Engine 88
Engine 88 | |
|---|---|
| Origin | San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Rock, indie, alternative |
| Years active | 1992–1998, 2006, 2017 |
| Labels | Shut Up & Drive, Caroline, Wingnut |
| Members | Tom Barnes Damon Wood Eric Knight Dave Hawkins |
| Website | engine88 |
Engine 88 was an American rock band that spawned out of the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1990s.
History
[edit]Engine 88 (originally known as simply Engine) released three albums and a handful of seven-inch singles throughout the 1990s. The band featured Tom Barnes of the notable college rock band Sordid Humor as lead singer, Damon Wood of Smoking Section on guitar, Eric Knight on bass and Dave Hawkins (also of Smoking Section) on the drums.
Their first 7 inch singles release, Funny Car was put out independently on their own label, Shut Up and Drive in 1993. In 1995, their first full length LP, Clean Your Room was released on Caroline Records, defining their characteristic sound of driving guitars and rhythms counter-acted with introspective and often abstract lyrics. Clean your Room peaked at #42 on the CMJ Top 200 chart.[1]
1997's Snowman followed, to much critical acclaim. Stephen Thompson of The A.V. Club praised the album, writing that it "flat-out rocks, with 38 minutes of smart lyrics, driving guitars, and hyper-infectious choruses." He also noted that "singer Tom Barnes has a distinctively cracked lyrical style, and in an ideal world, it’d make him a star."[2]
In 1998 the group disbanded and their final full-length, Flies and Death n' Stuff was released posthumously in 1998 on Wingnut Records.
Engine 88 reunited for a performance at Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco on October 27, 2006, to celebrate the release of their friends’ book Every Day Is Saturday by photographer Peter Ellenby.[3]
At the prompting of Jawbreaker, Engine 88 agreed to reunite for an appearance at Chicago's Riot Fest on September 17, 2017.[4]
Where are they now?
[edit]Singer Tom Barnes released a CD entitled Three Day Ditties, which abandoned the louder rock sound of Engine 88, in favor of a more soft rock sound similar to that of his former project, Sordid Humor. His songs have gained a cult following and have been covered live by the band Counting Crows.
In August 2024, Barnes released Last Ride of Mercury Man to streaming formats.[5]
Guitarist Damon Wood is now a software engineer at Pandora performing in a Pretenders tribute band, Message of Love, and in an R&B cover band, Curtis Bumpy, in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Bassist Eric Knight works at UC Berkeley and trains and coaches martial arts at SBG NorCal.
Drummer, Dave Hawkins, opened a popular movie rental store, Lost Weekend Video, in San Francisco, with Christy Colcord, who previously booked European tours for many US punk bands (including Green Day), and Adam Pfahler of Jawbreaker.
Band members
[edit]Albums
[edit]| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Clean Your Room |
Released: June 6, 1995 |
| Snowman |
Released: January 14, 1997 |
Singles
[edit]| Title | Single details |
|---|---|
| Funny Car |
Released: 1993 |
| 20 / She Breaks a Bottle |
Released: 1994 |
| Robots Are Real – Split w/ American Sensei |
Released: 1995 |
| Funny Car – Split w/ Sincola |
Released: 1996 |
| Seconal |
Released: 1997 |
| Manclub |
Released: 1997 |
Samplers / Various Artists
[edit]| Song | Compilation | Format | Label | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GTO | Various – Germ's Choice '94 | CD, Compilation | 911 Records | 1994 |
| Spinach | Various – CMJ New Music Monthly Volume 23 July 1995 | CD, Compilation, Promo | College Music Journal | 1995 |
| Spinach | Various – Caroline Records' Bowling Team Sampler | CD, Compilation, Promo | Caroline Records | 1995 |
| Mangos | Various – hu H (CD 8) | CD, Compilation | Huh Music Service | 1995 |
| Mangos | Various – Babe, You're No. 1 | CD, Compilation, Promo | Hits | 1995 |
| Spinach | Various – CMJ Music Sampler – Hooked | CD, Compilation, Promo | Sony Music Publishing | 1995 |
| Mangos | Various – Indie-Gestion 9 | CD, Album, Compilation | Alternative Press | 1995 |
| Seconal | Various – How Low Can A Punk Get? | CD, Compilation, Promo, Sampler | Caroline Records | 1996 |
| Funny Car | Various – Wild Promotions Compilation Volume 2 | CD, Compilation, Promo, Sampler | Wild | 1996 |
| Manclub | Various – Live 105 10 Year Anniversary: 1986–1996 | CD, Compilation | Live 105 | 1996 |
| Seconal | Various – Killing Cuts 1 | CD, Compilation, Cardsleeve | Metal Hammer | 1997 |
| Manclub | Various – Virtually Alternative 77 | 2×CD, Compilation, Promo | The Album Network | 1997 |
| Ballerina | Various – Vital Distribution At London Music Week | CD, Compilation, Promo | Vital | 1997 |
| Fire | Various – Blind Herd Of Sheep: A Compilation Of Berkeley High Bands]] | CD, Compilation | El Sabado Records | 1999 |
| Get Off | Various – For Callum | 2×CD, Compilation | Catlick Records / The Cultural Society / Letterbox | 2007 |
| Mangos | Various – Virtually Alternative 60 | 2×CD, Compilation, Promo | The Album Network | Unknown |
References
[edit]- ^ "CMJ Radio Top 150: 8.21.95" (PDF). WorldRadioHistory.com. August 21, 1995. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
- ^ Thompson, Stephen (March 29, 2002). "Engine 88: Snowman". The A.V. Club. Onion, Inc. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
- ^ "Video Title (if known)". YouTube. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
- ^ "Video Title (if known)". YouTube. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
- ^ "1000 Years". Amazon.com. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
External links
[edit]- Official Engine 88 Website
- Site for Preservation of Engine 88's music
- Engine 88 on Allmusic
- Video for "Mangos" (Single from Clean Your Room)
- Engine 88's profile on MySpace
- Damon Wood's Engine 88 page
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