History Music / HavalinaRailCo

* NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly

It was after ''Bullfighting'' that things started to fall apart worse than usual. Matt Wignall had written a new album, titled ''Pacific'', which he considered ([[SincerityMode for serious this time]]) his best work ever, but numerous difficulties delayed the recording. And then in 2005, bassist (and the band's only other constant member) Orlando Greenhill announced his departure. In response, Matt Wignall retired the Havalina name, and the remaining members of the band formed a SpiritualSuccessor band named Matt Death and the New Intellectuals. The initial plan was for Matt Death to refine and release ''Pacific'', but as of 2013 the album still seems to be stuck in pre-release limbo.

'''Havalina Rail Co.''' (or just Havalina) was an eclectic folk/jazz/rock band from Long Beach, California. From 1994 to to 2005 they played chaotic shows and recorded five albums, none of which sounded like any of the others, or like anything else in the world. At the end, frontman Matt Wignall spoke of them [[{{deconstruction}} deconstructing]] pop music, and (possibly with tongue in cheek) described them as "the last true punk band in America". Either Wignall was joking, or he meant PunkRock in the GenreRoulette sense (think TheClash's album ''Sandinista!''), not in the ThreeChordsAndTheTruth sense.

''Russian Lullabies'' (1999): A musical experiment. The band read up on Russian folk music so they could mix it with rock music... but they deliberately avoided ''listening'' to any Russian music, so the end result was something else entirely. When the album went out of print, the band put the songs up on [[http://mattwignall.com/havalinaland/ their website]] for free download. Definitely HRC's best album.

'''''Havalina Rail Co.'' (1994)''': A mix of folk, swing, and zydeco, and the only release that wasn't some kind of ConceptAlbum. Easily their best album.

'''''The Diamond in the Fish'' (1996)''': A RockOpera (about the recollections of a retired secret agent) told in Creator/RatPack-style jazz, as filtered through folk and blues. The band would look back on this one as their least favorite album, but it still has its moments.

'''''Russian Lullabies'' (1999)''': A musical experiment. The band read up on Russian folk music so they could mix it with rock music... but they deliberately avoided ''listening'' to any Russian music, so the end result was something else entirely. When the album went out of print, the band put the songs up on [[http://mattwignall.com/havalinaland/ their website]] for free download. Definitely HRC's best album.

'''''America'' (1999)''': The audio equivalent of a road trip across the USA. HRC threw together a diverse array of regional American music: folk-rock, surf-rock, swamp rock, Latin rock, country, bluegrass, bebop, hip-hop, violin, banjo, steel guitar, and field recordings of bullfrogs were all thrown together with little regard for trifles like "making sense". Probably their best album.

'''''Space, Love, & Bullfighting'' (2002)''': A mix of Latin music, cheesy 60's love songs, and cheesy farfisa-fueled space-pop; thus, the closest thing to a mainstream album that Havalina has ever released. [[RunningGag A strong contender for the position of best album.]]

In 2006, Havalina released a retrospective album, '''''We Remember Anarchy''''', as a free download on [[http://mattwignall.com/havalinaland/ their website]]. Besides the obligatory "best-of" tracks, it featured previously-unreleased material: early recordings, live-in-the-studio tracks, and two {{cut song}}s from ''Pacific''.

Havalina Rail Co. (or just Havalina) was an eclectic folk/jazz/rock band from Long Beach, California. From 1994 to to 2005 they played chaotic shows and recorded five albums, none of which sounded like any of the others, or like anything else in the world. At the end, frontman Matt Wignall spoke of them [[{{deconstruction}} deconstructing]] pop music, and (possibly with tongue in cheek) described them as "the last true punk band in America". Either Wignall was joking, or he meant PunkRock in the GenreRoulette sense (think TheClash's album ''Sandinista!''), not in the ThreeChordsAndTheTruth sense.

'''''The Diamond in the Fish'' (1996)''': A RockOpera (about the recollections of a retired secret agent) told in RatPack-style jazz, as filtered through folk and blues. The band would look back on this one as their least favorite album, but it still has its moments.

* ScienceMarchesOn: Havalina was actually ahead of the curve. They wrote "Pluto" (featuring the chorus "Not quite a planet and not quite steam / Pluto's caught right in between") four years before its namesake was officially demoted to dwarf planet.

Havalina Rail Co. (or just Havalina) was an eclectic folk/jazz/rock band from Long Beach, California. From 1994 to to 2005 they played chaotic shows and recorded five albums, none of which sounded like any of the others, or like anything else in the world. At the end, frontman Matt Wignall spoke of them [[{{deconstruction}} deconstructing]] pop music, and (possibly with tongue in cheek) described them as "the last true punk band in America". Either Wignall was joking, or he meant Music/PunkRock in the GenreRoulette sense (think TheClash's album ''Sandinista!''), not in the ThreeChordsAndTheTruth sense.

The album was preceded by two more obscure releases. The first was ''A Bullfighter's Guide to Space and Love'' an EP featuring demo versions of three album tracks, and a few b-sides. The second was ''Havalina and the Creaky Old Bridge'', a {{Rockumentary}} focusing on the tour leading up to the release of ''Space, Love & Bullfighting''.

The album was preceded by the ''A Bullfighter's Guide to Space and Love EP'', which featured demo versions of three album tracks, and a few b-sides.

It was after ''Bullfigher'' that things started to fall apart worse than usual. Matt Wignall had written a new album, titled ''Pacific'', which he considered ([[SincerityMode for serious this time]]) his best work ever, but numerous difficulties delayed the recording. And then in 2005, bassist (and the band's only other constant member) Orlando Greenhill announced his departure. In response, Matt Wignall retired the Havalina name, and the remaining members of the band formed a SpiritualSuccessor band named Matt Death and the New Intellectuals. The initial plan was for Matt Death to refine and release ''Pacific'', but as of 2013 the album still seems to be stuck in pre-release limbo.

* InsistentTerminology: The term "guest musicians" never appears in their liner notes. For reasons unknown, the phrase "Latino All-Stars" is used in instead.

* Starry Dynamo (''Bullfighter EP'' only): guitar, backing vocals
* Mercedes Stevens (''Bullfighter'' album only): guitar, cello, backing and lead vocals

* BlackSheepHit: Tooth & Nail Records promoted "Ragtime" as a single from their first album, leading many to assume HRC was part of the 90's Swing revival. The actual album had, at most, two songs with rhythms conducive to swing dancing.

* DevelopmentHell: ''Pacific''.

* IndecipherableLyrics: "One Day".

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: ''Russian Lullabies'' and ''We Remember Anarchy'' as free downloads.
* NamesTheSame: Havalina was actually their first name, but they lengthened it to Havalina Rail Co. to avoid being confused with The Havalinas, a surf-rock band. Around 2000 or so, a major lineup change (and the news that The Havalinas had broken up) inspired them to change their name back to Havalina. Now that they've broken up, there's a completely unrelated Spanish band also named Havalina. [[SarcasmMode No, it's not confusing at all.]]
* OldShame: ''The Diamond in the Fish''. Tellingly, three songs from it appeared on their greatest hits album--and two of them were completely new versions of the songs, rather than the versions from ''Diamond''.
-->'''Matt Wignall:''' We were experimenting with idea of like playing jazz, which incidentally, we kinda sucked at. And found out why most of the time all good jazz players are over fifty, 'cause it takes that long to get good at it.

* TributeToFido: "Leica" is a tribute to Laika, the Russian dog who became the first animal in space.

Havalina Rail Co. (or just Havalina) was an eclectic folk/jazz/rock band from Long Beach, California. From 1994 to to 2005 they played chaotic shows and recorded five albums, none of which sounded like any of the others, or like anything else in the world. At the end, frontman Matt Wignall spoke of them [[{{deconstruction}} deconstructing]] pop music, and (possibly with tongue in cheek) described them as "the last true punk band in America". Either Wignall was joking, or he meant {{punk}} in the GenreRoulette sense (think TheClash's album ''Sandinista!''), not in the ThreeChordsAndTheTruth sense.

It was after ''Bullfigher'' that things started to fall apart worse than usual. Matt Wignall had written a new album, titled ''Pacific'', which he considered ([[SincerityMode for serious this time]]) his best work ever, but numerous difficulties delayed the recording. And then in 2005, bassist (and the band's only other constant member) Orlando Greenhill announced his departure. In response, Matt Wignall retired the Havalina name, and the remaining members of the band formed a SpiritualSuccessor band named Matt Death and the New Intellectuals. The initial plan was for Matt Death to refine and release ''Pacific'', but as of 2011 the album still seems to be stuck in pre-release limbo.

* BlackSheepHit: Tooth & Nail Records promoted "Ragtime" as a single from their first album, leading many to assume HRC was part of the 90's Swing revival. The actual album had, at most, two songs that one could actually swing danced to.

* InsistentTerminology: In all album liner notes, guest musicians were invariably billed as "the Latino All-Stars" rather than as "guest musicians".

Havalina Rail Co. (or just Havalina) was an eclectic folk/jazz/rock band from Long Beach, California. From 1994 to to 2005 they played chaotic shows and recorded five albums, none of which sounded like any of the others, or like anything else in the world. At the end, frontman Matt Wignall spoke of them [[{{deconstruction}} deconstructing]] pop music, and (jokingly, one presumes) described them as "the last true punk band in America"--which still isn't really a good description of the music. It would probably be more informative to give an album-by-album breakdown:

* OldShame: ''The Diamond in the Fish''.