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Watchers
Biography
Avant-funk unit Watchers was formed in Chicago in the fall of 2000 by singer/keyboardist Michael Guarrine, who founded his first band Assembly Line People Program in 1994 in response to the city's burgeoning "now wave" scene (typified by acts including Trenchmouth, the Scissor Girls, and Lake of Dracula). A chance meeting with Blur guitarist Graham Coxon following the Britpop group's 1995 appearance in Detroit led to a long-distance correspondence, and after Guarrine sent Coxon an Assembly Line People Program tape, the little-known band was invited to open for Blur on a leg of its 1997 U.S. tour. Coxon also produced ALPP's debut LP, Subdivision of Being, for his Transcopic label, but when the album could not secure U.S. division, a frustrated Guarrine announced the group's split. He then assembled the Hex, which signed to Troubleman Unlimited to release its lone EP, 2000's No Car, before splitting soon after. Seeking to combine the abrasive dissonance of ALPP with a more angular, funk-influenced approach, Guarrine tapped Hex bassist Chris Kralik and reunited with ALPP drummer Ted Danyluk to form Watchers, adding to the lineup guitarist Ethan d'Ercole, a recent Chapel Hill, NC, transplant and veteran of that city's ska scene.
Selected Discography