Chavez has to be one of the most underappreciated indie bands from the 90's. How else do you explain their two albums on Matador going of print... this for a band that outsold their labelmates during their prime (even Pavement.) Well, the albums are back, albeit in different packaging - a box set of all their recorded output called Better Days Will Haunt You.Album: Chavez - Better Days Will Haunt You
What made Chavez great was the crunchy dual guitar work from Clay Tarver (Bullet Lavolta) and Matt Sweeney (Skunk) and rhythmic changes from the James Lo (Live Skull) on drums, keeping the listener on their guard. Offsetting this was Sweeney's honey-dipped vocal lines that kept the anthemic rock within pop's large stadium. Songs like "Pentagram Ring" and "Top Pocket Man" are great examples of this juxtaposition.
Many folks don't know the band's connections to the television industry. Bass player Scott Marshall is the son of Gary Marshall (Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley,) and Clay Tarver directed the Jimmy the Cab Driver MTV spots (featuring a young Donal Logue - see video) and even directed a few of the "Got Milk" ads of the mid-90s.
They also made one of the funniest music videos ever (below,) for the great song "Break Up Your Band."
tags: album review, music, chavez, jimmy the cab driver, indie rock, rhapsody
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Chavez - Better Days Will Haunt You
Disc 1
1. Repeat The Ending
2. Hack The Sides Away
3. Nailed To The Blank Spot
4. Break Up Your Band
5. Laugh Track
6. The Ghost By The Sea
7. Pentagram Ring
8. Peeled Out Too Late
9. The Flaming Gong
10. Wakeman’S Air
11. Relaxed Fit
12. The Nerve
13. You Faded
14. Little 12 Toes
Disc 2
1. Top Pocket Man
2. The Guard Attacks
3. Unreal Is Here
4. New Room
5. Tight Around The Jaws
6. Lions
7. Our Boys Will Shine Tonight
8. Memorize This Face
9. Cold Joys
10. Flight 96
11. Ever Overpsyched
12. You Must Be Stopped
13. Theme From “For Russ"
14. White Jeans
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