Oblivians

by Mike DaRonco
Scaring the country folks of Memphis with their brand of sleazy raunch and roll since their 1995 debut album Soul Food, the Oblivians refuse to mold into stereotype of three piece ensembles sounding wimpy or watered down. Instead, the Oblivians pay tribute to the Ramones, the Sonics and the Stooges by creating their own sound of nostalgic 60s garage punk with their use of lo-fi equipment. Following Soul Food the next year was a live studio collection entitled Sympathy Sessions and their second album Popular Favorites. Continuing on with their unorthodox method of two guitars, drums and a bass-less line-up was their collaboration with keyboardist Mr. Quintron appropriately titled Play Nine Songs with Mr. Quintron in 1997. It was the groups last studio set, as Greg Oblivian and Jack Oblivian chose to reform their earlier band, The Compulsive Gamblers; Sympathy for the Record Industry released an official non-Crypt best-of in 1999 called The Best of the Worst 93-97; Melissas Garage Revisited followed a year later.