Back in May, Lydia announced that they'd be coming back from hiatus... sort of.
The Gilbert-formed band is returning as a shell of itself, with co-founder Leighton Antelman leading the effort. He and drummer Craig Taylor decided to bring the band back after nearly everyone else in the group quit last year, claiming it was all amicable.
Really, the "Lydia" name is a way for Antelman to release his new solo work, which just happens to fall right in line with Lydia's sound. Considering their hardcore fan-base, I'm pretty sure they'll take what they can get.
Still, it's nice to see local hard workers come back into the spotlight. Catch the new Lydia at November 4 at Martini Ranch. In the meantime, here are a few other local bands we'd also like to see come back from the dead.
Dear and the Headlights
These Phoenix guys officially announced their breakup in July, but they haven't technically made music since 2008. Stating that the music industry just wasn't what they expected, they wrote: "Music should be an overflow of life experience; and when your life is touring, labels, t-shirts, tent signings, interviews with local papers, etc., where does the overflow from life experience come from? How do you create music about your life when your life is all about creating music?" We're hoping the life experiences they're having now will work their way into song someday.
The Refreshments
Yeah, we hear lead singer Roger Clyne and drummer Paul Naffah have a pretty good thing going on these days, but considering that 1996's "Banditos" is still getting heavy rotation on the radio, we think The Refreshments have staying power. Maybe they could just do a little tour through the Southwest? Just for us?
Scary Kids Scaring Kids
It's been only two years since SKSK announced their breakup, and there's a long line of crappy, asymmetrical jet-black haircuts still awaiting their return. The Gilbert post-hardcore band left thousands of fans high and dry after a farewell tour in 2010. But if the history of farewell tours is any indication, this farewell won't last long at all... right? Right!?
The Format
Nate Ruess' New York-based project Fun is cool and all, but it has never quite measured up to The Format. Fun was a Format 2.0 of sorts, but like most updates, the original soul of the project was left behind for something sleek and streamlined.
