If I told you that a particular band in the 90’s opened for the likes of Jawbreaker, Gang of Four, Counting Crows and Jawbox, while also sharing the stage with Green Day, Ben Folds Five, Nada Surf and The Butthole Surfers, you would have to think that this band would have been pretty successful in that era, right? Sadly, that is not necessarily the tale of the San Francisco Bay area band, Engine 88.
Playing their first show in April of 1992, Engine 88 (who were initially called Engine, but later changed their name to Engine 88 to avoid a legal battle with a Florida band of the same name) quickly built their brand of rapid, quirky rock while also building a solid fan base in their local community. The band’s growth could not have been timed any better, as record labels big and small were flocking to the Bay Area after bands like Rancid and Green Day started selling records by the thousands. In the fall of 1994, in the presence of A&R reps for Caroline Records, the band played a show at the Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco. After getting everyone in the crowd to simultaneously eat Pop Rocks candy as they played their set, they signed a two record deal with the label.
Engine 88 released their debut album Clean Your Room in 1995. Personally, this is my favorite Engine 88 record that I still adore to this day. Clean Your Room brilliantly mixes elements of punk rock with pop and even alternative rock to create a chunky driving sound, drawing comparisons to Fugazi, Superchunk and Pavement. Throw in singer Tom Barnes’ pleasantly peculiar voice and this album is truly unforgettable. Anchored by songs such as stand outs “Mangos”, “The Bottle” and “GTO”, the band churns out great song after great song. To support Clean Your Room the band toured the Midwest and even made it over to the East Coast for a run.
Caroline upped the ante on their 1997 follow-up, enlisting star producer Tim O’Heir to work with the band on the record. The result was Snowman, a record that took a bit of a more melodic turn for Engine 88 from Clean Your Room. This is an excellent record that would please fans of Clean Your Room, but would also allow the band to seek a wider audience. It thankfully wasn’t an overt move or a departure for the band, but rather that small step forward in the right direction. Songs like “Ballerina” and “Manclub” stand out on the record with their poppy, energetic sound. Snowman received great praise from the critics, but it failed to catapult the band to the airwaves of alternative radio that they had hoped for. Engine 88 supported the new record by opening for Counting Crows along the Great Lakes and the Midwest, playing bigger venues the band had seen before.
It was during this tour where the band realized that the dreams they had for Engine 88 would never come to fruition. Now without a label after fulfilling their deal with Caroline, the band felt that they would never be able to achieve the success that they were after and deciding to throw in the towel in late 1997.
Before their demise, Engine 88 had recorded some songs that they were very proud of and decided to release them posthumously. Flies and Death n’Stuff was released in 1998 on Wingnut Records. While very good, some of the songs on Flies sound like the band is trying to channel Sunny Day Real Estate, rather than playing their aggressive and witty brand of punk/indie rock.
Every time I listen to Clean Your Room and Snowman, I ask myself to this day what could have been if Engine 88 had decided to keep charging forward on the road and in the studio. While they may have never achieved the type of commercial success they were seeking, they may have attained more of a cult status like some of the bands they opened for did.
