Harvey Milk

by William York An anomaly among the college/indie rock-centered Athens, GA, scene from which they emerged, cult favorite Harvey Milk was responsible for some of the slowest, heaviest, and most uncompromising rock music created in the latter half of the '90s. The trio formed in the early '90s with a lineup of Creston Spiers (guitar/vocals), Stephen Tanner (bass), and Paul Trudeau (drums). They released their first album, My Love Is Higher Than Your Assessment of What My Love Could Be, on the tiny North Carolina-based Yesha label in 1996. The following year saw the release of their magnum opus and masterpiece, the tormented and at times painfully slow Courtesy and Good Will Toward Men, which was first issued exclusively on limited-edition double vinyl by Reproductive Records before eventually being reissued on CD by tUMULt in 2000. Following this album, the band parted ways with Trudeau, replaced him with Kyle Spence, and reoriented themselves toward a more straightforward classic rock style marked by the influence of bands such as AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, and, most of all, ZZ Top. (One of the few sentences among Courtesy's minimal sleeve notes simply stated, "ZZ Top is the best," and it's clear the band meant this without irony.) This stylistic turn was documented on the Reproductive album The Pleaser (1998), soon after the release of which Harvey Milk disbanded. They regrouped in 2005, however, and released Special Wishes the following year on Troubleman Unlimited (who also reissued Courtesy and Good Will Toward Men). Relapse eventually reissued My Love Is Higher and The Pleaser. Hydrahead took interest and signed them to their roster of metal heavyweights before releasing Life...The Best Game in Town in June of 2008.