If you were still hung up on the Kevin Bacon game, then here's one worthy of your addiction. What do Stevie Nicks, Marshall Crenshaw, J.D. Souther, The Rembrandts, Tommy Keane, Judy Collins, Wayne's World, Empire Records and the Gin Blossoms all have [+]If you were still hung up on the Kevin Bacon game, then here's one worthy of your addiction. What do Stevie Nicks, Marshall Crenshaw, J.D. Souther, The Rembrandts, Tommy Keane, Judy Collins, Wayne's World, Empire Records and the Gin Blossoms all have in common? Don't hurt yourself. They've all had songs co-written by Jesse Valenzuela.
It all started innocently enough. Every new band plays their first gig on Christmas Night, don't they? Well if you were the Gin Blossoms, that's how you spent a near balmy Tempe, AZ night in the winter of 1987. The original line-up that night featured Jesse Valenzuela on vocals, Doug Hopkins and Richard Taylor handling guitars, Bill Leen on Bass and Chris McCann as the band's drummer.
By 1988 the band solidified under the more familiar line-up, with Robin Wilson taking over as lead vocalist, Jesse moving over to guitar and vocals, Hopkins & Leen reprising their roles and Phillip Rhodes joining as the band's new drummer. A relentless touring schedule quickly earned them Best Rock Band honors in a Phoenix New Times Reader's Poll. That award in turn, landed them a much-coveted spot at the South By Southwest Music Conference in March of 1989. Interest in the band increased after they independently released, 'Dusted'. The twelve-song tape featured early versions of "Hey Jealousy" and "Found Out About You" and soon earned them a review from the College Media Journal that dubbed the band, The Best Unsigned Band in America. The spring of 1990 saw the Gin Blossoms sign with A&M Records, where they would begin work on their debut album.
The first sessions resulted in half an album being scrapped and the band wondering if they still had a label to call home. After the failed attempt, A&M let the band cut an EP on their own in hopes of rekindling the spark on 'Dusted', that had been missing from the recent recordings. The 'Up And Crumbling' EP was released in 1991 and was followed by an extensive tour. Once again the band was ready to tackle their first album, only this time with veteran Memphis producer, John Hampton. The band fared better their second time around except for Hopkins. Doug left the band before the album's completion when his bouts with depression and alcoholism worsened. Once again thrown into turmoil, Valenzuela a
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