Trend 86 formed in 1996 on the campus of South Dakota State University. The original lineup contained Hayes Davis (vocals), Steve Schmidt (vocals) Mercedes Maltese (vocals) Jeff Blount (Bass Guitar) Brady Busselman (Guitar) Tate Schoberlein (guitar) Steve Versavel (Drums) Brent Smith (Saxophone) Joel Dunfee (Trombone). Soon the band became a familiar site around campus, playing at parties, bars, on campus, etc. The band loaded up its gear and headed north to Minneapolis to join forces with Music Tech student and long time friend, Ben Goheen. Over the next 2 days, Trend 86 layed down the tracks for what you would all come to know as, "The Bespeecko Click Function." The album featured songs that would be remembered by fans for years, including, "As I Recollect" and "Hazy Daze feat. Mercedes. The album was mixed/produced by Jay Jansen of Janitor Bob fame in a small studio apartment in Sioux Falls, SD. What the band didn't know is that the album would sell 500 copies in the next 3 months and we were all enamored by the fact that people actually like what we were doing. The band played over 50 shows that year and began writing music for the 2nd album, "DIP." DIP was recorded at Oarfin Studios in Minneapolis, MN in 1999. At that point, the band had parted ways with Mercedes and Hayes and expanded its horn section to a full 5-piece group known as the "brass assassins." The album, "DIP", featured the song, "Set It Off", which gained radio play and drew national attention to the band, including a slot as "Best Unsigned Band of 2000" on garageband.com. The band was given the opportunity to open for Limp Biskit and Cypress Hill at the Pepsi Center in Denver, CO. The band was also told that they may have a chance to sign with Flawless Records, Fred Durst's label; however, that whole event could have its own myspace account if we really wanted to tell you what a mess that t became. Fast Forward in time, 1 year later and the band is now in Minneapolis, MN and is now a 5-piece, hornless rock band. Trend 86 played every weekend in Minneapolis, packing clubs like The Quest, The Fine Line and playing alongside Sunset Black, Quietdrive, Align, Redoverlunar, A Whisper In the Noise, Pomeroy, Self Evident, Clair De Lune and many other exceptional musical talents. Ryan Wheeler replaced Steve Versavel on drums and the band began recording for its 3rd full length album, "Adobe." Teaming up with local musical icon Wes Thordsen and recording legend Steve Albini, the band loaded up its van and headed south to Chicago to record/live in Steve Albini's apartment for a period of 5 days. 1 year later, Ryan Wheeler and Trend 86 had a peaceful and loving parting and the group welcomed long time friend William Nevious to the drum kit. The group continued to play and forged ahead through 2004. This is the history of a rock group that you all know as Trend 86. RIP
Greetings from Eau Claire-- hope all is well in dead band land. Good bands are like good supervillains-- they don't stay dead for long. Looking forward to the resurrection.
