Wire Train-100 Days Or More By Sean Koepenick
Wire Train was a band that started in early 1980s and continued until roughly 1993. Although they were considered contemporaries of bands of that era like The Alarm and The Waterboys, in some ways they were a step above these artists. Sadly, the band never got the recognition they truly deserve. This article will serve as a introduction to the band for some, and possibly rekindle some long lost memories of this great band for others.
The core member of the band-at least in terms of the vision of Wire Train-would have to start with lead singer/guitarist Kevin Hunter. Kevin moved to LA from Europe in 1976 and by 1978 he had formed his first band. The Snot Puppies gained some notoriety on the early punk scene with songs like Towels and TV Tantrum. However, the band was short-lived and Kevin split to San Francisco-his original hometown. While studying poetry he met Kurt Herr and basically forced him to learn guitar. Using the basement of a porno theater as their practice space the duo went through a rash of rhythm sections under the name of The Renegades.
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In 1982, The Renegades had some minor airplay in San Francisco with a song called 451. Local label 415 Records was interested and Howie Klein wanted to sign the band. David Kahne (Fishbone,The Bangles) signed up to produce. But first came a name change to Wire Train and a solidification of the bands line-up. Bassist Anders Rundblad came from Sweden and drummer Federico Gil-Sola was from Argentina. Truly an international effort! 415 Records would later join up with CBS Records in a partnership deal that afforded the bands on the label wider distribution for their records. Other acts on 415 included Romeo Void and The Red Rockers.
Producer Kahne kept them on a tight schedule recording In A Chamber in 17 days and for $22K. Hunter later remarked that thats no way to make an album. You should work on the songs one at a time and get it all perfect. Whatever the method, the results were impressive. Chamber Of Hellos became a alternative radio hit and two other singles-Ill Do You and Never were also put out. Wire Train featured a distinctive sound-bolstered by rookie guitarist Kurt Herrs lead flourishes. When their debut came out in 1984 he had only been playing guitar for two years. Touring in the US and abroad began and they even managed a slot opening for Big Country on The Crossing tour. Bono called In A Chamber the best album of 1984. Even though the bands star was rising, drummer Gil-Sola bowed out. He was replaced by Brian MacLeod (Ex-Sleepers, Group 87) before recording began on their second record-Between Two Words.
Wire Train definitely sounded more confident on this record, adjusting well to a new producer-(Peter Maunu) and a new environment-Vienna. But there were some tense moments and by the time the record came out in 1985-founding guitarist Kurt Herr was gone. He was quickly replaced by Jeff Trott-who had been in a band called The Lifers from 1980-1984. The Lifers were described by one fan as a cross between Echo & The Bunnymen and The Psychedelic Furs. He had also briefly played with World Party. Highlights on this record included Skills Of Summer, Last Perfect Thing and a soaring cover of Bob Dylans God On Our Side. More touring followed with bands like The Alarm. Hunter also forged a separate songwriting deal with CBS Records. Any songs that didnt work for Wire Train were passed onto other artists for cold hard cash. Some takers included The Go Gos, The Divinyls, and even Eddie Rabbit. Whatever pays the rent!
In 1987 the band went to London to record their 3rd record-Ten Women. The first to feature Trott, it was definitely not the same old Wire Train sound. Producer Tim Palmer (The Mission U.K.) seemed to be able to get new textures out of the band on this session. She Comes On and Shes A Very Pretty Thing were hard driving rockers and the acoustic ballad Breakwater Days even featured Dave Sharpe from The Alarm on additional guitar. A great record from start to finish, but even with more extensive touring, sales were disappointing. This would be their last record with 415/CBS Records. After a few years of legal wrangling, the band made the jump to giant MCA.
In 1990 they released a self titled record. Should She Cry began to get some airplay and other tracks like Spin and Tin Jesus quickly became live favorites. The band sound had evolved since the last record, with Trott adding more slide guitar into the mix. The video got some brief airplay on MTV but a tour opening for Bob Dylan helped pushed sales of the record to new heights. 1991 saw the release of I Will Fall on the Point Break movie soundtrack. In 1992 they were back in the studio to record their second record for MCA. Little did they know this would be their last official record as a band.
No Soul No Strain came out in 1992 and was produced by Bill Bottrell. It was a far cry from Wire Trains debut. This line-up had finally gelled into a cohesive unit and standout tracks included Other Lover, Willing It To Be and the haunting Hey Jordan. A solid work throughout if you can get past the wacky cover art. Wire Train celebrated the release of this record by touring the UK for the first time in 5 years, including a stop at the Reading Festival. Back in the US, they were still largely under the music scenes radar, even having to open for hacks Live on a tour. Perhaps this is one of the reasons the band decided to call it a day in 1993.
The band had given another record-called Snug to MCA but the label thought it was too out there. Trust me-its great and deserves to someday see the light of day. All the band members then went onto other projects. Both Brian and Jeff played with Sheryl Crow and Bash & Pop. Jeff turned his stint with Crow into a longer commitment contributing some songwriting to Crows recorded output.
More recently Trott released the critically acclaimed solo record Digging Up The Astroturf and he is planning on releasing a follow up EP in 2005. Brian MacLeod continues to do various session work, most notably with David Baerwald and Cracker among many others. Anders also played with Crow, as well as Susannah Hoffs and Chuck Prophet. He is mostly involved with the movie business in LA today-primarily in set construction. What about the ex-members of the band? Gil-Sola left San Francisco in 1990 and moved back to his native Argentina. He formed the band Divididos which put out 2 records and then released a solo record in 2001. He is currently working on the follow-up. First Wire Train guitarist Kurt Herr joined the band Missile Harmony after leaving Wire Train, but then dropped out of sight. Last but not least, what has singer/guitarist Kevin Hunter been doing since the end of the band? He's collaborated with artists like Billy Idol, Johnny Cash, Susannah Hoffs, Jane Wiedlin and Charlie Sexton. Most recently he worked with Simple Minds in 1999 on a record called Our Secrets Our The Same. Due to record company shenanigans it was shelved until it was included as part of a box set called Silver Box that just came out late last year by Simple Minds.
Wire Trains music continues to leave its mark. Fans still offer up praise and in the summer of 2003 the band played a reunion show in LA. Shot for VH1s Band Reunited series, it sadly never aired. All the band members still talk so could there ever be a full fledged reunion tour and new record? Never say never-I mean nobody thought The Pixies or Mission Of Burma would ever play again either. But if youve never heard Wire Train-go online and you should be able to dig up a few of their releases. They are fantastic and hopefully someday the bands music will get the recognition they truly deserve.
NEVER
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SHE COMES ON
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