Triple Fast Action - Broadcaster (1996, Capitol)

Triple Fast Action, also known as triplefastaction or tripl3fastaction, was formed in 1993 by Wes Kidd and Brian St. Clair out of the ashes of their former project, the hardcore punk band Rights of the Accused. For Triple Fast Action, the duo enlisted Kevin Tihista and Ronnie Schneider and ditched their hardcore stylings in favor of a more power-pop oriented sound, while retaining the energy of their punk roots. The band signed to Capitol records for their debut album, "Broadcaster", released in 1996.

TFA came from the same mid-90s Chicago scene previously discussed in the Fig Dish post, and share many sonic qualities with their Chicagoan peers like Local H, Hum, Loud Lucy, and of course, Fig Dish.  Frontman Wes Kidd even performed occasionally as a live guitarist with the mighty Local H. Kidd was also doubling as a producer around the time of Broadcaster's release, serving as the co-producer on Jimmy Eat World's "Static Prevails" with Mark Trombino. According to a Wikipedia entry, Dave Grohl listened repeatedly to "Broadcaster" during the recording of the second Foo Fighters record, "The Colour and the Shape", and apparently lists a Rights of the Accused show as his first concert experience. Since learning this I have formulated a theory that the Foo's "Everlong" may have been directly inspired by TFA's "Rest My Head", in terms of their similar drop-d tunings and chord progressions - I'd love to know if anyone agrees or maybe thinks I'm just crazy.  

After "Broadcaster", the band jumped the major label ship and made the switch to the indie Deep Elm records, perhaps best known for its "Emo Diaries" compilation series and releases from the likes of Planes Mistaken for Stars and The Appleseed Cast. After releasing their sophomore record "Cattlemen Don't" through Deep Elm in 1997, the band decided to throw in the towel. These days Wes Kidd is on the management side of things, acting as manager for Cheap Trick and The Damnwells, while Kevin Tihista is pursuing a solo career and Brian St. Clair has joined Local H. 

Listen @ MySpace 

Buy @ G&P Records

Here is a short clip featuring Triplefastaction playing "Superstar" live, as well as interviews with the band and commentary from Metro-owner Joe Shanahan, Veruca Salt's Nina Gordon and others discussing the conflict between bands like Triple Fast Action or Fig Dish and their unsupportive major labels (essentially the very idea behind this blog):