FICTIVE FRIDAYS : #20

MARRY ME

Divorces are sad, for the most part, so there was an air of melancholy about FF19, which showcased bands with married members whose relationships ended. Let’s cheer up a bit with this next set, which features band members that managed to keep it together.

Tiger Lily – Luna.

Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips (m. 2007). Luna formed in 1991 after the split of Galaxie 500, “the best band you’ve never heard of.” Britta joined in 1997 and married the frontman ten years later. Luna hasn’t released too much music lately, but the pair also record and perform as a duo, in addition to scoring soundtracks like The Squid and the Whale.

Goo Goo Muck – The Cramps.

Erick Purkhiser picked up Kristy Wallace (m. 1972) while she was hitchhiking in Sacramento, where they were both attending college. He became Lux Interior and she Poison Ivy Rorschach, and they were married for 37 years until his sad passing in 2009.

Genius of Love – Tom Tom Club.

Talking Heads’ Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz (m. 1977) met David Byrne at RISD in the early 70’s. At the height of the CB’s legends’ career they formed the Tom Tom Club, with Tina’s sisters (the “Sweetbreaths”) singing back up. It’ll be fifty years for the rhythm section in 2027.

Ceremony – New Order.

Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert (m. 1994). Gillian and her girlfriends saw Siouxsie and the Banshees on television and immediately formed the Inadequates, who rehearsed next door to Joy Division in Manchester. She sometimes filled in on guitar for Ian or Bernard during gigs, and so the boys knew who to call when they formed New Order. The pair released albums as The Other Two after Hooky and Barney released their own records.

Cut From the Cloth – The Evens.

Ian MacKaye and Amy Farina (m. 1990s?). What do you do when the seminal straight edge hardcore band you formed as a teenager and the seminal post-hardcore band you formed in your 20’s break up? You calm the fuck down and get married to another musician is what. In 2001, after Minor Threat and Fugazi ran their courses, Ian MacKaye formed The Evens with Amy Faria. That act has been a little quiet lately, but the pair are active in Coriky, including bassist Joe Lally.

Proofs – Mates of State.

Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel (m. 2001). After the first two of their three daughters were born, Gardner ran a blog called Band on the Diaper Run about touring life on the road with two little kids.

Autumn Sweater – Yo La Tengo.

Georgia Hubley and Ira Kaplan (m. 1987). The indie-est of indie bands was formed in 1984 and has had the same lineup since James McNew joined on bass in 1991. Before McNew came aboard, YLT had no less than 13 bassists, including brief stints by Clint Conley (Mission of Burma), Chris Stamey (the dB’s), Tony Maimone (Pere Ubu), and Robert Vickers (Go-Betweens).

Here’s Where the Story Ends – Sundays.

Harriet Wheeler and David Gavurin (m. 1990s?) met at university in Bristol. They released three great albums as The Sundays, then packed it in after 1997’s Static and Silence. They reportedly continued to record music while they raised their kids, but nothing’s been released in almost 20 years.

The Only Living Boy In New York – Everything But The Girl.

Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt (m. 2009). EBTG’s couple have been together since meeting in 1982. They released a bunch of great albums, took a 20+ year hiatus to raise their family, and came back to release Fuse in 2023. Thorn’s memoir, Bedsit Disco Queen: How I Grew Up and Tried to Be a Pop Star, recounts it all and is well worth a read.

Inept Apollo – Nation of Language.

Ian Richard Devaney and Aidan Noell (m. 2018). The story goes that Devaney was inspired to start a synthpop band after hearing ‘Electricity’ by OMD. Since forming in 2016, the group have released four impressive albums, including last year’s Dance Called Memory, from which this single was taken

Other bands with married couples to check out: The Handsome Family, Low, Sylvan Esso, Tennis, The Besnard Lakes, Flogging Molly, and probably others I forgot about or never learned of.

Bonus tracks:

Marry Me – St. Vincent

Archie, Marry Me – Alvvays