The Misbelieves

In the moist days before the beginning, before what was became what should never have been, there was a band with an even worse name than Next Window. No, we're not kidding. This earlier band had a name that was at least 5 crap units crapper than Next Window. So bad, in fact, that it just barely beat out Phase 3 and Starchild in our hunt for the perfect band name. The name I refer to shall never be mentioned on these pages (at least not by official Misbelieves personnel) but for the perversely curious we'll offer this hint: The name was an object found almost exclusively in Roadrunner cartoons. Falling.

One of the most frequent comments we get about Next Window is that their sound is somehow more corporeal than the later Misbelieves-related bands. That's weird, right? It's a strange thing to say about music, which after all is just a bunch of waves floating through the air. All we can figure is that it has something to do with the spirited and melodic bass playing of Ron Schmidtling and the truly brilliant and sometimes frightening drumming of JimmyO, both of whom gave the core Misbelieves line-up a raw energy that we've never quite managed to recapture.

Here, then, is the Next Window story presented in searing Chronological Order® !

Pre-History:

JimmyO and Brian met in JimmyO's yard on Lovers Lane during a cold day in the 1970s. Scarves were required.

Things went so well that JimmyO let Brian visit his bedroom, where the posters were.

Ronnie built a gazebo to entice JimmyO and Brian into letting him join their band.

In the meantime, Brian and his dad built "The Studio", rendering the gazebo obsolete. Yet Ronnie's still in the band!

Time passes ....

Next Window: 1983 - Junk Room Studio:

Our first demos were recorded at a semi-professional 8-track studio in Biloxi. I guess "semi-pro" isn't quite right because they did take our money just like professionals would. Maybe "semi-competent" is closer to what I'm looking for. At first we were too impressed with ourselves to be disappointed with the sound, but that didn't last long. The experience certainly fueled our DIY ethic, so that's something. In addition to the 3 songs presented here we also recorded 2 of Ronnie's songs during the same sessions. These songs are © 2001 Music Street Music:

Your Color 5MB mp3
Guidance Counselor 6MB mp3
On and On the Love Song 5MB mp3

Next Window: 1983-1984 - 4-track demos

We didn't know anything about recording but we knew that the stuff from the Junk Room didn't sound like us. With our own 4-track we could make our own rules, and we did. The results may not be professional, but they are Next Window. Anything else would have been a waste of time. The best of these (General Consensus, Go Home) use a lot of natural room ambiance on the drums. That is the sound of JimmyO's grandmother's house. That house gave of its sound unselfishly, right up to the point that it spat us out and sent us blinking and staggering into the wide world. These songs were recorded on Lovers Lane and are © 2001 Music Street Music:

Big Bang Theory 7MB mp3
Pocket Full of Posers 4MB mp3
General Consensus 5.5MB mp3
The French Have a Word for It 4MB mp3
Get That Discipline 5MB mp3
Go Home 4MB mp3
To Those Who Wait 5MB mp3

Jetsam:
Pocket Full Of Noise (JimmyO and Brian working hard in the studio) 2MB mp3
General Consensus (drunkapella version, with dialog) 6MB mp3

Next Window: 1984 - Live at The Maxx

During our last couple of years as a band, Next Window played a few paying gigs at Hattiesburg clubs, including the Animal House and Cash McCools. Our last proper gig was at a place called The Maxx, opening for 3 Humans, consisting of Patrick Wallace and Jeff Bridges of the legendary Bonnington Truce, and Elliot Crawford, recently drumming for Buffalo Nickel. The sound is pretty rough, but it was a good night for us. This set includes the only known recording of Or Not To Be, a response to the death of our friend, Sean. © 2001 Music Street Music:

General Consensus (live) 6.5MB mp3
Your Color (live) 5MB mp3
Big Bang Theory (live) 6MB mp3
Get That Discipline (live) 5.5MB mp3
Pocket Full Of Posers (live) 5MB mp3
Or Not To Be (live) 4MB mp3

Later, brothers.

Posted by Drew at 2:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBacks (0)

Popsicle Thieves were formed, in part, as a way for us to try to make some sense of Bicycle Thieves' demise. Although Popsicle Thieves released only one single in their year of existence, that single effectively puts a lid on the Bicycle Thieves era and forms an essential bridge to the upper 8th ward sound of The Misbelieves.

You can download the a-side, Touch You Natalie Jane (5MB mp3) and the b-side, FYNJ (5.5MB mp3). Both songs were recorded on Music Street and are © 2003, Music Street Music.

Posted by Drew at 1:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

There's no glamorous way to put this: Bicycle Thieves is just Brian after his band left him. While you're wiping away the tears we should clarify that Brian didn't start using the name Bicycle Thieves until he saw Vittorio De Sica's Ladri di Biciclette in graduate school, sometime during 1991 or 1992. Through a complex series of legal maneuvers, Brian was able, retroactively, to gather the entirety of his post-Next Window work under the Bicycle Thieves umbrella. It is still unclear whether the enormous expense of this action was justified, especially in light of the fact that at any given time there appear to be no less than 5 different bands named after Vittorio De Sica's Ladri di Biciclette.

Here, then, is the entire Bicycle Thieves saga, presented to you in vivid Reverse Chronological Order® !

Bicycle Thieves: 2001 - The "a" CD

This is the final set of recordings from Bicycle Thieves. A collaboration with David Keith, this was also the first Bicycle Thieves collection recorded on a PC. 50 lucky people got this CD packaged with cover art by Ken Weathersby (above). These songs were recorded on Music Street and are © 2001 Music Street Music.

Fall In The Sea 1MB mp3
Jewel 8MB mp3
Cavalier 9.5MB mp3
Winter Coat 4.5MB mp3
Kansas 3.5MB mp3
Cavalier (Alternate Mix) 8.5MB mp3

Jetsam:
Private Detective 3.5MB mp3 (David's original recording of the song that eventually became Winter Coat)
Kansas (early version) 2MB mp3 (an early rough sketch of Kansas)
Listen 600KB mp3 (Brian's Great Grandmother, Mary Jane Musick, talks about some people who went to Kansas in a wagon and had guts)

Bicycle Thieves: The '90s - 4-track demos

New decade, new gear. The Fostex 280 sounds a lot better than the Yamaha 4-track, and the Alesis SR-16 actually sounds something like real drums. On top of that we start dabbling with MIDI on an Alesis MMT8 sequencer and a very silly Casio keyboard. So the 90s were destined to be a prolific decade for the Thieves, right?

No.

These songs were recorded on Peniston Street and are © 2001 Music Street Music.

The Fault 5.5MB mp3
Zoo Song 8.5MB mp3
Well To Wonder 6MB mp3

Jetsam:
Song 3 9MB mp3 (Instrumental mix of an unfinished song)
Processed Flute Thing 4.5MB mp3 (Instrumental mix of an unfinished song)
Maybe Song 6MB mp3 (Instrumental mix of an unfinished song)
Song 4 7MB mp3 (Instrumental mix of an unfinished song)

Bicycle Thieves: June, 1996 - Acoustic recordings

This was an attempt to rescue these songs from the 4-track demos in which they'd been imprisoned. A couple of the songs themselves (not just the production) are substantially different from the original recordings. Recorded live to 2 tracks on Bordeaux Street and © 2001 Music Street Music.

I Am The Satellite 5.5MB mp3
Zoo Song 5.5MB mp3
The Fault 5MB mp3
Well To Wonder 5MB mp3
See Ruby Falls 4.5MB mp3

Bicycle Thieves: 1987 - 4-track demos

The 1987 recordings represent a couple of notable lasts. These were the last songs recorded on Beatline Road. They were also the last songs recorded on the now cranky and battered Yamaha 4-track. Love was in the air, Yosemite was in the Sierras, and Bicycle Thieves were in the studio that Brian and his dad built, for the last time. These songs were recorded on Beatline Road (except See Ruby Falls which was recorded on Nicholson Avenue) and are © 2001 Music Street Music.

Someone Might Sell You One 5MB mp3
No Spaceships 2.5MB mp3
Longer Than a Line 4MB mp3
Different Movies 4.5MB mp3
Love and Gravity 4MB mp3
Homing Drive Chain Me 8MB mp3
See Ruby Falls 6MB mp3

Bicycle Thieves: 1984-1985 - 4-track demos

In which Brian realizes that he can't play drums. Yamaha RX15 to the rescue! These songs were recorded on Beatline Road and are © 2001 Music Street Music.

I Am the Satellite 8MB mp3
Beg 5MB mp3
Hide 5MB mp3
Ode to the Monochord Drone 6MB mp3
Still Too High A Lie 8.5MB mp3
Experience Church 6.5MB mp3
In Case Of Magic 7.5MB mp3
Optimism Never Fails 6.5MB mp3
Pictures Of Time Well Spent 5.5MB mp3

Jetsam:
I Am The Satellite (early mix) 7MB mp3 (early, mostly instrumental mix of I Am the Satellite)

Excuse me, have you seen my band? 1984 - 4-track demos

Ronnie's been gone for a while. And Jimmy leaves in such a hurry that he forgets his drums. Hmm, so we don't have a drummer but we do have drums. Well, how hard can it be? These songs were recorded on Beatline Road and are © 2001 Music Street Music.

Difficult Decision 5.5MB mp3
Follow Forever 6MB mp3

Posted by Drew at 4:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

This is the official site for one of the Upper 8th Ward's most misunderstood rock bands, The Misbelieves. Here you will find news and downloads for future Misbelieves releases, as well as a selection of recordings from earlier Misbelieves-related bands, including Next Window, Bicycle Thieves, Popsicle Thieves, Icicle Thieves, Tricycle Thieves, Pineapple Thieves, and David Bowie®.

If you're looking for a particular song or band you can use the search box at the upper right, or select the band name under 'Lieves Roots in the Categories box to the right. Or, if you want to skip the verbiage altogether and just download songs, you can click Just The MP3s, Please.

Peace + love, from Music Street, Gentilly Terrace, 8th Ward.

Posted by Drew at 9:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)