Downy Mildew was an American

folk pop Folk-pop is a broad musical fusion genre that includes contemporary folk songs with pop arrangements, and pop songs with intimate, acoustic-based folk arrangements. Folk-pop has been popularized by mainstream media in recent years. Musica ...

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band from

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

active from 1984 to 1995.

History

Formed in

in 1984, the early lineup consisted of Jenny Homer (guitar, vocals), Charlie Baldonado (vocals, guitar), Nancy McCoy (bass guitar), and Mike Marasse (drums), all students at local colleges.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , pp. 306-7Appleford, Steve (1992) "Back on Track With 'Oncoming Train'", ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', June 14, 1992. Retrieved March 21, 2013 The band's first release was a self-titled EP on the Texas Hotel label in 1986. Their chamber-pop sound, inspired by 1960s pop and post punk saw them lumped in with the

Paisley Underground Paisley Underground is a musical genre that originated in California. It was particularly popular in Los Angeles, reaching a peak in the mid-1980s. Paisley Underground bands incorporated psychedelia, rich vocal harmonies and guitar interplay, owi ...

scene.Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Indie & New Wave'', Virgin Books, , pp. 138-9Ali, Lorraine (1994)
Pop Music Review : Downy Mildew Has Had Better Nights
, ''

'', September 13, 1994. Retrieved March 21, 2013 Their debut album ''Broomtree'' followed in 1987, and was released by Texas Hotel and

Glass Records Glass Records was a British independent record label which operated from 1981 to 1990, and was resurrected in 2015. Glass Vintage 1981–1990 Glass was one of the key London-based indie labels of the 1980s. Early releases focused on artists ...

in the UK. Marasse left, to be replaced by John Hofer, with Salvador Garza added on violin, and the new lineup recorded the album ''Mincing Steps'', released in 1988 on Texas Hotel. Michael Stipe of R.E.M. directed a video for the song Offering from the album.Foss, Richard
''Mincing Steps'' Review
,

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

. Retrieved March 21, 2013Cohen, Jason
Downy Mildew
, ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who, Dave Schulps, and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

''. Retrieved March 21, 2013 Hofer then left, and after a few years with only a sole single released on Triple X featuring the song "Cool Nights" which was produced by Andy Gill of Gang of Four and backed with a cover of the Bacharach/David song, " Walk On By" and a mash up of "Sunday Morning" by the Velvet Underground and "Leaving On A Jet Plane" by John Denver, the band returned in 1992 with the ''Elevator'' EP, released on the

Windham Hill Windham Hill Records was an independent record label that specialized in instrumental acoustic music. It was founded by guitarist William Ackerman and Anne Robinson (née McGilvray) in 1976 and was popular in the 1980s and 1990s. The label was ...

sub-label '

High Street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...

', now with Rob Jacobs on drums. By this time their sound had evolved more towards alternative rock.Foss, Richard
''An Oncoming Train'' Review
,

. Retrieved March 21, 2013 This was followed by the album ''An Oncoming Train''. McCoy left to start a family and was replaced by Janine Cooper (formerly of Pet Clarke) for the band's final album, ''Slow Sky'', released in 1994. Both An Oncoming Train and Slow Sky were recorded in the band's own studio and mixed by

Tchad Blake Tchad Blake (born 1955) is an American record producer, audio engineer, mixer and musician. A native of Baytown, Texas, he has worked with artists and musicians including Al Green, American Music Club, Ani DiFranco, Apartment 26, Arctic Monke ...

. The band split up in 1995.

Discography

Albums

*''Broomtree'' (1987), Texas Hotel/

Glass Glass is an amorphous (non-crystalline solid, non-crystalline) solid. Because it is often transparency and translucency, transparent and chemically inert, glass has found widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in window pane ...

*''Mincing Steps'' (1988), Texas Hotel *''An Oncoming Train'' (1992),

*''Slow Sky'' (1994), High Street

EPs

*''Downy Mildew'' (1986), Texas Hotel *''Elevator'' (1992), High Street

Singles

*"Cool Nights" (1990), Triple X

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Downy Mildew Alternative rock groups from California Musical groups from Los Angeles American folk musical groups