Five Side Projects That Got Bigger Than the Regular Gig
[Another list from special correspondent Brent Chittenden. Additions? Omissions? Use the comments section. And please excuse the long preamble. It’s necessary in order to explain the rules for thsi one.-AC]
Side projects are a common thing in the music industry. You get tired of the people you’re touring with or sometimes you want to make a different type of album with different people.
But does that side project ever become bigger than the thing they initially started doing? That was the question posed to us by reader Joe Krushelnicki.
Well Joe, I’ll be honest: the overall the answer seems to “no,”–at least under our rules and in the genres of rock and new rock.
We defined a side project just that: a project on the side. The originating band or bands still had to be ongoing concerns so solo careers that followed the breakup of a band weren’t allowed. That gets ride of a ton of acts right there (cf. Foo Fighters).
Alan and I ran some numbers with some industry folk. Turns out there there were a number of side projects we thought were bigger than they actually were.
One of our first guesses was Kim Deal enjoying more success with the Breeders than with the Pixies. We figured that in terms of sales, Last Splash would have been much bigger than the highly influential but not hugely selling Pixies. It turns out we were dead wrong. While the Pixies never had a single album with the sales success of Last Splash, the Pixies sold more albums overall.
So into the vaults and Internet we went and here’s the list we came up with: The Top Five Side Projects Bigger Than Their Main Band list.
5) Delirium
Made up of the exact same two guys who are in Front Line Assembly, Delirium have done more than it’s harder edged FLA counterpart in terms of sale and recognition. When Silence gets played on a radio station my Mom listen’s to, it’s a pretty big sign of that.
4) City and Colour
While I imagine there are many factors in the demise of Alexisonfire, the increasing amount of time Dallas Green spent with his side project, City and Colour probably didn’t help. Overall sales of City and Colour material just beat out Alexisonfire but the mass market appeal in City and Colour also throws it over the edge.
3) Gorillaz
Started in 1997 while Blur was headed towards its creative and sales peak, Gorillaz has gone on not only Damon Albarn’s biggest side project (he’s almost as bad as Jack White in terms of projects) but probably his biggest band period especially in North America. The imbalance of sales between Gorillaz and Blur is exponential just about everywhere, including the UK.
2) Queens of the Stone Age
Bear with me for a minute. Yes, QotSA is Josh Homme’s main project and yes it dwarfs Eagles of Death Metal but what about everyone else participating? For a good portion of the members, Queens is the side project. With the exception of Dave Grohl, the Queens albums have out sold and been more popular than the outputs of the other members…. well depending on which bands you consider is the main focus of the various members and which bands you consider the side project. With Queens of the Stone Age, that line seems to blur… a lot.
1) Gwen Stefani
Over all we tried to stay away from solo artists but due to the different circumstances involved here, we let Gwen pass. Gwen’s solo career (as far as we can tell) destroyed sales of No Doubt’s catalogue but in the awesome side of it, she has no problem doing another No Doubt album which should be released sometime this year.
In new rock it was hard to find example but in pop you have people like Beyonce. Beyonce went solo while Destiny’s Child was still in working order (Gwen Rules in affect) and not only destroyed her band’s sales number but pretty much everyone on this list as well. But who have we forgotten? We can always revisit this in the future.
Was John K Samson still in Propaghandi when he started The Weakerthans?
How about Emily Haines side project Metric vs. Broken Social Scene.. or Fiest Vs. Broken Social Scene?
Pretty sure Broken Social Scene is a collective that sometimes stars Emily Haines and Feist, not the other way around (Metric being the side project)
If Gwen Stefani counts when No Doubt were on a 10 year hiatus, then maybe Cee Lo Green / Gnarls Barkley should could as Goodie Mob is on a hiatus and about to record again
Same argument for The Raconteurs, which featured Jack Lawrence and Patrick Keeler from the Greenhornes (Raconteurs being the side project for Jack and Patrick)
And how can we not forget, Mick Jagger's Super Heavy is CLEARLY bigger than The Rolling Stones…..
Good point about BSS – what about the new pornogrpahers? I don't believe limblifter ever broke up and there's a member from limblifter bin new pornographers.. Or immaculate machines vs. New pornographers?
I was coming here to say New Pornographers too. I would guess they sell out Neko Case's solo albums, and they certainly outsell the bands mentioned by Oscar as well as Destroyer and Zumpuano, which are the other two acts associated with them.
The Postal Service, perhaps? Before Death Cab For Cutie went major label, anyway. What about A Perfect Circle?
I thought about Postal Service and APC, but those acts haven't headlined major festivals (or 'as many', as APC has done some), like Death Cab and Tool have, and can still do.
Now that I think about it more, how 'bout Folk Implosion/Dinosaur, Jr.. They were both side projects for Lou Barlow and I think you could reasonably argue that both were more successful than Sebadoh.
In a weird way you can put Treble Charger on the list. I'm given to understand that they broke up because their vocalist's side project, managing Sum 41, was eating all his time.
Good point, which leads me to this: What about Lou Barlow's Sebadoh over Dinosaur Jr? That makes the Dino Jr/Sebadoh/Folk Implosion argument more complicated.
Diamond Rings! The solo side-project of Joh O'Regan from The D'Urbervilles
Sebadoh/Dino Jr nearly made the list but a top six seemed kind of weird. 😉
I hear the argument on A Perfect Circle but it's weird, despite how popular they were/are according to the sales figures I can get a hold of, their second album is the only one that came close to reaching anywhere near Tool's.
Maybe next time we'll do a list that covers the best of the side projects or the best of people who have side project side projects. Jack White has a lot as does Albarn and Al Jourgensen doesn't have as many any more but there was a time where he had a ton of side projects.
What do you guys think?
Tool–and I say this as a long-time, rabid Tool fan–is a band whose success is a complete mystery. Their music has gotten more weird and challenging over time, you wouldn't recognize any of the band members on the street, what public image they have is exceptionally weird and not in line with any trend, and they go many, many years between album releases, touring in between when they feel like it. And yet they continue to pack arenas all around the world. During a recession.
I can't think of any more New Music candidates at the moment, only heavy metal ones. Ozzy Osbourne has also certainly been more successful as a solo artist than as Black Sabbath front man, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was the same for Ronnie James Dio. And John Oliva and Al Pitrelli have made far more money touring every Christmas as Trans-Siberian Orchestra than they ever did as Savatage.