The Icons

In 1988 the trio of Jimi Lang on vocals and guitar, Mike Meitner on bass, and Dino English on drums formed a band called Gravity's Rainbow in St. Louis, Missouri. They played a few gigs. The threesome then recruited James Gunn to take over for Jimi Lang on lead vocals. Most of the band members were still in their teens. They wrote two hours of original song material in a little over a month in preparation for their first gig. As Iconoclast, then Icon Sage, and, finally, just The Icons, the band played out at clubs in St. Louis, especially places like Kennedy's and Frosty Factory on the Landing, and Cicero's in University City -- the became one of the most popular bands in St. Louis almost immediately. They also played throughout the Midwest -- mostly college towns in Indiana, Illinois, and Kansas. The Icons strange mix of pop, goth, funk, art-rock, and punk, and even stranger live show attracted the burgeoning undergrounds in these areas. The Icons were one of the first local bands -- and the only popular local band at the time -- to play almost entirely original songs at the large clubs in St. Louis. The Icons often included two additional members -- Paul Chickey on percussion, and Greg Sharp on harmonica. The Icons broke up and reformed a number of times. In 1994, they recorded their sole album for Ancient Lizard, Mom, We Like It Here on Earth. The members of the Icons played in many other bands. Gunn and Meitner played for two years in The Pods, a darker, more aggressive Icons, who never recorded but enjoyed even more touring success than the Icons. Gunn and Lang formed the side unit M.O.M., whose song "I Want" is featured on Mom, We Like It Here on Earth. Lang and English played in Janus Avenue, another popular St. Louis band who played a number of the Icons songs. Although many of these bands were technically much more accomplished, most agreed that they lacked the magic of The Icons. Although the band has not formally broken up, they only play the rare gigs today when they're able to get together The Icons gained some national attention when their music appeared on the soundtracks of movies like The Lowlife and Tromeo & Juliet. Today, Dino English is the only member who still plays music professionally, in the band Dark Star Orchestra. Jimi Lang is a consultant for the United Nations currently stationed in Laos. Mike Meitner is a professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia. And James Gunn is a filmmaker who has written such films as Dawn of the Dead and directed such films as Slither.