The Misbelieves

Wrockin' the reckage of the mighty 8th Ward!

Sun, 05 Mar 2006 21:26:40 +0000

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.

'Lieves Roots: 1984-2001 - Bicycle Thieves

Mon, 06 Mar 2006 04:01:07 +0000

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® !

'Lieves Roots: 2003 - Popsicle Thieves

Mon, 06 Mar 2006 13:29:05 +0000

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.

'Lieves Roots: 1978-1984 - Next Window

Wed, 08 Mar 2006 02:06:04 +0000

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® !

Just The MP3s, Please

Thu, 13 Apr 2006 05:00:16 +0000

Here is every song on the site listed from newest to oldest:

Popsicle Thieves - 2003

Touch You Natalie Jane 5MB mp3
FYNJ 5.5MB mp3

Bicycle Thieves: 2001 - The "a" CD

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

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

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

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 4.5MB mp3

Bicycle Thieves: 1984-1985 - 4-track demos

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)

Bicycle Thieves: 1984 - 4-track demos

Difficult Decision 5.5MB mp3
Follow Forever 6MB mp3

Next Window: 1983 - Junk Room Studio:

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

Next Window: 1983-1984 - 4-track demos

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

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