Mariner Four (M4) – Rockland County, N.Y. -2002 to 2004

Mariner Four (M4) – Rockland County, N.Y. -2002 to 2004

Cross pollination breeds unique strains of species……..the same holds true for the unique strains of music that exist in this world, and Rockland County is certainly no stranger to the spawn of the cross pollination experiment. Many Rockland bands….while coming from, and working in particular restrictive scenes have dabbled in adding disparate sounds and textures to many a steadfast genre…..with some good / some bad results, but a hearty “HELL YEAH” is deservedly given to them for even attempting to break out of the self-inflicted mold of genre. Please welcome to the blog…..Mariner Four.

Mariner Four was birthed out of an ill-fated attempt in the late 1990’s between guitarist Chris Skelly ( ex-Selective Outrage & Dahlia Seed), and keyboardist Carrie Ingber to try and work together. Upon Carrie Ingber’s return from Boston to Rockland….the two reconnected, and determined to work together…set upon trying to merge their respective backgrounds of angsty, angular post hardcore guitar, and ethereal synth driven goth / darkwave into something workable and viable.

Songwriting began in the autumn of 2002, and shortly after this, the band took formation with the addition of Kevin Powers (ex-Mucky Pup) on drums, and Kristin Fayne Mulroy on bass. As the lineup and songwriting solidified, singer Leah Jiorle joined…and the first-line up was born.

Shortly after this point…..in order to fill out the “thick” sound that was evolving, guitarist Christian Mesiano (ex – The Wonderland Ave Gang) was brought in to add to the ethereal, and soundscapish wash that the band was developing. The Mariner Four sound could best be described as punk guitar driven “shoe gazer” w/ a healthy dose of early New Order and The Cure thrown in for good measure. With the female vocals added to this mix…..one audience members remark that it sounded like “Quicksand and the singer from The Cranberries , forming a band to do Cocteau Twins covers”….seemed applicable. Within months of this lineup coming together…..Mariner Four were playing shows.

In the short amount of time they were together, Mariner Four played approximately 10 shows in and around the NYC area, recorded a demo with Alap Momin (DJ Oktopus of Dalek fame), and actually even managed to film a video for the song “Lie Down”.

Towards the end of Mariner Four, singer Leah Jiorle left for other projects to be replaced by Melodie Mesiano on vocals, and Kristen Fayne Mulroy left to be replaced by Gene Abramov (ex- Sacrifice Issac). This lineup soldiered on for a few months but ultimately Mariner Four’s time was up, and the band came to an end in the summer of 2004.

Please enjoy these tracks by Mariner Four.

Kinetic, Part 1
Lie Down
Better
Still
Tear Out My Heart

Dahlia Seed - ( 1992 - 1996 )

Dahlia Seed - ( 1992 - 1996 )

I remember when Dahlia Seed was active in the early to mid 90's there was a lot of confusion about where they hailed from. Most people thought Dahlia Seed were from New Jersey and some even thought Long Island, but the truth is Dahlia Seed formed right here in Rockland County, New York.

It was actually early 1992 that Chris Skelly previously of Selective Outrage and Darin Galgano previously of At All Cost got together and started jamming with Rosie O'Shea on bass guitar. This very early incarnation of Dahlia Seed actually went as far as to recorded a 4 track demo in early 1992 which included a song titled "Bending" that would later appear on Dahlia Seed's debut 10" vinyl release on Jagerlegs Records in 1993.















1992 was a fairly tumultuous time for Dahlia Seed, but busy and productive none the less with BJ Allen replacing Rosie on bass who left the band to pursue a solo career, and Tracy Wilson joining to take over vocal duties and second guitar duties. BJ's time with Dahlia Seed was sort lived however, as he was replaced by Brian Getkin on bass which solidified the core of Dahlia Seed that would remain intact right up until the very last note of their final sold out show at Maxwells in Hoboken NJ .

After a handful of live shows with Tracy on guitar a decision was made to move Tracy to full time vocal duty and to bring in a permanent 2nd guitarist . This 2nd guitar spot was filled by long time friend Jon Procopio. With this solidified line up Dahlia Seed really came into their own pulverizing audiences in basements, bars, and VFW Halls across the eastern United States. Also, it was during these early shows that Tracy Wilson began to come into her own and became one of the most intense and powerful front women in Emo/Punk history in my honest opinion. This Dahlia Seed line up also proved to be the most prolific line up in the bands career releasing four 7" vinyl records, a 10" record, and recording a full length LP/CD entitled "Valentine Kids Liter" which would be released in early 1995 on Theologian Records.















1994/1995 saw the departure of Jon Procopio which opened up the door for Mike O'Keefe to step in and fill the 2nd guitar spot. Jon's departure was a bit of a crushing blow to the band, however Mike filled in admirably on second guitar, though he never really did mesh with the other band members, and eventually left the band on bad terms in the middle of their Canadian tour in 1995 to be replaced by Kevin Mc Manus. Though having Mike in the band was never a comfortable fit Dahlia Seed did create and record there best material to date with Mike on second guitar between 1995 and 1996, culminating with the release of their essential 1996 album "Survived By".















In my honest opinion 1996 was "THE" year for Dahlia Seed. With Kevin now on second guitar Dahlia Seed was a dangerous well oiled live band full of anger and emotion like few bands on the scene at that time. The summer of 96 saw Dahlia Seed take to the road with a 5 week tour across the United States and back laying waste in their path, however this tour that the band had worked so hard to complete is ultimately where things started to fall apart.

After returning from tour the band played a few shows in the NY/NJ area but the wind was out of their sails at this point. After 4 years of turmoil, record deals gone bad and poor label support the band was getting tired and I think they felt they had done all they could do as a band so a decision was made to put an end to the Dahlia Seed story, which they did with one final soldout show at Maxwells in Hoboken NJ in August of 1996.

After the demise of Dahlia Seed the main players Chris , Brian, Darin and Tracy continued to write and record music together as the 17th. The 17th never played any shows but did manage to record 2 demo tapes in 1998. These demo's featuring Gary Gannon on second guitar are available for download on the Dahlia Seed website along with the complete recorded discography of Dahlia Seed, including rarities and demo recordings as well. Also in 1998 Spirit of Orr Records released a posthumous Dahlia Seed compilation cd named "Please Excuse All The Blood" this compilation features the last 3 original songs Dahlia Seed recorded with Kevin on guitar and a bunch of live and rare songs as well...Dave G.

Dahlia Seed website where you get much more information about the band and also download pretty much every song they ever recorded.

Dahlia Seed FaceBook

Dahlia Seed Wikipedia

Dahlia Seed Official discography:

Dahlia Seed - Split 10" w/ Broken Mouth (w/Tracy Wilson) ... Jagerlegs Records 1993

Dahlia Seed - 4 Band Split Dbl 7" w/ Lava Diva, Pee & Twist ... Vinyl Communications 1993

Dahlia Seed/Greyhouse Split 7" ... Troubleman Unlimited 1993

Dahlia Seed - Teas! 7" ... Theologian Records 1994

Dahlia Seed - Garden Variety Split 7" ... Mint Tone Records 1994

Dahlia Seed - Valentine Kid's Litter - Full Length ... Theologian Records 1995

Dahlia Seed - Mothman Split Tour 7" 300 Pressed Red Vinyl ... Troubleman Unlimited 1995

Dahlia Seed - Survived By - Full Length ... Troubleman Unlimited 1995

Dahlia Seed - Tour 7" 500 Pressed clear vinyl - Cover of Voivods "Missing Sequences" ... Troubleman Unlimited 1996

Dahlia Seed 4 Band Split 7" w/ Team Dresch, F-80, & Shove ... Marigold Records 1996

Dahlia Seed - Cradle Split 7" Rare UK Release Limited 1000 ... Snowblind Records 1996

Dahlia Seed - Please Excuse All the Blood - Full Length Compilation ... Spirit of Orr 1998

Dahlia Seed was:
Tracy Wilson: Vocals
Chris Skelly: Lead Guitar
Brian Getkin: Bass
Darin Galgano: Drums
Jon Procopio: 2nd Guitar(92-94)
Mike O'Keefe: 2nd Guitar (94-95)
Kevin McManus: 2nd Guitar (95-96)

Agonyflower - ( 1988 to 1990 )

AGONYFLOWER – Rockland County (1988 to 1990)

Rockland County has always had a vibrant and evolving hardcore punk scene, with bands starting out traditionally angry, fast, loud, and basically rudimentary and then branching out in many diverse directions….sometimes ending up quite a distance from the original 1,2,3,4,…..bash, bash, bash, that they began with…. Agonyflower was this band!

Agonyflower was formed in the spring of 1988 by Danny Derella ( ex-guitarist of the legendary New York hardcore band Underdog), and Chris Skelly (ex-vocalist of Selective Outrage). Both had grow disillusioned with the restrictive paradigms of late 80’s hardcore, and we’re keen to explore their mutual loves of the more 70’s rock oriented sludge of Blue Cheer, Black Sabbath….and the newer (yet still unknown at the time) bands coming out of Seattle like Mudhoney and Soundgarden. Pair this with some mild Dub influences and the free form punk experimentalization of bands like Sonic Youth and Agonyflower became an open canvas for the “anything goes” sort of song writing that followed.

Agonyflower was quickly rounded out by Steve Ellwanger from Park Ridge N.J on bass, and Dan Pettit from Putnam County N.Y. on drums. This lineup was hyper talented and creative, and worked for about 6 months on perfecting a quite dizzying selection of off kilter rockers that were quite unlike anything going on in Rockland at that point. Shortly after this…Chris Skelly left the band to pursue other projects, and Agonyflower became the 3 piece they are better known as to this day with Dan Derella taking over on vocals.

This lineup of Agonyflower was tremendously prolific, and continued on in the direction of the earlier songs…..retaining a healthy and powerful mix of influences that quite simply…no one else was mining back in those days, and in the process…recording a simple but amazing demo tape that as of this day is still lauded for it’s originality and talent.

As is the case with so many promising bands….Agonyflower simply ground to a halt in 1990. Whether it was public indifference, or simply the project had just run it’s course and the members were on to bigger and better things, it is safe to say that for 2 years…Agonyflower made the most important and vibrant music in Rockland County at that time, and for the handfuls of people who saw their live shows, or are still in possession of their remarkable demo tape….the memories and praise are bountiful and worthy! Long Live Agonyflower!

Chris Skelly.

Agonyflower - Demo Tape

Song #1
Song #2
Song #3
Song #4