Golden Smog

Golden Smog are a loosely connected group of musicians comprised, at various times, of members of Soul Asylum, the Replacements, Wilco, Th

Golden Smog are a loosely connected group of musicians comprised, at various times, of members of Soul Asylum, the Replacements, Wilco, The Jayhawks, Run Westy Run, The Honeydogs and Big Star. The group took their name from the name of a Flintstones character. The group first came together in the Minneapolis area in 1989 as a country-rock reaction to the punk and hardcore music that dominated the Twin Cities' musical scene at the time; eventually Golden Smog became something of a fixture at local clubs, where they would play a handful of shows annually. Golden Smog's lineup has often changed, though Run Westy Run guitarist Kraig Johnson as well as guitarists Dan Murphy (Soul Asylum) and Gary Louris (the Jayhawks) were relative constants. Early Golden Smog shows were usually thematically based, in keeping with the light-hearted nature of the project; one performance was devoted exclusively to Eagles covers, while another paid homage to The Rolling Stones and was billed "Her Satanic Majesty's Paycheck." They first released a covers EP 'On Golden Smog', which was followed by their full-length debut, 'Down By The Old Mainstream' with a lineup that included Kraig Johnson, Dan Murphy, Gary Louris, Jayhawks Bassist, Mark Perlman, Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy, and Honeydogs drummer Noah Levy (all of whom recorded under pseudonyms as a result of contractual obligations). They later released 'Weird Tales' in 1998. In 1999 Noah Levy was replaced as drummer by Jody Stephens (formerly of Big Star) who played with the group for a handful of live shows that December (he had previously played with the band during a New Year's Eve show in Chicago in 1996).