Lost Bands: Searching for... Wire Train
09/12/2006
Music Home / Entertainment Channel / Bullz-Eye Home
The age of digital downloads has been good for a variety of reasons. One of the best, especially if you grew up in an age when vinyl was giving way to cassettes which were giving way to CD’s, is that we can now search for some of our favorite artists of a bygone era and download their songs for a buck apiece. That is, of course, provided that the artists in question have made their songs available digitally.
My latest attempt to move aside a big rock and uncover a band no one has heard from in years is San Francisco-based Wire Train. The band was originally signed to 415 Records, which became an imprint of Columbia in the early ‘80s. They then released five albums between 1983 and 1992 before falling into obscurity.
The first album was In a Chamber, which featured the single, “Chamber of Hellos,” an early MTV staple. This was when I first became aware of the band, but it wasn’t until their breakthrough 1985 release, Between Two Words, that I really became hooked. With guitar-driven rockers like “Last Perfect Thing” and “I Will,” Wire Train was a band that knew its way around a hook. There was also a vibe-y darkness about this band, especially on tracks like “No Pretties,” that helped define the modern music movement of the decade.
The band’s 1987 release, Ten Women, wasn’t as strong but still had a couple of really good tracks, “She Comes On” and “Breakwater Days.” Then after a five-year hiatus (I’m not even counting the uneventful self-titled effort of 1990) and a label move to MCA, Wire Train released No Soul No Strain, their last known album, which in my opinion had exactly one good song on it. But that song, “Crashing Back to You,” was arguably their best.
I remember living in Cleveland in the early ‘90s and hearing “Crashing Back to You” on 107.9 The End, the city’s powerhouse modern rock station. I was in my car and almost drove off the road – because I had missed this band as if they were an old flame, and because the song was incredible. I was supposed to see them live a few weeks later when they came to town, but for whatever reason never made it. The show was sold out, but as far as I know they never came back to Cleveland and I don’t remember hearing any more about them after that.
So every month or so when I’m scouring iTunes for, um, vintage music, I search for Wire Train. There is still no music available, though there are now videos of “Last Perfect Thing” and two other songs for $1.99 apiece.
There is also a U.K.-based fan site which has some tidbits on what the various members of the band have been up to, but as a fan from way back, I want more. I want to know what really happened after Wire Train released No Soul No Strain, what projects they have been involved in and what plans they have for their musical futures, if any. Most importantly, will Wire Train ever release another record?
If anyone has information regarding this band, or even better, if any of its members are reading this, please contact us. Surely we can’t be the only ones looking to find your music. Anyone?
If you have any information on Wire Train, please e-mail Mike Farley at mfarley@bullz-eye.com.