Dissonance (4)

Dissonance were the pioneers of the Flint, Michigan underground music scene. From 1981 - 1987 they hosted the original "house parties" and hall shows for Flint's biggest punk and alternative music performances. They became one of the Midwest's most active and hard-working hardcore/thrash bands, playing Flint, Detroit, Lansing, Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids and Muskegon regularly. Phill Hines (drums) and Tanya Narhi (bass) started a band called “Dead Burnt Bodies” together with Brian Story (guitar, vocals) and Mike Grossklaus (vocals, guitar). They subsequently changed their name to “Mis-Cut Beef”, and finally DISSONANCE at Grossklaus’ suggestion. This line-up was in action from 1981 - 1983 when Grossklaus exited the band and was replaced by the then 15-year-old Andy Turpen. With this lineup (Hines, Narhi, Story and Turpen) the band’s popularity grew steadily and, with it, the Flint underground music scene. They hosted, via their DIY booking partnership with local record store owner, Doug Earp of Wyatt Earp Records, and performed with Crucifucks, 7 Seconds, Suicidal Tendencies, D.R.I., Corrosion of Conformity, Toxic Reasons, Black Flag and even Slayer. They were the cornerstone around which the Flint scene was cultivated. Story left the band in 1984 and was replaced by an almost “Spinal Tap-esque” series of guitarists; Brent Bonet, Steve Newlan, and, finally Jim Holbel who remained with the band from 1985 - 1987. In 1986, while hosting 7 Seconds for a legendary show in Flint, Kevin Seconds asked the band to tour with them that summer and appear on a compilation, Another Shot For Bracken, on his label, Positive Force. The compilation was poorly promoted and didn’t get much attention, with the exception of the DISSONANCE stand-out track, “Cruise Control”, featuring the Hines, Narhi, Newlan and Turpen lineup. Although Seconds canceled the tour last minute, Phill Hines insisted the band press on and in his true DIY spirit, he successfully assembled his own performance schedule commencing in Chicago with a string of dates to California and back. The tour was a great success for a band that had no support other than their own determination and commitment to their music. A highlight of the tour was playing live, on-air at a local college radio station in Davis, California. The band returned from the tour and, for nearly a year, kept playing and working toward a record label contract. However, they ultimately disbanded in 1987. They reunited in 2005 to perform a tribute show for a local record store owner and dear friend, Doug Earp, who had just passed on, and they stuck around just long enough to re-release their entire back catalog along with some rare live recordings and a DVD feature.