Metro Pulse/Gamut/Bygone Bands

Photos courtesy of Jack Rentfro, who has collected articles, memoirs and anecdotes about Knoxville's music history in an unpublished book titled Cumberland Avenue Revisited: Four Decades of Music from Knoxville, Tennessee.

The bands that were... were photogenic, don't we agree?

Like those in most cities, Knoxville's music scene has an, um, shall we say, interesting past, one that makes for great copy and even better (read: "funnier") photos. Here we present a collection of pix from Knoxville music history, a few snapshots that hint at the mildly glamorous and often weird lives of local musicians past.

This is by no means comprehensive, nor does it satisfactorily capture all the visual memories we have of these bands, their live shows and their various antics remembered from countless wild, beery nights.

Consider this a wistful flashback, flickering memories of a time when local bands shook the rafters at late and much-lamented Cumberland Avenue establishments like PJs, the Place, Bundulee's and the original Vic & Bill's.

Let the faces in these pictures remind you of faded glories and the fun they had. Did they imagine that their names would be writ large in the annals of Knox music history, that their faces would haunt (plague?) our collective memories or grace the pages of this paper after oh-so-many years gone by?

See where they were then; learn where many of them are now; but know that the mystery of: "What the hell were they thinking?" may forever remain unsolved.

HE CAN WRITE TOO: Such grace and flexibility are rare in a freelance writer. If you're new to Knoxville, you probably recognize John Sewell's name from our music pages (check out his Enon review). But most of Knoxville knows him for his more energetic endeavors and his, let's just call them "unusual," antics. One of his best know bands, the punk outfit Torture Kitty, existed from 1993 until 1998. Sewell now lives in Chicago, where he pursues various music projects, including his latest band, Lucida.

SHORN, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN: With enough hair to keep Locks of Love in tresses for years to come, Sage was the pop-metal poster-boy outfit in Knoxville, ca. later-'80s. Now shorn, guitarist Travis Wyrick (front, right) is now a nationally popular producer and recording artist in the world of Christian rock.

DOWNBEAT: Cosmically-connected percussionist Samarai Celestial (nee Eric Walker) was a long-time drummer for Philadelphia-based underground jazz legend Sun Ra and his Arkestra. For most of the last years of his life, however, he called Knoxville home. Sadly, Samarai died in 1997, after a long struggle with heart disease.

SWEET JEEZ': Eatin', Sleepin', Smokin', Drinkin' with the Clintons—Jeff Simpson, Lawson Jaeger, Clint Clinton, and Mike Knott. Southern boogie with a little Beach Boys thrown in for good measure. Clint Clinton is still out there causing skyrocketing divorce rates wherever he plays.

HOO-DOO FOO: Sometimes-thrashy, sometimes funky, local alterna-metal favorites Movement (formerly Hypertribe) moved to Los Angeles in the mid-'90s. The band eventually split, but guitarist Mick Murphy (upper left) is now in up-and-coming L.A. metal outfit My Ruin, while bassist Nick Raskulinecz is a big-time record producer, having just won a Grammy for his work with the Foo Fighters.

TUMBLIN' FUN: Jacqui Alexander, seen here with an early incarnation of the ever-evolving Tumblekings. Standing behind Jacqui from left to right: Bobby Alexander, Jaimie Cameron, James Dungan, Bob Jones, and John Saylor. The band played a little country, a little rockabilly, and just about anything else as long as it was fun.

INVISI-GOTHS: Immortal Chorus plied a brand of hard-rockin' goth that was every bit as doomy and gloomy as this photo suggests, but the band was nonetheless a heavy-hitter on Cumberland Avenue ca. 1990. Peter Murphy-esque frontman Steve Britton, pictured here in the stylish headband, occasionally reunites with former members to play local shows—usually around Halloween, natch.