If your introduction to the BoDeans was the 1996 hit single "Closer To Free," you're in good company. The song, which was propelled into the national spotlight as the theme song from the popular '90s TV show "Party Of Five," made instant stars of the BoDeans. It also may have given many people the errant perception that the Milwaukee band's legacy began and ended there.
BoDeans were formed in 1984 by high school friends Kurt Neumann and Sammy Llanas. Though it's not immediately obvious from their predominantly roots-based guitar rock, they were heavily influenced by The Rolling Stones and The Ramones; to wit, they named their first album (1986's Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams) after a line in the Stones' song "Shattered" and similar to the way The Ramones had all adopted the pseudo last name “Ramone,” all four members of the initial BoDeans lineup took the surname BoDean. Nine years before becoming overnight sensations, their 1987 release, Outside Looking In, got them an opening slot on U2's Joshua Tree tour and a turn as Robbie Robertson's band on his debut album, while Rolling Stone magazine named the BoDeans that year's Best New Band.
Veritable superstars throughout the Midwest, the BoDeans have delivered eight studio albums with many fan favorites including "Naked," "She's A Runaway" and "You Don't Get Much." The lineup has changed several times behind Neumann and Llanas, but with the duo’s velvet and gravel harmonies driving taught, rock songs that occasionally veer into Americana, folk and rockabilly, the duo is still writing their legacy.
Provenance: Waukesha, Wisconsin
Latest release: Still (2008)
© 2008 Nigel Music Media LLC. Used by permission.
BoDeans
