Oblivians
Encyclopedia
The Oblivians were an American punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

 trio that existed from 1993 to 1998. In the 1990s, their blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...

-infused brand of bravado, crudely-recorded music made them one of the most popular and prominent bands within the underground garage rock
Garage rock
Garage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to 1967. During the 1960s, it was not recognized as a separate music genre and had no specific name...

 scene.

Formed in Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....

, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

, the band consisted of three members -- Greg Cartwright
Greg Cartwright
Greg Cartwright, also known by his stage name Greg Oblivian, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist from Memphis, Tennessee. He currently fronts Reigning Sound and lives in Asheville, North Carolina...

, Jack Yarber
Jack Yarber
Jack Yarber, also known by his stage name, Jack Oblivian, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist based in Memphis, Tennessee. He was a founding member of the garage-bands The Compulsive Gamblers, and The Oblivans and currently fronts Jack O & the Tennessee Tearjerkers.Yarber has also been...

, and Eric Friedl
Eric Friedl
Eric Friedl, also known by his stage name, Eric Oblivian, is the founder and owner of Goner Records, an independent music label and record store located in Memphis, Tennessee.He is also an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and entrepreneur...

 -- who alternated between instruments on stage and in the studio, each member serving as vocalist, guitarist, and drummer, in turn. The band recorded three LPs, as well as a number of EPs and singles, typically recording songs live in the studio.

The band has performed numerous reunion shows since officially disbanding, as well as a highly anticipated 2009 European reunion tour with The Gories
The Gories
The Gories are an American garage rock trio that formed in Detroit in 1986. They were among the first 1980s garage punk bands to incorporate overt blues influences...

, who also reformed to co-headline the dates.

In 2010 The Oblivians have booked more shows across the United States, however no official statement has been issued about the future of the band.

History

The Oblivians began performing together in the summer of 1993. At the time of the Oblivians' inception, both Greg Cartwright
Greg Cartwright
Greg Cartwright, also known by his stage name Greg Oblivian, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist from Memphis, Tennessee. He currently fronts Reigning Sound and lives in Asheville, North Carolina...

 and Jack Yarber
Jack Yarber
Jack Yarber, also known by his stage name, Jack Oblivian, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist based in Memphis, Tennessee. He was a founding member of the garage-bands The Compulsive Gamblers, and The Oblivans and currently fronts Jack O & the Tennessee Tearjerkers.Yarber has also been...

 were members of the garage-rock band the Compulsive Gamblers
Compulsive Gamblers
Compulsive Gamblers were a garage-rock group formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1990 by Greg Cartwright and Jack Yarber, both future members of the Oblivians.-First incarnation:...

, however, following the departure of most of the band’s members from the band’s home base in Memphis, the two decided to continue playing together in a more compact incarnation of their former band, recruiting Shangri-la Records employee and future Goner Records
Goner Records
Goner Records is an independent record label and record store co-owned by Eric Friedl of The Oblivians and Zac Ives and is based in Memphis, Tennessee. It is known for releasing albums by punk and garage rock bands such as the King Khan & BBQ Show and the late Jay Reatard...

 founder Eric Friedl
Eric Friedl
Eric Friedl, also known by his stage name, Eric Oblivian, is the founder and owner of Goner Records, an independent music label and record store located in Memphis, Tennessee.He is also an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and entrepreneur...

 to round out the three-piece. Within a short time of the group’s formation the band had written much of the material that would appear on their first recording, the posthumously-released “On the Go.” As almost the entire album was written over the first weekend following the group’s decision to play together, Yarber, who had been staying in New Orleans with former Compulsive Gamblers Drummer Rod Thomas hoping to continue with his former band in some form, felt the Oblivians had enough promise for him to return to Memphis. Upon Yarber’s return, the Oblivians got a gig opening for Southern Culture on the Skids
Southern Culture on the Skids
Southern Culture on the Skids, also sometimes known as SCOTS, is an American rock band that was formed in 1983 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina...

, their first show as a three-piece. http://turnit-down.blogspot.com/2006/06/jack-oblivian-interview.html

Musical style

The Oblivians’ sound was much harsher than the Compulsive Gambler’s sound had been, owing both to Friedl’s influence on the band, and to some of the music the members had taken to heart since the Gamblers disbanded, including Thee Headcoats
Thee Headcoats
Thee Headcoats 1989 - 2000, was a band comprising Billy Childish, Bruce Brand, and Johnny Johnson. Childish was featured on guitar and vocals, Brand on drums and backing vocals, and Johnson on bass. The band was the most prolific of Childish's many musical projects, releasing fourteen full...

 and The Gories
The Gories
The Gories are an American garage rock trio that formed in Detroit in 1986. They were among the first 1980s garage punk bands to incorporate overt blues influences...

. The music was also much more stripped-down than that of the Compulsive Gamblers; the Oblivians had no bass player and no bass drum on their drum kit, instead using only two guitars and a standard drum kit between the three of them. All three members shared songwriting responsibilities, and each member of the group supplied vocals, guitar, and drums, when recording. During live performances, it was not uncommon for members to switch back and forth multiple times between a shared set of instruments. The band did catch a certain amount of flack for their unconventional setup; while the band was working at Sun Studios the group was refused a space to record until they procured a bassist. Despite being offered a chance to record for free, with the only condition being that they add a bass player to the lineup, the band opted to record elsewhere rather than conform to the request. http://turnit-down.blogspot.com/2006/06/jack-oblivian-interview.html

Naming the Band

The group underwent a few name changes before finally choosing their eventual moniker. The group was originally known as PP (an abrieviation for Pontius Pilate
Pontius Pilate
Pontius Pilatus , known in the English-speaking world as Pontius Pilate , was the fifth Prefect of the Roman province of Judaea, from AD 26–36. He is best known as the judge at Jesus' trial and the man who authorized the crucifixion of Jesus...

) and the Naildrivers. [] The name PP & the Naildrivers lasted for only one show, and after a short stint as the Gentlemen of Leisure, the group members eventually renamed their outfit the Oblivians. With a definitive name in place, each member adopted a Ramones
Ramones
The Ramones were an American rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first punk rock group...

-style surname; Cartwright became Greg Oblivian, Yarber became Jack Oblivian, and Friedl became Eric Oblivian. http://www.furious.com/perfect/oblivians.html The surnames became such an ingrained aspect of the band's persona that even today, almost ten years after the breakup of the band, the members are still sometimes identified by their stage names in interviews and by fans.

Touring

As the band began to play more shows, Friedl began sending out the band's demo tapes, hoping to spur some label interest. One of the band's first big shows was as an opening act for the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, a show that was arranged for them by a bookie at Maxwell's in New Jersey after having heard a copy of the band's "On the Go" demo which he had received from Friedl. For the show, the band flew to New York City, and while there the band received a fax from Crypt Records
Crypt Records
Crypt Records is a Hamburg-based record label and record store founded by Tim Warren. The label is perhaps best known for issuing the eight-volume Back From The Grave Series of garage rock compilations, although its reissues and releases include surf, rockabilly, punk rock, exotica, garage punk,...

 requesting a full-length album from the band and offering to set the band up with further tour dates in support of Crypt's stable of recording artists. With Crypt's support the band began touring overseas, though at home the band handled their own bookings. http://turnit-down.blogspot.com/2006/06/jack-oblivian-interview.html The band would go on to tour extensively in Europe, playing shows in Germany, Holland, Spain, Italy, England, and Sweden, before continuing on through Asia, supporting Guitar Wolf
Guitar Wolf
Guitar Wolf is a Japanese garage punk power trio founded in Nagasaki, Nagasaki in 1987. The band is known for songs with piercing vocals and an extremely loud style of noise-influenced punk which emphasizes heavy distortion and feedback...

 in Japan. http://www.littlecrackedegg.com/issue01/oblivians/oblivians2.html

Recordings

The band released their first LP, "Soul Food," in 1995. The album was recorded at Easley Studios
Easley McCain Recording
Easley McCain Recording is an American recording studio, based in Memphis, Tennessee, notable for recording musicians such as Tav Falco's Panther Burns, Grifters, Pavement, Sonic Youth, Come, White Stripes, Townes Van Zandt, Pezz, Jeff Buckley, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Guided by Voices, Lydia...

 in Memphis, Tennessee, and was released by Crypt Records. This was followed by a collaboration with fellow Memphis musicians Walter Daniels
Walter Daniels
Walter Daniels is an American musician and harmonica player noted for introducing the instrument into a number of styles of music not usually associated with the harmonica, including punk rock, and avant-garde free improvisation.-History:...

 and Monsieur Jeffery Evans on the "Walter Daniels Plays With Monsieur Jeffrey Evans & The Oblivians At Melissa's Garage" 10", released in 1995.

Between their first and second LPs the band released a compilation album called "Sympathy Sessions," which featured a collection of recordings the band had written and recorded in 1996 at Easley Studios for release on the independent record label Sympathy for the Record Industry
Sympathy for the Record Industry
Sympathy for the Record Industry is a mainly independent garage rock and punk label formed in 1988 by record industry anti-mogul Long Gone John...

. The album was a collection of two previously-released 10" EP's, Never Enough and Six of the Best, as well as four additional tracks also recorded for the Sympathy label. This was followed by the band's second proper LP, "Popular Favorites," released in 1996, again on Crypt Records.

In 1997 the band teamed up with New Orleans one-man band and nightclub organist Mr. Quintron
Mr. Quintron
Quintron is an American musician and leader of the eponymous one-man-band, "Quintron". He is a celebrated nightclub organist and inventor, who has patented a number of his own inventions and often performs at his own private club, the Spellcaster Lodge, located on St. Claude Avenue in New...

 to record their third and final LP, the Gospel music
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....

-inspired ...Play 9 Songs with Mr Quintron. The Oblivians' final album was recorded in a single eight-hour session; Quintron traveled 16 hours roundtrip by bus from New Orleans to Memphis in order contribute a days worth of improvised percussion and organ accompaniments. A rough demo of the songs the band intended to record for the album failed to reach Mr. Quintron by mail, and so he was forced to begin arranging his contributions upon arrival, without prior knowledge of the content of the album. http://www.furious.com/perfect/oblivians.html Cartwright credited the dramatic shift in styles between ...Play Nine Songs and the rest of the Oblivians' catalogue as one of the reasons for the eventual breakup of the band, noting that the group had begun to stray from a musical aesthetic that all its members could agree upon. http://www.littlecrackedegg.com/issue01/oblivians/oblivians.html

After the Oblivians

In 1998, after five years together, the Oblivians broke up and the bandmembers went their separate ways. After the Oblivians, Jack Yarber
Jack Yarber
Jack Yarber, also known by his stage name, Jack Oblivian, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist based in Memphis, Tennessee. He was a founding member of the garage-bands The Compulsive Gamblers, and The Oblivans and currently fronts Jack O & the Tennessee Tearjerkers.Yarber has also been...

 and Greg Cartwright reformed their old band, the Compulsive Gamblers. Yarber then went on to do some work with Impala and currently plays with his own band, Jack O and the Tennessee Tearjerkers. Yarber has been the most prolific former Oblivian, contributing to a number of bands, including: Tav Falco's Panther Burns
Tav Falco's Panther Burns
Tav Falco's Panther Burns, sometimes shortened to Panther Burns, is a rock band originally from Memphis, Tennessee, United States, led by Tav Falco...

, Knaughty Knights, South Filthy, The Cool Jerks, The Limes, The Brand New Love Affairs, King Louie & His Loose Diamonds, the Natural Kicks and Harlan T. Bobo.

Greg Cartwright
Greg Cartwright
Greg Cartwright, also known by his stage name Greg Oblivian, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist from Memphis, Tennessee. He currently fronts Reigning Sound and lives in Asheville, North Carolina...

 went on to form his current band The Reigning Sound
Reigning Sound
The Reigning Sound is an American garage punk band originally based out of Memphis, Tennessee, now located in Asheville, North Carolina. The band's current lineup includes former Oblivians and Compulsive Gamblers frontman Greg Cartwright on lead vocals and guitar, David Wayne Gay on bass, Lance...

, who have released a number of records on In the Red
In the Red Records
In the Red Records is an independent record label in Los Angeles, CA formed in 1991 by Larry Hardy. It is known for hosting garage punk related bands on its label....

, Goner Records
Goner Records
Goner Records is an independent record label and record store co-owned by Eric Friedl of The Oblivians and Zac Ives and is based in Memphis, Tennessee. It is known for releasing albums by punk and garage rock bands such as the King Khan & BBQ Show and the late Jay Reatard...

, Spoonful Records, Slovenly Records and Norton Records
Norton Records
For the Canadian independent record label of the same name, see Matt Minglewood.Norton Records, a New York City based independent record label founded by musicians Miriam Linna and Billy Miller, maintains a focus on primitive, retro rock'n'roll, rockabilly, garage punk, garage rock, lounge music...

.
He has also started producing albums for the likes of Mr. Airplane Man, The Goodnight Loving, Suttree, The Cuts, Porch Ghouls and The Deadly Snakes
The Deadly Snakes
The Deadly Snakes were a Canadian indie rock band influenced by garage rock, punk, folk rock, and early r&b.-History:Formed in Toronto in 1996, the band's final line-up consisted of Andre Ethier on vocals and guitars, Matthew Carlson on guitar, trumpet and bass, Chad Ross on guitar, bass and...

. Greg released one album, "Head Shop," with his wife, under the name Greg Oblivian and The Tip Tops. Cartwright periodically plays guitar on tour and some recordings with the Detroit soul-cover band The Detroit Cobras
The Detroit Cobras
The Detroit Cobras are an American garage rock cover band from Detroit, Michigan, formed in 1994.-History:The Detroit Cobras signed with Sympathy for the Record Industry and released their first full-length album, Mink Rat or Rabbit, in 1998...

.
Greg also started Legba Records, a Memphis record store which eventually came to house bandmate Eric Friedl's record label, Goner Records. Cartwright also went on to produced and write much of the material for the album "Dangerous Game" by Mary Weiss of the Shangri-Las which was released by Norton Records
Norton Records
For the Canadian independent record label of the same name, see Matt Minglewood.Norton Records, a New York City based independent record label founded by musicians Miriam Linna and Billy Miller, maintains a focus on primitive, retro rock'n'roll, rockabilly, garage punk, garage rock, lounge music...

 in March 2007. Cartwright performed one of his originals, "Stop and Think It Over" with Weiss on NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien that aired 2,725 episodes on NBC between 1993 and 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. Late Night aired weeknights at 12:37 am...

.

After the Oblivians, Eric Friedl
Eric Friedl
Eric Friedl, also known by his stage name, Eric Oblivian, is the founder and owner of Goner Records, an independent music label and record store located in Memphis, Tennessee.He is also an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and entrepreneur...

 started the independent record label, Goner Records, and recorded an album with Jay Reatard
Jay Reatard
Jimmy Lee Lindsey Jr. , better known by the stage name Jay Reatard, was an American musician from Memphis, Tennessee. Lindsey was signed to Matador Records...

 of The Reatards and King Louie Bankston
King Louie Bankston
King Louie Bankston is a prolific garage punk musician from Harahan, Louisiana. He is best known for his work in The Royal Pendletons, The Persuaders, The Exploding Hearts, and The King Louie One Man Band....

 of the Royal Pendletons called Bad Times. Friedl is currently a member of the Dutch Masters and The True Sons of Thunder.

In 2008, Greg Cartwright
Greg Cartwright
Greg Cartwright, also known by his stage name Greg Oblivian, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist from Memphis, Tennessee. He currently fronts Reigning Sound and lives in Asheville, North Carolina...

 announced via the Goner Records
Goner Records
Goner Records is an independent record label and record store co-owned by Eric Friedl of The Oblivians and Zac Ives and is based in Memphis, Tennessee. It is known for releasing albums by punk and garage rock bands such as the King Khan & BBQ Show and the late Jay Reatard...

 message board, that the Gories and the Oblivians would play reunion shows in Detroit, Memphis, and Europe in 2009.

Discography

Singles
  • Call The Shots 7" (Goner Records, 1993, 2Gone)
  • Sunday You Need Love 7" (Crypt, 1994, CR-044)
  • Now For The Hard Of Hearing From ... "Blow Their Cool" 7" (Estrus, 1994, ES 756)
  • Static Party 7" (In The Red, 1994, ITR 018)
  • Go!Pill-Popper! 7" (Drug Racer, 1996, 001)
  • Strong Come On 7" (Crypt, 1996, CR-053)
  • Kick Your Ass 7" (Sympathy For The Record Industry, 1996, SFTRI 412)


EP's
  • Never Enough 10" (Sympathy For The Record Industry, 1994, SFTRI 304)
  • Walter Daniels Plays With Monsieur Jeffrey Evans & The Oblivians At Melissa's Garage
    Walter Daniels Plays with Monsieur Jeffrey Evans & The Oblivians at Melissa's Garage
    Walter Daniels Plays With Monsieur Jeffrey Evans & The Oblivians At Melissa's Garage is a 10" album by Memphis garage-rock band the Oblivians. The album was released in 1995 by Texas record label, Undone. The album features Austin-based harmonicist Walter Daniels and Memphis-based vocalist Jeffery...

     10" (Undone, 1995, UDR-0008-10)
  • Six Of The Best 10" (Sympathy For The Record Industry, 1996, SFTRI 383)


Splits
  • Split CS with Impala (Goner Records/Power Of Bob, 1993, 0Gone/POB 103)
  • Split 7" with Two Bo's Maniacs (Hate Records, 1997, hate 7)
  • Split 7" with the Crime Kaisers (Active Detective, 1998, active detective record #1)


Albums
  • Soul Food LP/CD (Crypt, 1995, CR-055)
  • Rock'n Roll Holiday: Live In Atlanta
    Rock'n Roll Holiday: Live in Atlanta
    Rock'n Roll Holiday: Live in Atlanta was an early live show of Memphis-based garage punk rockers Oblivians, recorded in August 1994 in Atlanta, Georgia. The recording was originally issued in 1995 as a vinyl bootleg on Negro Records, of which 500 copies were produced...

     LP (Negro Records, 1995, negro records 001, recorded on 08/19/94)
  • The Sympathy Sessions
    Sympathy Sessions
    Sympathy Sessions is the first compilation album released by the Oblivians. It was released on April 5, 1996 by Sympathy for the Record Industry...

     CD (Sympathy For The Record Industry, 1996, SFTRI 406)
  • Popular Favorites
    Popular Favorites
    Popular Favorites is the second studio album by the Oblivians. It was released in 1996 on Crypt Records.-Track listing:# "Christina" - 1:59# "Trouble" - 1:57# "The Leather" - 3:10...

     LP/CD (Crypt, 1996, CR-065)
  • ...Play 9 Songs with Mr Quintron LP/CD (Crypt, 1997, CR-082)
  • 17 Cum Shots LP (Bootleg, 1997, cat.no.?)
  • Best Of The Worst: 93-97
    Best of the Worst: 93-97
    Best Of The Worst: 93-97 is a two LP/CD compilation album by Memphis garage-rock band, the Oblivians. It was released on September 28, 1999 by Sympathy for the Record Industry. The album features career-spanning and previously unreleased Oblivians rarities, B-sides, and live cuts...

     2xLP/CD (Sympathy For The Record Industry, 1999, SFTRI 584)
  • Melissa's Garage Revisited
    Melissa's Garage Revisited
    Melissa's Garage Revisited is an LP/CD released by Memphis garage-rock band the Oblivians. The album features Austin-based harmonicist Walter Daniels and Memphis-based vocalist Jeffrey Evans. The album was originally released as an EP in 1995 by Texas record label, Undone...

    LP/CD (Sympathy For The Record Industry, 1999, SFTRI 590)
  • On The Go LP (Goner Records, 2003, 12Gone)
  • Barristers 95 [Live] (In the Red, 2009, ITR 182)

External links

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