Tiny Lights was a music group formed by John Hamilton (guitar/vocals) and Donna Croughn (vocals/electric violin) in 1985. Original members include

Dave Dreiwitz Dave Dreiwitz (born January 2, 1966) is a multi-instrumentalist, best known as the bassist for the band Ween since 1997. Biography Dave Dreiwitz was born on January 2, 1966, in New York City, New York to traditional jazz musician parents, Richa ...

(bass/trumpet),

Jane Scarpantoni Jane Scarpantoni (born 1960)https://www.myheritage.com/names/jane_scarpantoni is a classically trained American cello player who has played on a number of alternative rock albums. She was a member of Hoboken, New Jersey's Tiny Lights in the mid-1 ...

(cello), John Mastro (drums). Based in

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58, ...

, the group frequently performed at

Maxwell's Maxwell's, last known as Maxwell's Tavern, was a bar/restaurant and music club in Hoboken, New Jersey. Over several decades the venue attracted a wide variety of acts looking for a change from the New York City concert spaces across the river. Max ...

and the Court Tavern in New Brunswick, New Jersey. They recorded a total of seven albums, two of which were later released on Psychic TV's Temple Records. From 1988 to 1994 Tiny Lights toured the United States extensively. A compilation album, ''The Young Person's Guide to Tiny Lights'' was released on

Bar/None Records Bar/None Records is an independent record label based in Hoboken, New Jersey. Early history Tom Prendergast started Bar/None in early 1986 in Hoboken, New Jersey. Having previously worked in pirate radio and booked and promoted bands in his na ...

in 1995. Other members include Stuart Hake (cello), Andy Demos (drums), Catherine Bent (cello), Andy Burton (piano, organ), and Ron Howden (drums—formerly the drummer for

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). The group's members employed a rich array of instrumentation, including cello, electric violin, trumpet, soprano saxophone, tabla drums and bass clarinet. Improvisation was a constant feature of their live performances. ''

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'' memorably described the band as "Sly and the Family Partridge."

went on to play bass for the band

Ween Ween is an American rock band from New Hope, Pennsylvania, formed in 1984 by Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo, better known by their respective stage names, Gene and Dean Ween. Generally categorized as an alternative rock band, the band a ...

has enjoyed a career recording and touring for artists including

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...

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10,000 Maniacs 10,000 Maniacs is an American alternative rock band that was founded in 1981. They have released nine studio albums, six EPs, and five live albums. They achieved their most significant success between 1987 and 1993, when they released four album ...

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, and the

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. Donna Croughn recorded with

Bob Bert Robert Bertelli, better known as Bob Bert, is an American rock drummer. Biography Based in Hoboken, New Jersey, Bert initially came to prominence as drummer for the experimental rock band Sonic Youth during the early to mid-1980s. Bert playe ...

for Bewitched on

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. Catherine Bent subsequently toured with

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, has performed and recorded with jazz and pop artists including Joe Jackson,

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and

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, and is a professor at

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cou ...

. John Hamilton and Donna Croughn are raising their two children, Jasper and Henry, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where John works as a Professor of

Comparative Literature Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across linguistic, national, geographic, and disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role similar to that of the study ...

and German at

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. On July 10, 2011, John Hamilton granted permission on behalf of Tiny Lights to host recordings on the

Live Music Archive The Live Music Archive (LMA), part of the Internet Archive, is an ad-free collection of over 170,000 concert recordings in lossless audio formats. The songs are also downloadable or playable in lossy formats such as Ogg Vorbis or MP3. The websi ...

, linked below, and there is a small but growing collection of live recordings of the band that fans have been contributing.

Discography

;Studio albums *''

Prayer for the Halcyon Fear ''Prayer for the Halcyon Fear'' is the debut album of folk rock band Tiny Lights, released in 1985 through Uriel Music. Release and reception Nitsuh Abebe of allmusic said the album has "the continual loose brilliance that's typically only fo ...

'' (1985, Uriel Music) *''

Hazel's Wreath ''Hazel's Wreath'' is the second album by folk rock band Tiny Lights, released in 1988 through Gaia Records. Release and reception Although it was not as warmly received as its predecessor has been, ''Hazel's Wreath'' still garnered favorable ...

'' (1988, Gaia) *''

Hot Chocolate Massage ''Hot Chocolate Massage'' is an album by the folk rock band Tiny Lights, released in 1990 by Absolute A Go Go Records. Jane Scarpantoni played cello on the album. "Wave" was a minor hit on college radio stations. Release and reception ''Trouse ...

'' (1990, Absolute A Go Go) *'' Stop the Sun, I Want to Go Home'' (1992,

Doctor Dream ''Doktor Sen'' (''Doctor Dream'') is the debut album by Slovak singer Miroslav Žbirka, released on OPUS in 1980. Track listing Official releases * 1980: ''Doktor Sen'', LP, MC, OPUS, #9116 100 * 1999: ''Doktor Sen'', CD, Bonton, No. 49 29 ...

) *'' Milky Juicy'' (1994, Doctor Dream) *'' The Smaller the Grape, the Sweeter the Wine'' (1997,

Bar/None Bar/None Records is an independent record label based in Hoboken, New Jersey. Early history Tom Prendergast started Bar/None in early 1986 in Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of Ne ...

) ;Compilations *''

The Young Person's Guide to Tiny Lights ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in En ...

'' (1995, Bar/None) *'' Can You Say Hoboken? Volume 6'' (1996, Brave) ;Singles *''Flowers Through the Air/Zippity-Do-Dah'' (1985, Temple) *''I Think I Just Want to Go Away/Pull It Together'' (1993, Kokopop) *''Horsehead/Pushin' the Button'' (1994, North Cedar) ;Unreleased *''Know It You Love''

References

External links

Tiny Lights live audio recordings
at Archive.org {{Authority control Alternative rock groups from New Jersey Imaginary Records artists