First off, a little housekeeping. I couldn't find any photos of The Doubters Club. This was a local band in Knoxville back in the 90s and I believe that they were closely related to The Judybats. So it was extremely difficult to find any photo evidence of this (these) band(s). I never got into either band, but I feel as if they were one in the same.
Now, onto the main event.
SELF!!!!
So, if you grew up in Tennessee in the mid to late 90s you probably heard Self on the radio. The lucky few of us that really got into them found something incredibly special. My first memories of this band was radio play. They had a couple of tunes on pretty heavy rotation on our rock station 94Z. I think it was 94Z, but I remember Z93 too. Not too sure because our rock radio station fluctuated on the reg. Anyway, The tracks you would've heard were 'Cannon' and 'So Low'. I can certainly remember being driven around in several cars hearing these songs. I'll never forget getting picked up for school and listening to Subliminal Plastic Motives over and over again. My first thoughts on this band were thinking that female lead singer was really great and the songs were just so good and catchy. Well, turns out I was way off about the lead singer. Turns out she is a he and his name is Matt Mahaffey. Self is his brain child and luckily he lived in an area that was wrought with musicians. Mahaffey had been in several bands before getting Self off the ground. I could give you all the info you ever wanted on this dude and his band, but that's not what this blog is designed to do. And this certainly won't be the only time I will be talking about this artist and his band. I may just give a bit more info every time I post about them.
Thank you for indulging me in that nostalgic retrospective. Also, you have to understand that we were OBSESSED with Self. My immediate friend circle and other like-minded peeps could not get enough. I know I'll have a lot more to say about our collected obsession as the Self posts keep coming.
As I've stated before, I have no clue how we ever found out about shows and got tickets to shows. It's beyond me, I'll just chalk it up to magic.
I also don't remember too much about this show. Funny, it was only 23 years ago. My vague memories do allow me to recall standing outside of the Mercury Theater waiting to get in. I remember a few people I was with, but not the whole night. At this point I had only a few shows under my belt, so this concert-going experience was still pretty fresh.
First band up that evening was a group called The Features. First time I saw these guys, but would definitely not be my last. The absolute only thing I remember about them was their choreographed dance to their song 'Your Smile'. They would bend right, then left, forward and backward. It was pretty genius to have a dance routine to an already catchy song. And that's exactly why it's the only thing I remember from them that night. I would go on to see that band another dozen times or so throughout the years. More on that to come!
I'll be perfectly honest, I remember fuck all about The Doubter's Club. Not a note, not a sound. I later found out that the members in that band would comprise of another local Knoxville band called The Judybats. I kinda remember them being played on the radio, but not much else. I guess what I'm getting at is they didn't make an impression and I never had a desire to seek them out. Plus, I think we were just ready to see the main event. SELF!
This is my first time seeing Self. Again, listened to anything we could get our hands on ad nauseam, but hadn't had the chance yet to watch them play. My main memories from this performance were hearing the television static as the intro to 'Cannon', the 'million to one' line in 'Sophomore Jinx' and actually doing a bit of light moshing. As much moshing as you could do from a very poppy rock band. But I held my index finger up as high as I could letting the band know that 'one' was definitely a word in that song. They only had one album out at this time, but I imagine they played some tunes that hadn't been released yet too. There was always their "internet" songs that never really showed up on any albums proper. So you'd probably get 'Wide Awake at 7' or 'Wednesday Again' or 'Flip-Top Box'. Those all found their ways onto eps or compilations later, but it was cool to know that you'd heard a song or two that no one else had.
I remember my first Self experience being loud, sweaty and amazing! And, finally, after that band has their encore and the crowds dwindled, we headed to the merch table to see what our teenage selves could afford so we could make our friends jealous on Monday morning. I had a tough decision to make that night. Their shirts were all so cool and it was down to two for me. The first was a white shirt with black rings (I think) on the sleeves and collar that touted "Self Racing" and had 'Hot Wheel' flames on it. Then there was the (elusive) Marathon Shirt. Not only is it a cool looking tee, there's a track on Subliminal Plastic Motives of the same name. They had it in green or red. I opted for the green version, 'cause green is the most superiorest of colours. (And I added a european 'u' in color to emphasize how pompous I am. You're welcome, dummy!)
And with that, our night was concluded. It's amazing how time works. Years later I would be able to not only meet Mahaffey and the rest of the band, I would interact with his family at Self shows and share my personal photos and memories with the man himself. I still to this day wonder why Self never got big and famous. They will always be a top 5 band for me and I wish they went further than they did. Matt Mahaffey is one of the best song writers and musicians ever. I'll fight anyone who disagrees. I could go on and on but I wouldn't have much else to say later. And I've got 12 more of these to do for Self, so this'll be a slow burn.
Front of shirt
Original Spongebath Records logo
Self logo on upper back of the shirt
I've had my Marathon Shirt for 23 years and it certainly looks it. It's still so comfy! Wouldn't trade it for the world!
I'll wave to your river as I'm flying over
Josh
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