WARNING: This man has played virtually EVERYTHING except jazz. Punk, post punk, garage, folk, high nrg rock'n roll, indie, lo-fi, psychedelia, cow punk, country punk is all in his six string. So why in Twisted Jazz? Cause we love the man and we see he gets the attention he deserves. And because another man and versatile editor asked us to...
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Steve Wynn, as founder of the
Dream Syndicate, almost single-handedly tuned the ears of college age rock fans in the early '80s to the two prior decades of guitar-drenched rock that inspired him. After graduating from the University of California at Davis and following a stint with his requisite new wave band of that era,
Suspects, Wynn took a cross-country trip in search of
Alex Chilton, one of his spiritual musical mentors and a figure sorely missed on the scene since his days with power pop legends
Big Star. Interestingly, by the time Wynn found him and returned to California, the underground rock scene was in the middle of a full-on guitar rock revival, thanks in part to fellow
Chilton devotees
R.E.M. and
the Replacements; Wynn took it as his cue to embrace the feedback-flooded sounds of
the Velvet Underground. Borrowing his name from the
VU's heritage, he called his new band,
Dream Syndicate.
Heralded as leaders of the paisley underground (the neo-'60s scene out of Los Angeles that included
the Bangles,
Green on Red, and
the Rain Parade),
Dream Syndicate were by far the most outside band in the bunch, challenging audiences to feedback fests and endless jams. After four albums on four labels and a change in direction (less
Lou Reed, more
Neil Young), the
Syndicate called it quits and Wynn embarked on a solo career. For
Kerosene Man (Rhino, 1990) and
Dazzling Display (Rhino 1991), Wynn relied on his steady songwriting, unique vocal style, and a bunch of friends (including
Peter Buck of
R.E.M.) for the recordings.
Fluorescent (Mute, 1994) was a subdued, semi-folk record, but his side project
Gutterball (including
Bryan Harvey and
Johnny Hott of
House of Freaks and
Bob Rupe of
the Silos) was a loose and drunken rock & roll ramble. The solo work kept on coming:
Melting in the Dark (1996),
Sweetness & Light (1997) and
My Midnight (1999), but Wynn was ultimately destined to lead a band again and with the Miracle 3 he released the double-disc set
Here Come the Miracles (2001),
Static Transmission (2003) and the post-millennium panic-inspired
...Tick...Tick...Tick (2005).
What I Did After My Band Broke Up is a 17-track document of just what the title promised, plus a bonus disc of Wynn performing some of his favorite songs on piano.
(
Denise Sullivan - AMG)
Official site MySpace WynnWynn @ Last.FmDESERT ISLAND WYNNDISC - HERE COMES THE MIRACLES (2001) NEW ALBUM OUT - CROSSING DRAGON BRIDGE
