Post by mikeg on Oct 10, 2008 23:44:50 GMT -5
Thanks so much, Steve for creating this haven for Tribe fans!
Just some musings on a band that still resonates with me today... I still listen to my well worn cassettes of Abort and Sleeper on a regular basis!
I can't recall the first time I saw or heard Tribe music, it seems like its always been with me. I grew up on the North Shore, so it could very well have been Grover's, I lived in the next town over and took in many shows there, or it could have been 'BCN. I was a big listener back then, the programming at the time (late eighties) I feel was second to none. There was always a great respect for local music, something that I think is missing in Boston area these days.
Tribe shows were more than shows to me. Yeah it sounds corny, I know. I tried to describe them to someone who wasn't familiar with them and all I could tell them was that to see Tribe was an event. This may be time talking, but the shows took on a mythical quality to me. Discovering this site and seeing the videos has not diminished this feeling. I've even spotted me, my sister and a good friend in the crowd at the Avalon show, right up front where we would always try and position ourselves!
During the late eighties and especially the early nineties, when music was suddenly being called "alternative" and there was new exciting music seemingly at every turn, I somehow discovered Tribe. Soon, my sister, a few friends and I were trekking everywhere to see the band.
I don't have any incredible video footage (man, what foresight you guys with the videos had!), no stories of chance meetings with the band, just memories of those shows, the music and what seemed like a connection... though I suspect anyone who experienced them live would say the same. It really felt like we were all a part of one big thing.
Just sitting here, listening to Red Rover, I'm right back in '92, shy, awkward 19 yo, eyes closed, letting the sounds wash over me. Amazing thing to do, considering the visual nature of a Tribe show. It felt as though I would be lifted up over the masses, floating.
That said, I'm not forgetting what it was to see Tribe play. Of course, there was Janet, I'm sure its been said many times before, but the girl can make an entrance! I remember how the crowd, already letting loose at the opening chords of whatever the first song was, would absolutely erupt when her silhouette would appear, slinking out from the side of the stage.
As a musician myself, I was always tuned into Greg, Eric, Terri and Dave as well. Eric and Dave seemed to be the engine that was driving all of us into a frenzy. Terri seemed the introspective one, though I do not know her, her focused attention at the keys gave me that impression. As a bass player, I always found Greg's playing to be of great interest. Always seemed like he was very relaxed, and I sought to emulate bits of his playing style when I began playing in bands.
So, what is all this rambling about? Just a stream of thoughts that have long been in my head, I'm so glad there are others out there that haven't forgotten this band and their music. I will be a fan for life, it just moves me so much.
I've just recently found this site, and I confessed to someone the other day that finding it had sent me into a weird funk... mid life crisis maybe? (I'm only 36) I guess its just knowing that elusive high that really good music gives us comes around only so often, and we never know when it will appear.
Thank you Greg, Terri, Eric, Dave and Janet for giving us Tribe
Mike
Just some musings on a band that still resonates with me today... I still listen to my well worn cassettes of Abort and Sleeper on a regular basis!
I can't recall the first time I saw or heard Tribe music, it seems like its always been with me. I grew up on the North Shore, so it could very well have been Grover's, I lived in the next town over and took in many shows there, or it could have been 'BCN. I was a big listener back then, the programming at the time (late eighties) I feel was second to none. There was always a great respect for local music, something that I think is missing in Boston area these days.
Tribe shows were more than shows to me. Yeah it sounds corny, I know. I tried to describe them to someone who wasn't familiar with them and all I could tell them was that to see Tribe was an event. This may be time talking, but the shows took on a mythical quality to me. Discovering this site and seeing the videos has not diminished this feeling. I've even spotted me, my sister and a good friend in the crowd at the Avalon show, right up front where we would always try and position ourselves!
During the late eighties and especially the early nineties, when music was suddenly being called "alternative" and there was new exciting music seemingly at every turn, I somehow discovered Tribe. Soon, my sister, a few friends and I were trekking everywhere to see the band.
I don't have any incredible video footage (man, what foresight you guys with the videos had!), no stories of chance meetings with the band, just memories of those shows, the music and what seemed like a connection... though I suspect anyone who experienced them live would say the same. It really felt like we were all a part of one big thing.
Just sitting here, listening to Red Rover, I'm right back in '92, shy, awkward 19 yo, eyes closed, letting the sounds wash over me. Amazing thing to do, considering the visual nature of a Tribe show. It felt as though I would be lifted up over the masses, floating.
That said, I'm not forgetting what it was to see Tribe play. Of course, there was Janet, I'm sure its been said many times before, but the girl can make an entrance! I remember how the crowd, already letting loose at the opening chords of whatever the first song was, would absolutely erupt when her silhouette would appear, slinking out from the side of the stage.
As a musician myself, I was always tuned into Greg, Eric, Terri and Dave as well. Eric and Dave seemed to be the engine that was driving all of us into a frenzy. Terri seemed the introspective one, though I do not know her, her focused attention at the keys gave me that impression. As a bass player, I always found Greg's playing to be of great interest. Always seemed like he was very relaxed, and I sought to emulate bits of his playing style when I began playing in bands.
So, what is all this rambling about? Just a stream of thoughts that have long been in my head, I'm so glad there are others out there that haven't forgotten this band and their music. I will be a fan for life, it just moves me so much.
I've just recently found this site, and I confessed to someone the other day that finding it had sent me into a weird funk... mid life crisis maybe? (I'm only 36) I guess its just knowing that elusive high that really good music gives us comes around only so often, and we never know when it will appear.
Thank you Greg, Terri, Eric, Dave and Janet for giving us Tribe
Mike
