Has Anyone Heard Of The Punk Band Fold

What is the best band hardly anyone has heard of?

In some circles, these bands are huge. But to those of you who stick to more mainstream fare, they’re probably mysterious. I could rattle off a million more of them, hell… even throw in the ones I was in. These are performers that are somewhat obscure, yet also dynamic, unique, and influential to some degree:THE MELVINS- very heavy, but somehow not metal; forefathers of grunge (they were the main inspiration for Kurt Cobain of Nirvana to play music); STILL kicking ass. Three core members with an ever-shifting, semi-rotating additional castmember bench, lyrics that often stray into unknown tongues and syntax.WEEN- multiple-genre-mastering, multiple-band-parodying, dark-humored psychedelic kitchen-sink rock & roll awesomeness. More PCP than LSD. They made an unprecedented crossover from the wastoid division of the punk scene (Butthole Surfer-esque) to the hippie jam-band amphitheater crowd. It all works.PERE UBU- nobody sounds remotely like these oddbodkins from Cleveland, Ohio. They’ve been at it since the seventies (well, at least singer David Thomas has), mutating and evolving over the decades into something so avante-garde, there’s not really a name for it. You can still see them (more importantly hear them) live if you’re lucky; let me know if you can think of a label.THINKING FELLERS UNION LOCAL 282- I have several of their albums, but know virtually nothing about them, and have never seen them live. They kinda sorta sound like a weird mix of Ween & Pere Ubu, with a definite (if inscrutable) pop sensibility, and considerably less cynicism. Maybe another Quoran could fill inthe gaps?KOOL KEITH- yet another veteran still going strong for decades, and through multiple personas, he’s rapped from both coasts with a lot of big names and never copped anyone’s style. Lyrically ingenious, with deranged absurdities that range from disturbingly unhinged to gut-bustingly hilarious. He can paint a scene and/or mood incredibly well, like only the best poets can, and he too has been known to make up words if necessary.P.S.- I was trying to keep with bands that are still functioning, but seeing as how there’s a thin but strong thread of Dadaism that runs through all of my choices, I am compelled to add the late, great CAPTAIN BEEFHEART to this list, as perhaps a spiritual godfather to any and all of these surrealistic racket-making wackos.

What are some of the best bands no one you know has heard of?

1-Goblin These guys are in my opinion the best progressive rock group from Italy. Mainly a cult phenomenon. They aren’t extremely well known here in the US(although they still do limited tours here now and then)2-Space Circus: An absolutely amazing jazz-fusion band from Japan. Unfortunately they only had two albums in the late 70’s but their musicianship was phenomenal. Very progressive instrumental stuff.3-The Sweet: Very popular in the UK. Sadly, I can’t find anybody in the US that’s familiar with them. In spite of having about three major hit songs, they never achieved the worldwide acclaim that other bands like KISS, Led Zeppelin and AC/DC had. Yet still they rocked just as hard as the rest of their peers. A truly great musical gem to discover!4-Brand X: Fantastic jazz-fusion from the UK. Often mis-labelled as progressive rock(although they were quite progressive), they had a unique blend of intense funky fusion. And interestingly, Phil Collins was their drummer!5-Shadowfax: Often labelled as “New Age”, a more accurate description of their music would be “World Fusion”. Led by the late Chuck Greenberg(a master of the electronic wind instrument, the “Lyricon”, these guys combined jazz and rock with various ethnic flavors like African, Latin American and Indian, making them one of the most unique and interesting artists. Another truly fantastic gem that I think everybody should hear.6-Clannad: An immensely talented modern Celtic group. They do both traditional Celtic tunes as well as original songs. They do both songs and instrumentals. They could be described as slightly progressive and they sometimes have a bit of jazz flavor. Not completely obscure but definitely under the radar.7-The Resurrection Band: One of the pioneers of Christian rock, among the first Christian bands to do heavy metal/hard rock. They got their start roughly back in about 1972 but didn’t get an official record contract till 1978. They came out with numerous albums till the late 90’s. They were not only heavy duty rockers but they also wrote some fantastic songs that were actually thought provoking and relevant to real life issues. Their sound was very unique, often combining a little “New Wave” flavor in the mix.