M.I.A. was a 1980s punk rock band from Orange County, California. The band's sound was generally hardc... and thrasher, though they produced more melodic and progressive sounds in their later albums. Allmusic called the band "one of the 50 best So-Cal punk bands of the great early-'80s second wave explosion."
The band had its origins in Las Vegas, where singer Mike Conley, drummer Chris Moon and guitarist Nick Adams were in a band called The Swell. After the break-up of The Swell in 1981, the three moved to Orange County and formed MIA. In 1984 they signed a deal with the cult Alternative Tentacles label, after the label's founder, Dead Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra, saw them play at a secret illegal punk nightclub in Las Vegas. Biafra was impressed by Mike Conley's distinctive voice, saying "The minute you hear a song with him singing you know it's him." In 1984 M.I.A. released the album Murder in a Foreign Place on Alternative Tentacles, followed in 1985 by Notes From the Underground on National Trust Records, and in 1987 by After the Fact on Flipside Records. The band split up in 1988. In 2001, Alternative Tentacles released Lost Boys, a 37-song retrospective of the band's work, including Last Rites, Murder in a Foreign Place, and several additional tracks.
Death of Mike Conley
On February 28, 2008 vocalist Mike Conley was found dead in a Chicago hotel parking lot. Conley was taken to Gottlieb Memorial Hospital in Melrose Park, where he was pronounced dead at 6:25 a.m. On April 27, 2008, there was a secret warm up show at Detroit Bar featuring Todd Sampson of Self Abuse and Samson's Army on vocals, Jello Biafra of Dead Kennedys on guest vocals, Chris Moon and Larry Pearson on drums, Nick Adams on guitar, and Bob Thomson on bass. On April 28, 2008, the "Beautiful Noise" benefit show took place at the Anaheim House of Blues with Jigsaw, Naked Soul, Cadillac Tramps, Social Distortion and MIA with the same lineup as the previous night, but adding Kevin Seconds of 7 Seconds on guest vocals. The proceeds of "Beautiful Noise" went to Mike Conley's family.
Discography
* Last Rites for Genocide / MIA (split LP, 1982, BOMP/Invasion Records)
* Murder in a Foreign Place (LP, 1984, Alternative Tentacles)
* Notes From the Underground (LP, 1985, National Trust Records)
* After the Fact (LP, 1987, Flipside Records)
* Lost Boys (CD, 2001, Alternative Tentacles)
Posts
0 comments