Engine 88 was a

rock band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two gui ...

that spawned out of the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

in the 1990s.

History

Engine 88 (originally known as simply Engine) released three albums (2 on

Caroline Records Caroline Records is a record label originally founded in 1973. Initially founded in the United Kingdom to showcase British progressive rock groups, the label ceased releasing titles in 1976, and then re-emerged in the United States in 1986. ...

) and a handful of

seven-inch In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separat ...

singles throughout the 1990s. The band featured Tom Barnes of the notable

college rock College rock was the alternative rock music played on student-run university and college campus radio stations located in the United States and Canada in the 1980s. The stations' playlists were often created by students who avoided the mainstream ...

band

Sordid Humor Sordid Humor was an American rock music band, formed in 1987 by the duo of Tom Barnes and Jim Gordon. The duo received help from drummers Ken Gregg, Chris Pedersen, and Toby Hawkins, and bassists Tony Fader, David Immergluck and Marty Jones. Bar ...

as lead singer,

Damon Wood Engine 88 was a rock band that spawned out of the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1990s. History Engine 88 (originally known as simply Engine) released three albums (2 on Caroline Records) and a handful of seven-inch singles throughout the 1990s. ...

of Smoking Section on guitar, Eric Knight on bass and Dave Hawkins (also of Smoking Section) on the drums. Their first two releases, two 7 inch singles, ''Funny Car'' and ''Twenty'' were put out independently on their own label, Shut Up and Drive in 1993 and 1994, respectively. In 1995, their first full length LP, ''Clean Your Room'' was released on Caroline Records, defining their characteristic sound of driving guitars and rhythms counter-acted with introspective and often abstract lyrics. 1997's ''Snowman'' followed, to much critical acclaim. On July 2, 1997, Counting Crows kicked off a co-headlining tour with

The Wallflowers The Wallflowers is an American rock solo project of American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jakob Dylan. The Wallflowers were originally a roots rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1989 by Dylan and guitarist Tobi Miller. The band ...

that continued through September. This tour included opening acts by

Bettie Serveert Bettie Serveert is a Dutch indie rock band. The name translates to "Bettie Serves", or "Service to Bettie", which is the title of a book written by Dutch tennis player Betty Stöve, who made it to the Wimbledon Ladies Singles final in 1977. ...

, Engine 88,

Gigolo Aunts Gigolo Aunts are an American power pop band, who formed in 1981. Biography Early history The band was formed by middle school students Steve Hurley, Dave Gibbs, Phil Hurley, and Paul Brouwer in 1981 in Potsdam, New York, United States, origin ...

, and

That Dog That Dog (styled as that dog.) is a Los Angeles-based rock band that formed in 1992 and dissolved in 1997, reuniting in 2011. The band originally consisted of Anna Waronker on lead vocals and guitar, Rachel Haden on bass guitar and vocals, her ...

, with each opening band touring for a three-week stretch. While touring with Counting Crows, The Wallflowers were also playing their own headlining dates when the Counting Crows tour was on break (Counting Crows frontman

Adam Duritz Adam Fredric Duritz (born August 1, 1964) is an American singer, best known as the frontman for the rock band Counting Crows, of which he is a founding member and principal composer. Since its founding in 1991, Counting Crows has sold over 20 mi ...

experienced swollen vocal cords and had to back out of several shows in July). In 1998 the group disbanded and their final full-length, ''Flies and Death n' Stuff'' was released posthumously in 1998 on Wingnut Records. At the prompting of

Jawbreaker Jawbreaker may refer to: * Gobstopper, a hard candy with multiple layers Arts and entertainment * ''Jawbreakers'' (album), an album by Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and Harry "Sweets" Edison * Jawbreaker (band), an American rock band * Jawbreakers (duo) ...

, Engine 88 agreed to reunite for an appearance at Chicago's Riot Fest on Sept 17, 2017.

Where are they now?

Singer Tom Barnes released a CD entitled ''Three Day Ditties'', which abandoned the louder

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

sound of Engine 88, in favor of a more

soft rock Soft rock is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in Southern California and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, melodic songs with big, lush productions. S ...

sound similar to that of his former project,

. His songs have gained a cult following and have been covered live by the band

Counting Crows Counting Crows is an American rock band from San Francisco, California. Formed in 1991, the band consists of guitarist David Bryson, drummer Jim Bogios, vocalist Adam Duritz, keyboardist Charlie Gillingham, David Immerglück, bass guitarist ...

. Guitarist

is now a software engineer at Pandora performing in a

Pretenders Pretenders may refer to: * The Pretenders, a rock band ** ''Pretenders'' (album), the 1980 debut album by the group * ''Pretenders'' (TV series), a 1972 British television series * ''The Pretenders'' (play) (Norwegian: ''Kongs-Emnerne''), an 18 ...

tribute band,

Message of Love "Message of Love" is a song written by Chrissie Hynde and performed by the Pretenders. Released first as a single and then on the Pretenders' 1981 EP ''Extended Play'', it was later re-released on the band's 1981 album '' Pretenders II''. A band ...

, and in an R&B cover band, Curtis Bumpy, in the

. Bassist Eric Knight works at UC Berkeley and trains and coaches martial arts at SBG NorCal. Engine 88 played a "reunion" show commemorating the release of Peter Ellenby's book, ''

Every Day is Saturday Every may refer to: People * Every (surname), including a list of people surnamed Every or Van Every * Every Maclean, New Zealand politician in sunda 19th century * Every baronets, a title in the Baronetage of England Other * Suzuki Every, a ...

'' at the Bottom of the Hill in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

on Friday, Oct 27 2006. Drummer, Dave Hawkins, opened a popular movie rental store, Lost Weekend Video, in San Francisco, with Christy Colcord, who previously booked European tours for many US punk bands (including Green Day), and Adam Pfahler of

Band members

*Tom Barnes (

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or witho ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

) *Damon Wood (

) *Eric Knight (

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gu ...

) *Dave Hawkins (

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

)

Discography

* 1993 ''Funny Car 7"'': Shut Up and Drive Records * 1994 ''Germ's Choice 94'' (

compilation Compilation may refer to: *In computer programming, the translation of source code into object code by a compiler **Compilation error **Compilation unit *Product bundling, a marketing strategy used to sell multiple products *Compilation thesis M ...

) * 1994 ''Twenty 7"'': No Life Records * 1995 ''Clean Your Room'':

* 1995 ''Robots are Real 7" (Split with

American Sensei American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

)'': Hep-Cat Records * 1996 ''7" Split with Sincola'': Caroline Records * 1996 ''

LIVE 105 Kits may refer to: *Kitsilano, a neighbourhood of the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada *Kits, an American taffy candy made by Gilliam Candy Company *KITS, a San Francisco, California radio station *Kottayam Institute of Technology & Scie ...

: 10 Year Anniversary (Compilation)'' * 1997 ''Snowman'' Caroline Records * 1997 ''Seconal (single)'' Caroline Records * 1997 ''Manclub (single)'' Caroline Records * 1998 ''Flies and Death n' Stuff'' Wingnut Records

References

External links

Official Engine 88 WebsiteSite for Preservation of Engine 88's musicEngine 88 on Allmusic

Video for "Mangos" (Single from ''Clean Your Room'')Engine 88's profile on MySpaceDamon Wood's Engine 88 page
{{Authority control Rock music groups from California