Rated ‘U’

So, you have the talent, the songwriting skills, the hooks and the passion to play the music. What you need is the break.

Splender, the brainchild of Waymon Boone.

If you look the word up online, the word underrated means “to rate or evaluate too low” or “underestimate.”

I say correct on both counts there. And if you look at some bands who have the talent, write great songs, songs with great hooks that make the songs catchy, yet success eludes them, then both dictionary definitions fit their bill. Which makes you wonder, why does this happen?

Through the decades, countless bands have made it to the top, then as quickly as their rise, they fall and disappear. A one-hit wonder. It is one thing to be a one-hit wonder and another to be an underrated band. Equally painful and frustrating.

During the 90s, there were so many bands that sprouted mushroom-like in the midst of the Grunge explosion that saw bands like Nirvana take the stage and take the world. Suddenly, every band fell over one another trying to be like them, sound like them and hit it big like them. But they were not as talented as them.

I think Nirvana’s producer Butch Vig (a musician himself who drums for the band Garbage) was spot on with his observation. After producing Nevermind Nirvana’s breakthrough album, bands kept approaching him to produce their release so they could be the next Nirvana; to which Vig retorted, “You wanna be as big as Nirvana? Write songs as good as Kurt Cobain’s.”

So, sure, it takes a great amount of talent and just the right chutzpah to sound unique and catchy. But most of the time, it takes more than that. There are many other elements to consider though. So, you have the talent, the songwriting skills, the hooks and the passion to play the music. What you need is the break.

So many performers with the promise of fame (and perhaps fortune) have fallen by the wayside because they lacked the proper break. At times, even if they do get a break, you factor in the presence of other hindrances; lack of label support, the absence of marketing and probably the most essential, the timing.

Just this week, ex-Go-Go’s singer Belinda Carlisle’s third solo album Runaway Horses turned 30 years old and is being reissued as a box set. The album was not as big a hit as her two previous albums (Heaven On Earth and the self-titled debut Belinda) in the US, as it was in Europe. This was, however, a conscious effort on her part, fueled by her desire to write more thoughtful less poppier songs. But, due to her immense following and existing clout, Carlisle still managed to release her music in a less auspicious manner, yet maintained her visibility and viability. Clearly, it was a choice. Some bands are not as fortunate. Bands such as Splender.

Splender is an underrated band personified. The band was the brainchild of Waymon Boone. His talent seeds were planted early within when he toured with his R&B Jazz singer mother in his youth. Later in life, he formed a band Hidden Persuaders, an early precursor to Splender, and signed a “development deal” with Hit & Run Music Publishing, a leading indie music publisher, which is what bands usually did then.

Managers from the different Hit & Run offices in New York and London championed the signing of the band, introducing them to French promoters and road managed their first shows at festivals and clubs across Europe. After winning a Battle of the Bands competition, they finally got signed to Columbia Records in 1999.

Their debut album Halfway Down the Sky was produced by no less than Todd Rundgren and garnered two hits “Yeah Whatever” and “I Think God Can Explain,” alternative hits I’m sure you’ve heard before on NU107. Switching labels to J Records in 2001, Splender released their second album To Whom It May Concern the next year and scored a hit with “Save It for Later” to not much success. A second single “The Loneliest Person I Know” was released, a catchy piece of Altpop/Rock that barely helped the album’s dismal sales of 16,000 copies. Shortly after, Splender disbanded.

It’s easy to surmise that the talent was there, as evinced by the excellent material they produced; but another factor also came into play here, and that’s the timing. It’s possible that the release of their album coincided with other bigger, more popular bands, and Splender was unable to snatch the limelight.

It’s a pity when circumstances like this befall a really good band that just can’t seem to cut a break. They did, but the rest of the story failed to unfold for them the way they wanted it to. It is said that Splender leader Waymon Boone went on to pursue other endeavors, like directing music videos, becoming part of the writing panel for The Voice, but he seemed to have found his niche with the formation of his own film studio/production company, Boondock Films. He’s released several self-penned and directed short films which have gone on to garner awards. He’s also delved into feature length films he’s written and directed. It may seem that Boone’s fortunes lay elsewhere away from the hit singles and album charts. A very common tale in the music industry.

I’ll be featuring the unsung heroics of these underrated bands every so often in my column. Stay tuned.