Top 4 Bands from Pennsylvania

Time for the next installment of top bands from [insert location here].....this time we are stopping in the

state of Pennsylvania.

5..........WEEN
Ween was formed in New Hope, Pennsylvania (very tiny town in Eastern PA) in 1984 by Aaron Freeman

and Mickey Melchiondo (aka Gene and Dean Ween) while in 8th grade. To pin one style of music on this

band is nearly impossible. They are heavy into experimentation and incorporate elements of various

musical genres. I saw this band live at the Will Rogers Theater in Oklahoma City in 2000. They are just

as weird live as they are on their albums.

Studio albums released:
The Crucial Squeegie Lip (1986); Axis: Bold as Boognish (1987); Erica Peterson'a Flaming Crib Death

(1987); GodWeenSatan: The Oneness (1990); The Pod (1991); Pure Guava (1992); Chocolate and

Cheese (1994); 12 Golden Country Greats (1996); The Mollusk (1997); Craters of the Sac (1999); White

Pepper (2000); Quebec (2003); Shinola Volume 1 (2005); The Friends EP (2007); La Cucaracha (2007);

Live albums released:
The Live Brain Wedgie/WAD (1988); Paintin' the Town Brown (1999); Live in Toronto Canada (2001);

Live at Stubb's (2002); All Request Live (2003); Live in Chicago (2004); At the Cat's Cradle (2008);

Compilation albums released:
Prime 5 (1989);

Favorite Songs:
You Fucked Up; I Can't Put My Finger On It (it's really hard to come up with too many of my favorite

songs because most of their songs are just....weird).

Links:
Official website
Ween MySpace page
Another Official website
Ween Wiki article

4..........LIVE
This rock band was put together in York, Pennsylvania in 1988. They disbanded in 2009 but reunited

without lead singer Ed Kowalczyk in 2011.

Studio albums released:
Divided Mind, Divided Planet (1990); Four Songs (1991); Mental Jewelry (1991); Throwing Copper

(1994); Secret Samadhi (1997); The Distance to Here (1999); V (2001); Birds of Pray (2003); Songs from

Black Mountain (2006)

Compilation albums released:
Awake (2004); Radiant Sea (2007)

They released one live album, Live at the Paradiso in 2008.

Favorite songs:
The Dam at Otter Creek; Selling the Drama; I Alone; Lightning Crashes; Rattlesnake; Lakini's Juice; The

Dolphin's Cry; Heaven; She

Links:
Official website
Live Wiki article

3..........CINDERELLA
Formed in 1983 in Philadelphia by Tom Keifer and Eric Brittingham, this glam-metal band was more or

less discovered by Jon Bon Jovi after he saw one of their shows in Philadelphia.

Studio albums released:
Night Songs (1986); Long Cold Winter (1988); Heartbreak Station (1990); Still Climbing (1994

Compilation albums released:
Once Upon A (1997); 20th Century Masters (2000); Winning Combinations (2002); Rocked, Wired and

Bluesed (2005); Gold (2006); Best Ballads (2008)

Live albums released:
Live Train to Heartbreak Station (1991); Live at the Key Club (1999); Live From the Gypsy Road (2004);

In Concert (2004); Live (2005); Extended Versions (2006); Gypsy Road Live (2006); Nobodys Fool Live

(2008); Authorized Bootleg: Live at the Tokyo Dome (2009); Live at the Mohegan Sun (2009)

Favorite songs:
Night Songs; Shake Me; Nobodys Fool; Somebody Save Me; Gypsy Road; Don't KNow What You Got;

The More Things Change; Shelter Me; Heartbreak Station

Links:
Official website
Cinderella Wiki article
Cinderella Allmusic page

2..........THE DEAD MILKMEN
Another band from Philadelphia, this punk rock band started in 1983 after a few years of remaining a

bedroom recording project for Joe Genaro (aka Joe Jack Talcum). Lyrically, most of their content in

satirical in nature. Their lineup has been relatively consistent throughout the years, replacing only

bassist Dave Schulthise due to his suicide in 2004.

Studio albums released:
Big Lizard in My Backyard (1985); Eat Your Paisley (1986); Bucky Fellini (1987); Beelzebubba (1988);

Metaphysical Graffiti (1990); Soul Rotation (1992); Not Richard, But Dick (1993); Stoney's Extra Stout

(1995); The King in Yellow (2011)

Compilation albums released:
Now We Are 10 (1993); Death Rides a Pale Cow (1997); Cream of the Crop (1998); Now We Are 20

(2003)

They released 1 live album, Chaos Rules - Live at the Trocadero in 1994.

Favorite songs:
Tiny Town; VFW; Big Lizard in my Backyard; Takin Retards to the Zoo; Right Wing Pigeons; Bitchin'

Camaro; Stuart; I Walk the Thinnest Line; Punk Rock Girl;

Links:
Official website
Jack Talcum personal website
Rodney Anonymous personal website
Dead Milkmen Wiki article

1..........THE JULIANA THEORY
This rock band was formed in 1997 in Greensburg, PA. The music of this band is kind of hard to pin down but I really like it and it is unfortunate that this band broke up. They were on Tooth & Nail Records from 1999-2001, after which they signed and released one album with Epic Records (Love). After leaving Epic Records, they released the album DeadbeatSweethearbeat on Abacus Recordings before disbanding. They broke up in 2006 but did some reunion shows in 2010 but perhaps they will get back together and record some new stuff soon.

Studio albums released (EPs included):
Understand This is a Dream (1999); Emotion is Dead (2000); Music from Another Room (2001); Love (2003); Deadbeat Sweetheartbeat (2005)

1 compilation album titled A Small Noise was released by Tooth and Nail Records in 2006 and 1 live album titled Live 10.13.2011 was released (also by Tooth and Nail Records) in 2003.

In addition, there are 5 live albums that were released in 2006 by Instant Live Recordings (a company that distributes digital live recordings of concerts using portable recording vans). These albums were:
Troubadour in West Hollywood CA; Scrappy's in Tucson AZ; Numbskull in San Luis Obispo CA; Neckbeard's in Tempe AZ; Chain Reaction in Anaheim CA

Favorite songs:
This is Not a Love Song; To the Tune of 5000 Screaming Children; If I Told You This Was Killing Me Would You Stop; We're Nothing Without You; Jewel to Sparkle; This Is a Lovesong...for the Loveless; Shotgun Serenade

Links:
Official website
TJT's PureVolume site
TJT's Wiki article

Here is a short list of some other bands from Pennsylvania (and in parentheses is the city they hail from):
DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince (Philadelphia)
Bloodhound Gang (Collegeville)
The Hooters (Philadelphia)
Aus-Rotten (Pittsburgh)
Anti-Flag (Pittsburgh)
Zao (Greensburg)