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Title: The Half Of You I Love -- OtherStarPeople *Jennifer Finch / L7* View count: 192 Rating: 5.0 (3 ratings) Description: OtherStarPeople - The Half Of You I Love. Stereo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_E2MG81CQ0&fmt=18 from the 1999 album "Diamonds In The Belly Of The Dog". OtherStarPeople - The WHOLE Of You I Love. Okay, the song's actually called "The Half Of You I Love", but I couldn't resist playfully expressing my sentiment about the band. Blissful guitar driven heavy pop is the only thing I can come up with to describe the sound of OtherStarPeople (one word, capital O, capital S, capital P), a short-lived L.A. based band that briefly caught a high-profile major record deal with A&M in the late 90's, but whose brilliant debut album never seemed to find a wide audience and now sadly probably lines the cut-out bins of used record stores. Founded by Jennifer Finch, the former bass player for all-female metal-grunge band L7, in 1997, the band was a far cry from what many anticipated to come next from the L.A. punk rock scene veteran. Embracing the nickname "Precious", switching to guitar and sharing lead vocals with suave, charismatic (and male!) guitarist Xander Smith, Finch confounded expectations by leading a band that mixed elements of punk, alt-rock, pop and new wave. A milion miles away from the femme-grunge sound of Finch's former band, OSP spotlighted more of Finch's nuanced songwriting/crafting talents that had been hidden within the belly of the wail of L7, while still featuring her heavy rock chops front and center. To round out the band, Finch and Smith recruited Todd Phillips on drums (formerly of The Juliana Hatfield Three) and later, neophyte Japanese bass-player Junko Ito. Keeping a low-profile initially in order to avoid being snapped up by Slash Records (L7's label, which legally had first right of picking up the band under a leaving member clause in Finch's contract), the band held out and after successfully evading that contractual mess, the band signed a high-profile deal with A&M Records in 1998. The band quickly went into the studio with 70's superstar producer Roy Thomas Baker (Queen, Journey, Foreigner) to record "Diamonds In The Belly Of The Dog", just prior to the music industry imploding with the gigantic Universal/Polygram merger that basically closed down A&M Records (for all intents and puposes) for good. The quality and merit of the record was such that OSP and their debut album was one of the few artists/records that survived the transition and earned an August 1999 release date. (Mind you, this was unheard of at the time for an unknown signing as most well-known Universal/Polygram artists were still trying to figure out whether they had a deal or not.) But then, hearing the record, it's not so surprising, as it is a sonic MASTERPIECE. Sadly, probably due to Universal/Polygram still figuring out their internal marketing division, the record didn't find the audience it deserved and after only one record, the band and A&M/Universal parted ways, with the group disbanding not much later in 2002. "Precious" went on to perform with Betty Blowtorch and formed the band The Shocker in 2003. She also has concentrated on her photography much of which can be viewed on her site at http://jenniferfinchphoto.com/ or her Flickr photostream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenniferfinch/ (which is where I found all of the AMAZING OSP ohotos used in this clip, so special thanks to "Precious" for those...and for all the great music/shows over the years...you rule!) Fun fact: The band was originally called 'Lyme', but as in the case of many an up and coming band, the group had to change their moniker for legal reasons. They chose 'OtherStarPeople', which apparently is the technical English translation of the Japanese word for 'Aliens'. Other Star People: Jennifer "Precious" Finch, Xander Smith (vocals, guitar); Junko Ito (vocals, bass); Todd Philips (drums). "Diamonds In The Belly Of The Dog" principally recorded at Underground RTB, Lake Havasu, Arizona. Tags: jennifer finch, precious, jennifer, finch, l7, otherstarpeople, other star people, the half of you i love, diamonds, in, the, belly, of, dog, a&m, xander smith, junko ito, todd phillips, juliana hatfield, roy thomas baker, the shocker, lyme, punk, alt, rock, pop, l.a., los, angeles, band, club make-up, maxpericles, weezer, rentals, goat punishment, run run run, model/actress, Author: MaxPericles |
