Not to be confused with the Oklahoma black metal band that apparently doesn’t have Google, Cell were a New York-based rock band that formed in 1990 and released two full-length LPs and several singles and EPs on the DGC subsidiary of Geffen Records, along with a single on the Ecstatic Peace label. Cell was both a beneficiary and a victim of the major label feeding frenzy of the late 1980s and early 1990s, touring with the likes of Pavement and Sonic Youth before coming to an abrupt end in 1995. Though their debut LP sold more than 70,000 copies, in 1990s music industry logic, that was not sufficient to justify the support of their label, and their excellent music has not received the post-90s support that many of their far inferior labelmates have. Though we do not pretend that Cell will ever release any more new music, we are over the moon to have gotten to be the label to release “Free People,” a new recording of a song written in the early 1990s and only performed a few times live. The band members recorded the single in 2024 to promote two summer reunion shows – the only shows the band intends to play.
Category Archives: Dromedary Alumni
Civic Mimic
Civic Mimic is Jeff Hersch’s (Glazer, ex-Decoration) contribution to the emerging solo quarantine project genre. Stuck at home with limited resources, Hersch has made the most of the one microphone he owns, splitting time between his garage and basement. His latest release and fourth in the last year, “Deep Clean,” continues to highlight the frenetic energy and pop punk stylings of the last decade which Hersch may or may not be known for. The three-song EP, part of Dromedary’s lathe-cut picture disc series, touches on loss of friends, loss of direction, and loss of brain cells, but emerges with a renewed sense of optimism and reawakening after a yearlong stint in semi-isolation.
Discography
Cuppa Joe
Cuppa Joe was formed in 1991 at Trenton State College (now The College of New Jersey) by Doug Larkin, Bob “Diz” Diszler and Steve Spatucci. The band’s initial “Demonstrations” cassette attracted the attention of the newly-formed Dromedary Records, who asked the band to contribute the song “Meanings” to their …Nothing Smells Quite Like Elizabeth compilation.
Discography
Footstone
Footstone was a 90s dynamo, led by singer/guitarist Ralph Malanga, and a passion for beer-swilling, supercharged power pop. Fueled by the thunderous bass antics of Mark Abney and the driving drums of Dave Noel, Footstone’s percussive, twin-guitar attack (Malanga along with guitarist Eric Greenberg) is a combination of raw energy and melodic hooks rarely seen in today’s indie rock.
Discography
Friends, Romans, Countrymen
FRIENDS, ROMANS, COUNTRYMEN were a Jersey City based rock band that formed in 1990 when founding members Sean Adams and Dan Murphy met at St. Peter’s Prep. After various members rotated in and out over the course of 10 years, Brian Musikoff joined ranks on bass in 1995, thus completing the band’s longest lasting line-up. FRC was most active until 2001, at which time families and careers largely took away from band time. During their heyday FRC played with greats such as Pavement, Sunny Day Real Estate, Dead Milkmen, Doughboys, Garden Variety, Shirk Circus, and American Standard.
Dromedary reissued their last CD, I Am Spartacus, in 2010.
Discography
Glazer
Long-time participants of the famed New Brunswick basement scene, Glazer emerged in early 2014. After solidifying their line-up in 2016, Glazer began developing new material, and recorded a four-song EP titled Repeat Sequence, self-releasing it on tape. Since then, the band has continued to develop their disjointed, frenzied composition style, paired with their pensive lyrical content. 2017 saw the release of On a Prairie, Live in the Dirt, their first full length, on Screaming Females’ Mike Abbate’s (and partner’s) imprint State Champion Records, followed by a split 7″ with Spowder, on the same label.
Kayla Greet of Razorcake says: “Dare I say there’s a little Dino Jr. and Sonic Youth mixing in with layered My Bloody Valentine guitar effects. For how all over the place this record is, once you make it to the end you can fully see the through line they built into these songs. It’s really a neat and tightly packed gift, but assembled with heavy, psychedelic, and out of control elements.”
