June 6th, 2013 
Brian Leak Oh, how we miss the days of deceptively titled bulletins, pc4pc, and hours of pimping your profile with just the right visuals and accompanying music (only to change it all again within a day or two). Myspace dominated the bulk of our high school years much like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram do today. Apart from filling out superfluous surveys and trying to get the best possible selfie angles, finding new music was an immense part of what Myspace was for myself, and millions of other users I’m sure.
I’ll likely look back on Facebook in 10 years and think this very same thing, but there was an inundation of musical endowment on Myspace – amongst the much larger flood of bullshit scene acts and talentless hacks – that either never got the recognition they deserved, or ended so quickly that they didn’t get the chance. I’m here to draw attention, in a retrospective manner, to some noteworthy acts from that era (the early to mid 2000s) that I feel may have slipped past the radar for the most part due to their brief careers and or lack of representation. Here you may find an act that you vaguely recall and can reminisce happily with their sweet sounds included — or you may come across a band that you had unfortunately never discovered in which you may find a “new” love to listen to as well.
Regardless of the outcome, after the break you can explore the first three bands I’ve chosen in a multi-part feature, entitled ‘Revisiting Esoteric Acts From “The Myspace Daze” (Part 1).’ Feel free to converse in our comments section and share some bands that you miss from the same era, and be sure to stay tuned in the next couple weeks for Part 2!
Nuns With Guns
The first time I heard California’s Nuns With Guns, I was blown away (pun partially intended). They were more or less unknown but were putting out a similar style of chaotic deathcore that Canadian acts Ion Dissonance and Despised Icon were the very same year with Solace and The Healing Process, respectively. They unfortunately only released one 4-song demo in their existence before calling it quits, living on only in a few fourth generation iPod classics.
As there is very little information online about Nuns With Guns, I got in touch with Ben Sharp (Cloudkicker) who played bass for NWG. He had this to say in regards to the band:
“My friend Rollie played guitar and wrote most of the music. He’s been in other bands but I think most people know him from recording their band. My friend Adam Castle played drums and helped Rollie turn bad ideas into good ideas. He is also the same person that co-wrote the drum parts on ‘Fade’ (Cloudkicker) with me. And then we had a couple guys that screamed into microphones. One was this guy Dave from a band called As Hope Dies, then later we had a guy named Justin who is also in bands called Graf Orlock and Ghostlimb currently.
Rollie still kind of writes music but he doesn’t call it Nuns With Guns and I don’t think he cares that much about it. When I moved away from Los Angeles in 2007 it just kind of fizzled out as far as I know.”
“The Good Life” from the band’s 2005 demo EP.
“Photocopies” from the band’s 2005 demo EP.
The Escape Frame
Montgomery, Alabama’s The Escape Frame was an indie pop band with electronic elements and cutesy, lovey-dovey lyrical themes. Basically the exact opposite of the aforementioned Nuns With Guns. Little is known about what became of the band as they seemed to have faded out mid-2008 after contributing a funky/soulful cover of “Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thang” to Punk Goes Crunk.
From what I recall, the band’s vocalist, Dustin (who carried on making music on his own), worked in some form of mail room. He and I were in contact at some point and he sent me a demo CD with 4 or 5 songs on it. This was some time around 2006 and I still have it actually. I had a weak spot for their infectiously catchy, sugary pop sounds. At times, Dustin’s vocals were reminiscent of Anthony Green and I saw that comparison brought up frequently. Overall, they had a lot to offer in the way of poppy songs about love and life, and I think they’d be huge today had they overcome whatever eventually caused their dissolution.
“The Desire” from the band’s 2007/08 self-titled debut.
“Before We Die” from the band’s 2007/08 self-titled debut.
Shaunteclair
Shaunteclair was a five-piece post hardcore band from Rancho Cucamonga, California that added me on Myspace back in 2004 or ’05. (Remember when bands added you?) At the time, they had very little music but I thoroughly enjoyed what I heard on their profile. It was nothing overtly original and the production was slightly rough but it was heavy and fit in with the bands that were dominating the “screamo” scene at the time. Shaunteclair showed a lot of potential that could have carried them at least a few years further with a full-length release and some touring, but after a 5-song demo in 2005 (as well as a few other tracks that never made it onto a release), the band eventually parted ways leaving their humble imprint on platforms like PureVolume and Myspace.
What we do know is that one of the founding guitarists, Jeremy Binion, joined pop punk band, Rufio (also from Rancho Cucamonga), for a brief stint from 2010 to 2011 then started Mercy Street with Rufio members Scott Sellers and Taylor Albaugh. Drummer, Matt Marquez, now plays in Heartist. The other founding guitarist, Nick Patean, was in a band called This Red Scare for some time but is now transitioning to contribute to the world of EDM. I had the chance to speak with Nick for a moment about Shaunteclair recently. You can read part of our conversation below.
Nick: I really don’t know where to start because it wasn’t me who wanted to break up and I really don’t know why we broke up. I believe there was something going on between Ronnie (vocalist) and Jeremy (guitarist). Personal problems — inside and outside the band.
UTG: Well sometimes that’ll do it. So was it ever really talked about that the band was going to stop or did it kind of just fade out?
Nick: We never came officially together and said this is the end. We were recording a 5-song demo for ourselves. Pre-production. We had finished tracking everything but the bass and vocals, and somewhere in the middle of that time, we stopped practicing. The bass and vocals never got done, and Jeremy moved away. I really didn’t care at that point to try and glue things together because it was ridiculous [laughs].
UTG: Understandable. So that was like 7 years ago or so. Are you still in touch with any of the guys?
Nick: Yep. I am in touch with all of them but Ronnie. I haven’t heard or seen him in years.
“Word Around Town” – Release unknown
“Like Ghosts in Nightmares” from the band’s 2005 EP Sweet Dreams and Beautiful Nightmares
Feature image credit: Corbin Alvae
Conceptualized and written by: Brian Lion – Follow him on Twitter
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wow, too bad its over, I’m digging the music.
Thanks for checking out the article, David. It’s always sad to look back at the talent that could have been but at the very least, most members usually go on to get involved with other projects. More bands to come in “part 2.”