The Side Effects
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The Side Effects were a indie rock band, part of the music scene of Athens, Georgia. The Side Effects debuted in 1980, alongside other local performers like R.E.M..
[edit] History
The band was started by Kit Swartz and Paul Buchart, who knew R.E.M. members Michael Stipe and Peter Buck. According to Buck, the two were supposed to play in a band with himself and Stipe, but never showed up to practice.[1] The two bands, however, would cross paths again later that year when The Side Effects, along with Men In Trees, made their musical debut with R.E.M. at an Athens party. R.E.M., then named Twisted Kites, would headline, and the Side Effects, comprised of Buchart, Swartz, and Jimmy Ellison[2] made their debut as an opener.[3]
The band would gain prominent local publicity, being in a scene that produced The B-52s, Love Tractor, and Pylon, all of which would receive varying degrees of success in the future.[4] The band also opened a spinoff of the famous local Athens 40 Watt Club called the 40 Watt East in May of 1980, which was opened across the street and later merged back to the original.[5]
The band would disband in 1982.[6] While R.E.M. would release their album Murmur to critical acclaim, other Athens-area bands would break up, including the Side Effects when Ellison was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor.[7]
Buchart still lives in the Athens area today, giving tours of the city as well as acting as a primary source in a variety of R.E.M. literature such as David Buckley's biography of R.E.M., R.E.M.: Fiction, and posting on the internet on various message boards, websites[8] and Usenet news groups.[9]
[edit] References
- ^ It Crawled From the South, Gray, Marcus, 1997, p20
- ^ R.E.M.: Fiction, Buckley, David, 2002, p34
- ^ It Crawled From the South, Gray, Marcus, 1997, p29
- ^ It Crawled From the South, Gray, Marcus, 1997, p40
- ^ It Crawled From the South, Gray, Marcus, 1997, p154
- ^ [1], accessed 17 June 2006
- ^ R.E.M.: Fiction, Buckley, David, 2002, p103
- ^ [2], accessed 17 June 2006
- ^ Christoph Milt (2001-09-21). "Searching for Video". rec.music.rem. (Google Groups). Retrieved on 2006-06-17.
[edit] External links
- Georgia Music Hall of Fame
- Online Athens: The Side Effects at Tyrone's, August 1980.
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