Shot - 1990 Sue Egizio
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Farmhouse party in Mokena, 1989, Mark Blachowicz on bass |
In the early 1990's "college rock", a.k.a. "alternative" or "underground" represented only a tiny fraction of music sales. There was a decent club scene, but in many cities "alternative" night was usually a Monday or Tuesday. Busker Soundcheck immediately jumped into touring, promoting and recording, inspired by other regional bands the Poster Children, Didjits, Material Issue, Bad Examples, Babes In Toyland, and Goober and the Peas. |
| REM and other bands helped defined the col lege/ indie rock format, in terms of radio play and touring, U2 helped break the barriers down on radio, and Jane's Addiction showed that there could be loud, exciting hard rock well outside the borders of heavy metal. The Smashing Pumpkins 1991 album "Gish" was a landmark release, further redefining the college rock/ alternative format, and helping to pave the way for the monumental "Nevermind" by Nirvana in 1992. "Alternative" was about to go "mainstream". | 
Soundworks Studio 1992, photographer unknown, after a late night in Milwaukee |
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phase - Mid 1992 to Mid 1995
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