User:Divineweeks/sandbox

Named by the L.A. Times as one of the 15 best unsigned bands in Los Angeles, Divine Weeks burst onto the vibrant 80s L.A. underground scene alongside the likes of Jane’s Addiction, fIREHOSE, Thelonious Monster and House of Freaks. After a show at the Music Machine in late summer 1986, the Dream Syndicate’s Steve Wynn approached the band and offered to sign them to his Down There label, home to notable early releases by Dream Syndicate, Green on Red, Naked Prey, Russ Tolman and Top Jimmy. Critical praise for their 1987 debut, “Through and Through,” relentless touring, and airplay for the “In the Country (For Jim Carroll)” video on MTV’s newly launched “120 Minutes” brought Divine Weeks national attention.

Inspired by the deep friendship between D. Boon and Mike Watt of the Minutemen, Divine Weeks was formed by childhood friends, singer Bill See, guitarist Raj Makwana, and bassist George Edmondson. (Washington D.C. transplant, Dave Smerdzinski rounded out the lineup on drums). Like the Minutemen, Divine Weeks’ friendship and loyalty to each other shaped their very essence: egalitarian, political and smart. They bought into the DIY, just-jump-in-a-van credo and followed the breadcrumbs left on the highway by their indie rock heroes.

Ironically, it was that deep friendship and loyalty that derailed the band just as they were making their mark nationally in the late 80s. Co-founding member and guitarist Raj Makwana’s departure from the band in early 1990 due to pressure from the cultural constraints of his very traditional Indian family, caused the band a difficult moral quandary over whether to pack it in or go on without their childhood friend. A chance meeting with guitarist Matt Mahler who was engineering the very last recording sessions the band did with Makwana reinvigorated the band. Mahler’s harder edged approach on the completed demo was the impetus for the band being signed to First Warning Records in late 1990. With the band’s First Warning debut, “Never Get Used To It” (released the very same day as “Nevermind”), a triumphant appearance at the New Music Seminar and airplay for their video and single, “I Found Out, it looked like after all the heartaches, the band would be reemerging at the exact right moment to reap the rewards brought on by Nirvana’s success.

Unfortunately, Divine Weeks didn’t survive to see it; they broke up in 1992. Other than a one-off reunion in 2004, the band was dormant until the release of Bill See’s critically acclaimed 2011 coming of age on the road memoir, “33 Days: Touring in a Van, Sleeping on Floors, Chasing a Dream.” The book, in part culled from his journal entries during Divine Weeks’ first tour, lead to a reconciliation with Makwana and songwriting sessions started in 2014. Not intended to be a Divine Weeks reunion, the two couldn’t help but notice the songs sounding eerily familiar with an uplifting vibe that marked the best of Divine Weeks’ music. In early 2016, the original lineup, sans Edmondson (now a professor at Dartmouth and replaced by L.A. music vet Michael Lawrence) tracked 10 songs in just one day. The resulting "See Those Landing Lights," released in April 2016, was an open-hearted, wide-eyed war on cynicism with big sweeping guitar-driven songs of regeneration and renewal. The record’s messages of enduring friendship, soul mates, fatherhood and mortality was no coincidence.

2017 has seen a wellspring of Divine Weeks releases with a pair of blistering live albums, "We Did It For Love" from their recent triumphant hometown headlining spot at the WISH Charter benefit and “Tonight is the Night to Dream New Dreams,” the incendiary one-off reunion show from 2004. In addition, their debut, “Through and Through,” was rereleased earlier this year with 13 unreleased tracks, and the 1991 follow up, “Never Get Used To It” is getting the deluxe edition treatment with six rare bonus tracks as well.

Expect a video soon for their new single, "Holes," an unabashed, open-hearted meeting at the intersection of U2's first record and The Who circa 1969.

DISCOGRAPHY:

“Through and Through” full length LP, Down There/Restless Records, released May 1987.

“Only 39,999,999 Behind Thriller” compilation, Down There/Restless Records, released July 1988. Two Divine Weeks tracks included.

“Spontaneous Consumer Frenzy” compilation. Released August 1989. One Divine Weeks track included.

“Preachin’ to the Choir” 3 song EP. First Warning/BMG Records. Released July 1991.

“Never Get Used To It” full length CD. First Warning/BMG Records. Released September 1991.

“I Found Out” 4 song EP. First Warning/BMG Records. Released October 1991.

“A Lump of Coal” Holiday Compilation. First Warning/BMG Records. Released November 1991.

“See Those Landing Lights” full length CD. Self-released. Released April 2016.

“We Did It For Love (Live 2/11/17)” Self-released. Released April 2017.

“Through and Through (2017 Deluxe Edition)” Self-released. Released May 2017.

“Tonight Is The Night To Dream New Dreams (Live 4/10/04)” Self-released. Released June 2017.

“Never Get Used To It (Remastered 2017 Deluxe Edition)” Funzalo Records. Released 8/11/17.

“Holes” (2017 Remix) single. Released September 2017.

“Last Warning (Silverlake Demos 1990-1992) Self-Released. To Be Released Fall 2017.

- Press coverage below:

"They're a young U2, maybe the next REM...though neither allusion is accurate, they have the edge that separates the trailblazers from the sycophants." ~ Gerrie Lim, LA Weekly. September, 1987. "Singer Bill See becomes swept up in the music on stage a la Van Morrison or Bono Hewson, and he does the most convincing primal scream in rock since John Lennon." ~ Steve Hochman, LA Times, July 5, 1987. "One thing you learn after seeing 10,000 bands is that some of us have it and some of us don't. That there's such a thing as a natural.  Bill See is a natural.  He's got the gift of conviction and a talent to apply to it.  And this band digs in and lets loose." ~ Robert Lloyd, LA Weekly, June 1987. "Divine Weeks are so good it's hard to believe they aren't from some small foreign country. Divine Weeks' personal vision is honed, jaded, painfully intense, beautiful. It's goddamn real to me.  Get it." ~ Gina Arnold, Ward Report, August 1987. "Roots rock from the insane asylum...It is easy to see why this band has caused such a stir. They are highly innovative, their material virtually demands that you pay attention, and you can almost see the sparks flying between the musicians in concert." ~ Doug Lathrop, Music Connection, July 1988. "Divine Weeks bring to mind the sound and impact of bands like The Who, The Replacements and REM, yet their style is all their own. Their debut album and shows around town have proven this is one of the best bands in L.A." ~ Tim Henke, Daily Bruin, June 1987. "Divine Weeks were perhaps one of L.A.'s best could-have-been bands -- certainly the hype and attention they received through their existence was close to that given to groups like U2, but at least the music was good enough to warrant it." ~ Ned Ragget, AllMusic. “See Those Landing Lights, the band’s long-awaited third LP, which comes a mere 25 years after the last one Never Get Used to It, is a celebration – of the joys of living a life, of the redemptive power of love, of the act of creation itself. Hard to resist, See Those Landing Lights strikes a blow for optimism in rock & roll.” ~ Michael Toland, Blurt Magazine, May 2016 -- Lead singer Bill See kept insightful and entertaining journals on Divine Week's first tour - which later formed the basis for his critically acclaimed coming of age 80s-Rock-Underground memoir 33 Days published in 2011. [33 Days on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/33-Days-Touring-Sleeping-Chasing/dp/0557758815/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= ] While on tour, the band's video for their first single "In The Country (For Jim Carroll)" became a minor favorite on MTV's then recently launched "120 Minutes" indie-rock showcase [view it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUqPrdH6ivE]