Nellie Blide
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| Nellie Blide | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Annapolis, Maryland, USA |
| Genre(s) | Alternative rock |
| Years active | 1999-2002 |
| Label(s) | unsigned |
| Former members | |
| Justin Crown Darin Malfi Ron Malfi Chase Scott (earlier) Ryan Fowler (later) |
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Nellie Blide was a popular alternative rock band from 1999 to 2002 from Annapolis, Maryland. The band consisted of bass guitarist Justin Crown, drummer Darin Malfi, guitarist/singer Ronald Damien Malfi, and guitarist/singer Chase Scott. A later iteration of the band in 2001 had Scott replaced by guitarist Ryan "Shredder" Fowler, placing all of the singing duties on Malfi. The band was formed in 1999, following the disbanding of the members' previous band, Tangerine. Its high energy shows and addictive music brought Nellie Blide to the forefront of the mid-Atlantic music scene. Despite the band's failure to ever release an official album, a number of different bootleg studio and live recordings exist.
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[edit] Biography
Nellie Blide exploded onto the mid-Atlantic music scene with weekly performances at Baltimore's historic Eight by Ten nightclub. Early shows found the band members wearing unusual, often matching clothing, such as hospital scrubs or basketball jerseys. Its music, humorously dubbed "bitch disco" by the band, was characterized by catchy, energetic hooks, eclectic melodies, and poetic lyrics. The band's name originated from the Malfi brothers, as a nod to their childhood mispronounciation of the Brooklyn, New York amusement park Nellie Bly, which they would frequent in their youths, having been born in Brooklyn's Bay Ridge area. In an interview, the brothers acknowledged that, as children, they had mispronounced the name of the amusement park their parents and grandparents used to take them to, and the name came up when deciding on what to call the new band.
After winning a local battle of the bands sponsored by popular radio station 98 Rock, the band's popularity took off, and it began playing around the mid-Atlantic region, three and sometimes four shows in a weekend.
Plagued by inner turmoil and disagreements, Chase Scott left the band in 2001 to form a more urban/pop band called Defenders of the Universe. That project featured guitarist Dan Douglas ( formerly of Ice Station Zero/ currently A Freudian Slip) ,bassist Kamari Sumner ( formerly of Ice Station Zero/ currently of The Sikes/Gezus Kake) and drummer Josh Lebowitz ( formerly of Ice Station Zero and later PRODUCT with Chase ).
Meanwhile, Nellie Blide recruited Ryan Fowler to handle the majority of the guitar playing. Fowler's addition to the band took its music from an alterna-pop, commercial-friendly sound to a more distinctive, dark motif, enhanced by shredding guitar licks, haunting vocals and odd-tempo time signatures. The songs written and performed with this lineup, including "Life", "Same Place" and "Catherine", quickly defined the band's sound.
However, continuing disagreements between bandmates inevitably overshadowed its growing success. In 2002, the band played a farewell performance in its hometown of Annapolis to a sold-out crowd, which was recorded. Bootleg copies of this concert, unofficially titled Live at Surfside, can be found, though the band did not release or support the album.
[edit] Currently
Since parting ways, the former members of Nellie Blide continued pursuing their musical and artistic goals. Most notably, frontman Ronald Damien Malfi eventually became a successful novelist, whose books include The Nature of Monsters and Via Dolorosa. In 2007, Malfi, along with Ryan Fowler, composed and recorded the original motion picture score for the horror film Doomed to Consume. Justin Crown and Darin Malfi have been mutually involved in a variety of projects, including forming their start-up record label, Original Life Records, and performing and recording music as The SP Thugz and Dr. Punch Jr. Chase Scott enjoyed some time as the frontman for the Baltimore-based band Product before leaving the group in 2005.
[edit] Lineup
- Justin Crown - bass quitar
- Darin Malfi - drums
- Ron Malfi - guitar/vocals
- Chase Scott (until 2001) - guitar/vocals
- Ryan Fowler (2001-2002) - guitar
[edit] Discography
While Nellie Blide never officially released any albums, a number of "unofficial" recordings were frequently distributed at concerts.
[edit] Albums
- Side Two Performers (released in 1995 as Tangerine on Jelly Donut Records) - four song demo
- LSP Cuts - 6-song studio album (unreleased)
- Live at Surfside - 12-song live album (unreleased)
