The Leaving Trains were an American

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band from

Los Angeles 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, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. The Leaving Trains were founded in 1980 by singer Falling James Moreland, who became known for her chaotic performances and (prior to coming out as a trans woman) penchant for cross-dressing. Falling James had previously been a member of punk rock bands the Mongrels and the Downers before assembling the group with guitarist Manfred Hofer, bassist Tom Hofer, keyboardist

Sylvia Juncosa Sylvia Juncosa is an American punk and metal guitarist, singer, songwriter and keyboardist from Los Angeles. Noted primarily for her guitar work, during the 1980s she was among relatively few women with established aggressive rock guitar credibil ...

and drummer Hillary Laddin. They played locally for three years, with a handful of drummers, before releasing their first album, ''Well Down Blue Highway'', in 1984 with Terry Graham on drums.

Career

Following their '' Kill Tunes'' LP (1986) for

SST Records SST Records is an American independent record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California by musician Greg Ginn. The company was first founded in 1966 by Ginn at age 12 as Solid State Transmitters, a small business through which he sold elec ...

, Mike Barnett and Eric Stringer replaced the Hofer brothers in the group's lineup.John Bush, The Leaving Trainsat

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 ...

Next came ''Fuck'' (SST, 1987),''Transportational D. Vices'' (SST, 1988), and the ''Loser Illusion EP.'' In 1989 Falling James was married to

Courtney Love Courtney Michelle Love (née Harrison; born July 9, 1964) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and actress. A figure in the alternative and grunge scenes of the 1990s, Love has had a career spanning four decades. She rose to promi ...

for a short while. In 1991 Moreland briefly disbanded The Leaving Trains to form The Power of Sky. Along with Power of Sky's bassist, Whitey Sims, Moreland reassembled Leaving Trains with a new lineup including Bobby Belltower (who had briefly played in the previous incarnation of the band) and Lenny Montoya. This lineup produced the album ''The Lump in My Forehead'' (recorded 1992, released 1993), but later in 1992 Chaz Ramirez (also known as a producer of such bands as

Social Distortion Social Distortion is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California. It consists of Mike Ness (vocals, guitar), Jonny Wickersham (guitar), Brent Harding (bass), David Hidalgo Jr. (drums), and David Kalish (keyboards). Emerg ...

and

Stryper Stryper is an American Christian metal and heavy metal music, heavy metal band from La Mirada, California. The group's lineup consists of Michael Sweet (lead vocals, guitar), Oz Fox (guitar), Perry Richardson (bass), and Robert Sweet (musician), ...

) and Dennis Carlin took over on bass and drums, respectively. Ramirez died on December 2, 1992, of injuries sustained when an attic floor collapsed underneath him. Some of his recordings with the Trains were posthumously released in 1994 on the album ''The Big Jinx''. Moreland was subsequently kicked out of the group. She went on to form a new band under the same name with Melanie Vammen (formerly of

The Muffs The Muffs were an American pop punk band based in Southern California, formed in 1991. Led by singer and guitarist Kim Shattuck, the band released four full-length studio albums in the 1990s, as well as numerous singles including "Lucky Guy" and ...

and

The Pandoras The Pandoras were an American all-female Garage punk (fusion genre), garage punk band from Los Angeles, California, active from 1982 to 1991. The band is among the first handful of all-female rock bands to ever be signed to a major label. From t ...

) on keyboards, Jimmy Green on Bass, and Allen Clark on drums. This lineup yielded ''Smoke Follows Beauty'' in 1997. The Leaving Trains' last studio album, ''Emotional Legs,'' features a variety of musicians, including Clark, Green, Vammen (now on guitar), Dennis Carlin, Maddog Karla, Miss Koko Puff, and Andrew Buscher. Emotional Legs was released on Steel Cage Records in 2001. The Leaving Trains, that same year, would also do their final live performance at

The Knitting Factory The Knitting Factory is a nightclub in New York City that features eclectic music and entertainment and is co-owned and co-operated by Knitting Factory Entertainment. After opening in 1987, various other locations were opened in the United Stat ...

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

as a backup band for Australian punk pioneer

Rob Younger Rob Younger (born Robert Kent Younger) is an Australian rock musician, vocalist, songwriter and producer. He is a founding mainstay of the punk rock group Radio Birdman, and he is a pioneer of the local independent music scene. Radio Birdman, ...

, performing songs Younger had done with

Radio Birdman Radio Birdman is an Australian punk rock band formed by Deniz Tek and Rob Younger in Sydney in 1974. ''Classic Rock'' magazine describes them as "Australia’s first influential punk band". History Origins Deniz Tek and Rob Younger f ...

and

The New Christs The New Christs are an Australian garage rock band formed in 1980 by founding mainstay, Rob Younger, on lead vocals. Younger was the lead singer for punk rockers, Radio Birdman, and in other hard rock groups, New Race, Bad Music, the Other Sid ...

. In 2005, Steel Cage Records released a live Leaving Trains album called ''Amplified Pillows.'' That year also saw a brief band reunion of Moreland with Manfred and Tom Hofer, and 1985 drummer Hunter Crowley. Moreland occasionally wrote for

L.A. Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. The paper covers music, arts, film, theater, culture, and other local news in the Los Angeles area. ''LA Weekly'' was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin (among others), ...

until 2020 and no longer performs music.

Members

;Original lineup *James Moreland - vocals *Manfred Hofer - guitar *Tom Hofer - bass *

- keyboards *Hillary Laddin - drums ;Later members *Jim Barnett - Drums *John Lacques - Drums *Terry "Dad Bag" Graham - Drums *Chris Wahl - Drums *Jason Kahn - drums *Hunter Crowley - drums *Eric Stringer - bass *Mike Barnett - guitar *Bobby Belltower - guitar *Sam Merrick - guitar *Lenny Montoya - drums *Aaron "Mo-Ron" Donovan- on guitar *

Chris Whitey Sims Chris Whitey Sims (born 1966) is a musician, songwriter and first amendment activist known for his work with The Leaving Trains, Graveyard Rodeo and his current band Tender. Musical career In 1991 Falling James Moreland briefly disbanded The L ...

- vocals, bass and guitar *Chaz Ramirez - bass *Dennis Carlin - drums *Melanie Vammen - guitar *Jimmy Green - bass *

Jack Rabid ''The Big Takeover'' is a bi-annual music magazine published in New York City since May 1980 by critic Jack Rabid. History Establishment Jack Rabid and Dave Stein began publishing ''The Big Takeover'' in May 1980 as a fanzine dedicated to New ...

- drums *Allen Clark - drums *John Anglim - drums *Miss Koko Puff - bass *Bruce Gunnell - drums

Discography

Studio albums

*''Well Down Blue Highway'' ( Bemisbrain/

Enigma Records Enigma Records (also known as Enigma Entertainment Corporation) was a popular rock and alternative American record label in the 1980s. History Enigma Records launched as a division of Greenworld Distribution, an independent music importer/d ...

, 1984) *'' Kill Tunes'' (

, 1986) *''Fuck'' (SST, 1987) *''Transportational D. Vices'' (SST, 1988) *''Sleeping Underwater Survivors'' (SST, 1991) *''Loser Illusion Pt. 0'' EP (SST, 1991) *''The Lump in My Forehead'' (SST, 1993) *''The Big Jinx'' (SST, 1994) *''Drowned and Dragged'' EP (SST, 1995) *''Smoke Follows Beauty'' (SST, 1997)

Compilation albums

*''Keats Rides A Harley'' compilation (Happy Squid, 1981) *''Warfrat Tales'' compilation (Warfrat, 1983) *''Enigma Variations'' compilation (Enigma, 1985) *''Favorite Mood Swings'' compilation (SST, 1998) *''Emotional Legs'' (Steel Cage, 2001) *''Amplified Pillows'' (Steel Cage Records)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leaving Trains, The Indie rock musical groups from California Musical groups from Los Angeles Musical groups established in 1980 Musical groups disestablished in 2001 1980 establishments in California 2001 disestablishments in California Enigma Records artists SST Records artists Steel Cage Records artists