Ex-Artists 001: Constantines

Venn diagram of Fugazi and Split Lip, first poaching (my fault), and favorite album re-evaluation

Sep 06, 2024

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I've maintained a spreadsheet called Ex-Artists since my early booking days, when I realized the roster would be ever-changing. Now the job is done, and the list is complete. 106 artists. A one-column career in Google Drive. I'm going to use this space to mark each act.

I'm not going in order. Constantines weren't the first artist I worked for, but I've been playing their third LP the last few days and thinking of them. Enjoy the memo. Errors & Omissions noted below, along with band pics and CD lore.

🖤AV

Errors & Omissions:

I have timelines and facts wrong, no doubt. These are memories!
I only booked Constantines for a second, and I hardly saw them play. I think it was three times, but might have been twice. I wasn't traveling like crazy for work yet. Constantines were Canadian and didn't tour the States constantly like other bands. They were active for eight years before sporadic reunions. I don't recall skipping specific shows, but I bet I was butt hurt after getting canned, and also embarrassed, so ignored opportunities to see them live. Those who saw Constantines know they were shockingly good. I watched videos after recording this post and looked up live shots. What a dummy for not seeing them more.
There was a good line, inaudible due to wind on the phone mic, about using the Cons to scratch your Springsteen itch if you can't go listening to whole albums by the Killers.
Listening back to the audio, I’m struck by how many of the Cons clips are intros and builds. The band had that shit dialed.
Not everyone in Split Lip went to my high school. I went to two high schools, each with band members. The singer, their rhythm guitarist, and their roadie (The Naked Bear) went to other schools. Anyway, they were the teenage band of the moment in Indianapolis.