Monday, January 11, 2016

Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Lift The Broken & OBCD

Apologies for the day's delay, but here's this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles, our first of 2016! Once again, we're looking at 1-2 (two in this case) randomly selected local bands that are either defunct or inactive, in order to spotlight and profile them for current readers! This month's random choices resulted from the first band not having enough info to fill a whole post, so we're doubling up with looks at a rising recent band that never quite got off the ground & a familiar older quartet whose members should be very familiar from their successor band! Read on below for what you should know on each!
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Lift The Broken

Genre: Modern/Hard Rock

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

Members:

Carol Grover, vocals
Nathan Webber, guitar

Audio/Video: Lift The Broken never posted any public media or concert videos during their active run, and as their members aren't known commodities from other local bands that we've covered, it's hard to gauge how they would have sounded. For reference, Lift The Broken hadn't filled out their lineup with a bassist or drummer at last update, and they cited Skillet, Evanescence, Shinedown, Nickelback, and Three Days Grace as influences.

Info/Analysis: Only briefly active in early-mid 2014, Lift The Broken made their live debut at an open mic night at Biggby Coffee in Sault Michigan on February 24th of that year, but no media followed, and updates occasionally followed until their last post on their Facebook page that July, where they ironically said that they were "back to work". L.T.B. likely fell inactive by year's end, and Carol apparently started college out of town this year. It's hard to know what kind of promise Lift The Broken had, but Facebook posts sounded positive from both them and fans, so hopefully Carol & Nathan stay active musically in some form!
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OBCD

Genre: Alternative/Ska Punk

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Members:

Matt Baic (Shit Liver, Dirtfight), vocals/guitar
Josh Penno (Shit Liver, Dirtfight), vocals/guitar
Mike Kyle (Shit Liver, Dirtfight, Mayadevi), bass
Kristan Surge (Mayadevi), drums

Audio/Video: Despite playing multiple concerts during their run, OBCD do not have any known surviving videos or other online media. Though 3/4ths of OBCD later regrouped as the goregrind outfit Shit Liver (along with their St. Catherine's folk side project Dirtfight), neither are full punk acts but both do have noted punk influences, and Shit Liver even covered OBCD's original "You Speak Of Weak (And We Don't Care)" often in early concerts. However, Mike & Kristan's prior band Mayadevi were likely the closest match in overall sound to OBCD.

Info/Analysis: Active from August 2007 through at least the fall of 2008, OBCD (short for "obesity") were a young punk quartet who may be most familiar from sets at various Oddfellows Hall concerts of that period, opening for the likes of The Rebel Spell, The UK Subs, and The Flatliners. Last playing at the Farrell Brothers concert in July 2008, the guys (save for Kristan) regrouped more successfully as Shit Liver in 2010, with Matt moving to the drums. OBCD obviously had promise, and hopefully some media of theirs turns up down the road, but as we've seen, goregrind has served the guys well since! Be sure to follow Matt, Josh, and Mike's current bands!
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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles! Next month in this series, we'll return to one band profiles with what should be a big installment, as our latest random selection has gifted us with Lion Ride, the 2007-2012 punk/metal band featuring a host of familiar faces from the local punk scene! Look for this profile on or around February 10th, and stay tuned for more news and notes in the coming week & beyond! Thanks everyone!

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