Bauhaus, Beatles, Brian Eno, Cult, David Bowie, Doors, Flaming Lips, Ian Hunter, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, R.E.M., Sisters of Mercy, Velvet Underground
Sounds Like
Jane's Addiction, Love and Rockets, Mission UK, Peter Murphy, Smashing Pumpkins
This Atlanta, GA-based band seemed to have, during their heyday, connected the dots between Bauhaus & Smashing Pumpkins, as well as celebrating diverse genres in-between. Formed in 1987 by former members of The Children: Clinton Steele & Sven Pipien and Kentucky transplants: Steve Gorman & James Vincent Hall, Mary My Hope was a post-punk/hard-rock conglomerate that aligned their sensibilities with bands such as Love and Rockets & The Swans, (who Steele later joined).
Mary My Hope's rock & roll recipe included heaping helpings of goth & metal with liberal dashes of folk & psychedelia. At a certain point, Gorman defected to join the proto-Black Crowes outfit, Mr. Crowes Garden and was replaced by Steve Lindenbaum. The band was snapped up by Silvertone and released a string of compelling releases: 1989 brought on the debut LP, 'Museum', with the singles 'Wildman Childman', then 'It's About Time' (vinyl-only with unreleased b-sides sent out to college radio), followed by the brillliant 'Suicide Kings' EP (featuring a lo-fi, self-produced number & live tracks). The dawn of the nineties saw a more proper, if not, similar release: the expansive 'Monster is Bigger than the Man' mini-LP, boasting familiar artwork but more hard-rocking material that was likely unfamiliar to the uninitiated. The album contained one last, stellar 'Museum' b-side & a faithful Brian Eno cover that would surely convert anyone in doubt of this bands' greatness.
Great or not, Hall felt the need to split the band & follow his true muse after Mary My Hope's promotional tours with The Godfathers and Jane's Addiction. James moved to New Orleans for a new start, picked up a fine band, recorded solo albums & brought an intense live show wherever he went.
Mary My Hope ventured onward at the insistence of one, Donn Aaron who came aboard to play second guitar. Karl Vone, another Kentucky connection of Clint's came aboard to handle vocal duties after a stint with Nashville's Rumble Circus. New demos were recorded for a proposed seven album record deal with Imago & Chameleon Records. Sadly, no further releases had emerged and the band quietly dissolved.
Clinton Steele performed and recorded with Michael Gira's Angels of Light, Swans & World of Skin and went on to engineering the recordings of prominent Atlanta bands. Karl Vone, Sven Pipien & Steve Lindenbaum hooked up with guitarist Josh Pine to form Caramelize. Pipien & Lindenbaum, further, were in a band called Needle for a short time. Vone and Pipien also had a band called Raybell, before the latter hooked up with Steve Gorman & The Black Crowes, enjoying the fruits of that affiliation, including their stint as Jimmy Page's live Zeppelin tribute band in the late nineties. Lindenbaum played drums for Joybang! in his time before Groupie. Donn Aaron has re-emerged as a singer/songwriter. James Hall morphed his solo act into a full-fledged band named for his underappreciated mid-nineties Geffen debut 'Pleasure Club'. That band fought the good-fight for four great years until dividing in 2005, ending a decade's-plus partnership with bassist Grant Curry. He has picked up his solo career where he left off, in addition to performing and recording with the band Player/Kommander.
In the fall of 2008, the original line-up performed together for the first time in 18 years at Masquerade Music Park & Club to benefit the recently formed Atlanta Music Museum and celebrate the former Metroplex & 688 clubs twenty-year reunion.
Thank you for adding! I remember seeing Mary My Hope play a concert at Oglethorpe University around Halloween in the early 90s and was hooked! Great songwriting, great memories! I'd love to see you guys post some of the songs you wrote with Karl in your player, if that's at all possible!
hey Brother, completely added to the blast that was Saturday night in meeting you in person. Thanks for the sodapop. Thanks, more importantly, for all you do ! I consider you a part of the extended family ( no matter how twisted that family might be...)You are awesome and we WILL get to hang out again. Be good....talk soon .. JV
Hey there fella! It was great to meet you on Saturday and thank you very much for the beer. I hope that you enjoyed your stay in sunny Atlanta and that the reunion was all that you hoped it would be!
Wow, the show was awesome! What a shame these guys were not as big as they deserved. The set list included Wildman Childman, Salvation Bus, Suicide King, Communion, Heads & Tales, I'm not Alone, It's About Time and Death of Me. For 45 minutes I remembered what being 25 felt like. Thanks guys!
Thanks for the add. I only just discovered your band, and I like it. I hope to come up for the reunion show. Excuse me while I search for a place to buy your album...
Been awhile since I've said hello Matt.. Hope all is well. I'm just listening to "One Cigarette" and wishing I could see JH perform live. Any word as to where I might score a version of "Psycho Killer"?
It seems rude to keep coming back to the page to listen to the music and not leave a comment. Therefore, I'm leaving one now...not to say how great the band was !!
