pre-Terrible Musicky
Lou Black and Chris Redd met (and dated) in college and performed as a folk duo 'Red & Black', Lou sang and Chris played acoustic guitar, doing a mix of covers and originals. They broke up as an act and a couple (and shortly after Chris dropped out). Lou went on to sing with Lost Christians and got some attention on the local scene until their drummer (who also had a van) O.D.ed and the other bandmates decided to quit and get 'real jobs'.
Meanwhile Chris did guitar work with underground straight edge punk band Nosejobs, where they met J.C. Knight on drums. Chris and J.C. found the straight edge lifestyle limiting and decided to split off and form a pop-punk band of their own, Post-Post-Post, which got some traction with some mixtapes and was able to do some shows across the UK.
Sloan Corbet was doing session work and writing riffs and sequences for a variety of bands, getting some songwriting credits without actually being in any live performances and making a decent living, and generally in demand. Most of this was at Nico Studios, an imprint-within-an-imprint loosely in the Virgin umbrella, run by Nico Payton.
T. Trainor was in a series of go-nowhere bands but did okay with doing touring fill work to help pay the bills, filling in for bands who needed a guitarist able to learn lead lines on short notice. The singer of local heavy metal act 'Twice Bitten' nicknamed them (affectionately) 'Terrible'. They toured with 'Twice Bitten' off and on for 2 years until they ran into the person who would be their first band manager, Nico Payton, who was looking for potential bands to boost their own career prospects. Nico didn't get strong vibes off 'Twice Bitten' but thought Terrible had breakout potential if paired with a decent singer, and so 'Terrible Musicy' as an idea was formed.
The original lineup pulled Chris and J.C. from Post-Post-Post, switching Chris to bass since Terrible was the chosen lead guitarist. Nico brought in Sloan on keys to add some songwriting talent to the lineup, with the intent of having them spend a half year together using spare studio time in the evenings in hopes of defining themselves as a sound, then pulling together a demo tape for to see if they could either radio play or get some larger label attention. Their original vocalist, Robin Cook, lasted 3 weeks before everyone agreed it wasn't working and Chris (with some hesitation) suggested they invite Lou to join.
Fun facts:
- J.C. Knight is from the US and worked as a lifeguard and taught swim classes while working their way through an associates degree, then moved to England to 'explore music' there and moved into a squat with a bunch of others in the punk scene, mostly mooching off their dole payments.
- Chris Redd studied as an engineer in university but flunk out halfway through after a bad breakup and partying too hard. His day job is clerk at a 24-hour shop.
- Lou Black was a fine arts major in university, finished, then did freelance graphic design for websites to make ends meet, and designed their first two album covers.
- Sloan Corbet was the only member earning enough from music to live, plus their folks gave them an allowance. They skipped university and picked up a teaching certificate instead. Their parents told them if they made it to 30 without being able to fully support themself, they had to give up music and get a real teaching job.
- Terrible started working swing shifts in a shipping warehouse right after high school, and still works there when not on tour.
Band formation and first album: "Terrible Musicy" (2004)The band hit it off well, boosted by the upbeat coaching of their manager Nico and the prospect of a studio supporting them. Nico started shopping their rough cuts and managed to get some play at local dance clubs. A rep from Virgin Records/EMI liked their sound and signed them. The band, idealist and full of youth, recorded their first album in just six weeks of mad inspiration and genuine artistic collaboration. They began touring as an opening act for EMI mid-label artist Rapture. Unfortunately 'Terrible Musicy' received the "worst album of 2004" award from Rolling Stone and they were dropped from their label mid-tour. |
Second album: "The Breaks" (2005)Branson's V2 still thought the band had something and booked them a studio for a second album, this time with Manager [Name] and using famed recording engineer [Name]. With more focus and the introduction of whiskey and ectasy, the band honed a more focused sound and managed to chart two singles. This was enough for a year-long US/UK tour. It was successful enough that the label immediately booked them into a studio for the next album. |
Third album: "Rapturistic" (2006, reissued 2007 as "Unlabeled")Enraptured with the club scene and heavily using, the band leaned into a more techno sound and added a lot of vocal processing. Unfortunately Lou disagreed and left the album halfway through recording, thus the album has a mix of vocalists and an inconsistent sound. Most of the band were heavy users at the time and no one really remembers the recording session. None of the songs charted on their own, however, a Dread 77 D.J. remix of their epononyous 'Rapturistic' created enough interest in the band to support touring in small clues and venues. Unfortunately, former friends 'Rapture' claimed Terrible Musicky was infringing on their name with this album title, and in the settlement they were forced to rename the album, choosing the title "Unlabeled" in protest. V2 decided to drop the band. |
Fourth album: "Tensions" (2008)After taking a hiatus and with bills due Terrible Musicy found a new sublabel with PIAS willing to back them. Already the band was feeling artistic tensions in what direction to take the album, and that mixed with the alcohol and drugs and relationship issues resulted in them fighting more than recording. Somehow out of this came an album of passable singles and the odd ballad-like 'That One Song', originally recorded as a bet. Arguing over who had more musical talent, Lou told Terrible they couldn't play guitar as well as any of the Beatles, even Ringo. Terrible in turn said Lou sang worse than Ringo. They then decided to record one song 'Beatles-style' to see who would screw it up first. The band didn't want to include it on the album and forgot about it, but the Recording Engineer secretly re-mastered the rough cut in the evening and played it for the Manager, who decided to include it on the album without telling the band. The band was angry, but when it became the breakout hit of their career, were forced to play it as the encore on what ended up being their largest tour ever. |
Fifth album: "Best of" (2010)Nonstop touring began to take its toll on the band and tensions were high. The studio decided to release a 'best of' rather than force them into the studio. Meanwhile, 'That One Song' was used in a short-running TV show, bringing in some revenue and keeping Terrible Musicy's name in the public's ear. |
Sixth album: "Directions" (2012)Their sixth album, "Directions", was the last time they'd have a charting single. "Directions" was essentially a set of solo projects published under the band name. The band was generally not talking to each other and simply making the album for the money. The title track "Directions" reached the top 400, being perhaps the last example of the band playing together. Terrible's all-instrumental 'Play This Way' didn't chart but got sampled by enough other songs to earn them a bit of notice. Meanwhile 'My Way (redux)', a take on the Sinatra classic, nabbed Lou some ironic punk cred and led to them breaking entirely from the band to focus on a solo career. The band was over... or was it? |
Seventh album: "Terribly Live" (2015)With solo careers failing to get any traction, both the band and the label became desparate for cash. The label staged a Reunion tour, having them open for headliners including Mew, the Jezabels, and other PIAS bands-- basically anyone willing to sign them as an opener. One outcome of this was a mildly-well-received live album, drawn not from one show (as the band was rarely sober enough to perform a consistent 40 minute set) but stitched together by the label from multiple shows. |
Now: "The Countdown" (2017)
With the bandmates faced with mounting debt and few career prospects, on the strength of their live album the label has given them one last change to try to make a passable studio album. If it fails, the band and possibly the label is over. Unfortunately the lengthy recording sesssion has gone so poorly, there's just a handful of passable streaming filler with maybe a few notes of their past glory. The label has basically given them one last chance to try to make something remotely playable. It's the last two hours of the last day of the last week of the recording session. Can they pull it together to make magic again?
That One Song
[V1] That one song, I hear it on the radio, Drivin' alone on this long and lonely road. I think of you, I think of you all the time Can't leave you, you're always there on my mind. (chorus) You left me, or maybe I'm the one who ran away from you Still running, this ain't the life that I would ever choose I'd take it all back but there ain't no back to take or give I'm crying and I'm all alooooooooooone!!!!! [V2] I loved you and love was all I had to give You loved me and that was everything to me I wrote this, this one song for my love to you You were my world until the day you finally realized (chorus) You left me, or maybe I'm the one that ran away from you Still running, this ain't the life that I would ever choose I'd take it all back but there ain't no back to take or give I'm crying and I'm all alooooooooooone!!!!! [guitar break] [bridge] I loved you and love was all I had to give I wrote this, this one song-- (chorus) You left me, or maybe I'm the one that ran away from you Still running, this ain't the life that I would ever choose I'd take it all back but there ain't no back to take or give I'm crying and I'm all alooooooooooone!!!!! (outro) That one song, I'll always hear you on my radio...