Newquist teamed up with his college friend Mark Haugh, a guitarist originally from Tulsa, OK. After winning the 'Best Unsigned Band' in the 1994 Yamaha sponsored 'Soundcheck' contest they sold all their furniture and went on the road with Jason Gilardi (from Los Angeles, CA) on drums. The current group line-up was completed when Scott Jones, an old friend of Mark's from Tulsa took up the bass in the spring of 1995.
ANZA RECORDS (The Early Years)
Caroline's Spine was created by lead singer/primary songwriter Jimmy Newquist. Under the direction of producer Dan Calderone and ANZA Records, Newquist performed virtually all of the instruments recorded for the Caroline's Spine self-titled debut album in 1993.
Jimmy teamed up with his college friend Mark Haugh, a guitarist originally from Tulsa, OK. After winning the 'Best Unsigned Band' in the 1994 Yamaha sponsored 'Soundcheck' contest they sold all their furniture and went on the road with Jason Gilardi (from Los Angeles, CA) on drums and Luis Moral on bass. The current group line-up was completed when Scott Jones, an old friend of Mark's from Tulsa, joined on as the bassist in the spring of 1995. They went on to release three more albums with ANZA Records before signing a record contract with Hollywood Records.
HOLLYWOOD RECORDS (The National Record Contract)
Backed by Hollywood Records the band released two national albums (Monsoon and Attention Please) and made appearances on two motion picture soundtracks (An American Werewolf In Paris and Varsity Blues). The band toured around the world opening for the likes of Kiss and Aerosmith. Even without national promotion or television exposure the band continued to make a name for themselves around the county. Word of mouth and a two hour or more show each night helped keep the band on the road for most of 1998 to 2000.
BEYOND HOLLYWOOD (Independent Again)
Eventually the band decided to part ways with Hollywood Records in 2000. The band quickly released Like It Or Not later that year. The disc was a compilation of old songs from the ANZA Records releases as well as four new songs. This was helpful to the fans that could not afford the early albums which had become very expensive in the secondary markets such as ebay. 2002 was a very busy year for the band. First, a Live Industrial Sampler was released which included live performances from their Attention Please world tour. Later that year, "The Grovers 10th Anniversary Edition" was released to commemorate a decade passing since Jimmy and Mark were in the college band together. The album featured early versions of four songs (Psycho, She's Coming Home, Why Don't We Get Along and I Will Be Alright) that would eventually appear on Caroline's Spine records. Finally, the band's eighth album, Overlooked, was also released in late 2002. It packaged remixes of the four new tracks from Like It Or Not with two songs previously unreleased in America and six new songs.
The next five years saw a handful of live concerts but the band was unofficially on hiatus. The band members took time to concentrate on family as well as other music projects. Jimmy Newquist released his first solo record, "Ashley Ave." in 2003. Later that year Jason Gilardi and Scott Jones released a self-titled album from their side project, New Science. The following year Jimmy Newquist recorded acoustic versions of eight Caroline's Spine fan favorites and released them as a new disc entitled "On Tour". The third solo release from Newquist entitled "Bump" was released in 2005.
Taking advantage of online sales opportunities, the band released "The Collection" in 2006. These consisted of dozens of live soundboard recordings from over the years as well as various demo recordings. A sort of greatest hits album was also released as "The Collection Retail CD". More live concerts and demos are set to be released in the near future according to Newquist
2007 saw the much awaited return of all four members with the release of their ninth album, Captured. The album featured new songs with reworked versions of old song ideas from over the years. A short but extremely successful tour followed to promote the release. Almost all the shows were considered sold out as the fans returned after the five year hiatus.
Lineup Change
The official departure of band members Jason Gilardi, Scott Jones and Mark Haugh was announced on the band's Myspace page on Wednesday, June 27th, 2007. Taken from www.carolinespine.com on Friday June 29th 2007:
"Dear friends and fans of Caroline's Spine, due to situations beyond our control, Mark Haugh, Scott Jones and Jason Gilardi will no longer be performing, recording, or touring as Caroline's Spine. We wish Jimmy Newquist all the best in the future. We wanted to personally thank all of you for your continued support and friendship over the past 14 years. You have helped to make our dreams come true and we will never forget any of you. Peace, Jason, Mark and Scott
From this point on you'll be able to get ahold of us at:
Mark Haugh: mark.haugh@cox.net,
Scott Jones: scott.jones13@yahoo.com
Jason Gilardi: jasongilardi@sbcglobal.net
www.myspace.com/jasongilardi
Please feel free to keep in touch with us regarding any future projects we'll be involved with. Also feel free to pass this message along to anyone you think may be interested."
The Future
Although, it has not been officially announced, a new Caroline's Spine album will be written starting in the fall of 2007 under a new record deal with Sony. Lead singer Jimmy Newquist will be on board, but it is unlikely that the other three original members will be part of this new album in any way. It is expected/rumored to be Jimmy Newquist with all new band members under the "Caroline's Spine" name.
Drummer Jason Gilardi will continue working with the band New Science. The band is based out of Tulsa, Oklahoma and has already released one self-titled compact disc in 2003.
Discography
Year Title Label
1993 Caroline's Spine Anza Records
1994 ... So Good Afternoon Anza Records
1995 Ignore the Ants Anza Records
1996 Huge Anza Records
1997 Monsoon Hollywood Records
1999 Attention Please Hollywood Records
2000 Like it or Not (Independent)
2002 Live (industry sampler) (Independent)
2002 Overlooked (Independent)
2003 The Grovers (Independent)
2006 The Collection (Independent)
2007 Captured (7th Kid Entertainment)
2008 Untitled Sony Music
Compilations
Contributed the song Turned Blue to the soundtrack of the movie An American Werewolf in Paris.
Contributed the song Varsity Blue to the soundtrack of the movie Varsity Blues.
Singles
Sullivan - 1998 - peaked at #23 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart as well as #14 on Radio And Records' Active Rock Chart. A music video was made blending live footage with scenes from the 1944 black and white movie "The Fighting Sullivans".
Wallflower - 1998 - no chart position available. No music video was made.
Attention Please - 1999 - peaked at #30 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart. No music video was made.
Nothing To Prove - 2000 - peaked at #23 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart well as #9 on Radio And Records' Active Rock Chart A music video was made but it was only shown in Europe.
Other Info
The album Like it or Not which was released in 2000 after the band parted ways with Hollywood Records was originally going to be called Beyond Hollywood. Cover art with this title was shown on the internet for a short time before the disc's release.
The song "Drift Away" from the albums Like it or Not and Overlooked was written for the Mission Impossible 2 soundtrack but it did not make the final tracklisting.
The song "Lost" from the album Captured was written for the Bio Dome soundtrack but it did not make the final tracklisting.
The song "End Up With You" was called "New Tits" and later "Sorry Now" before it was finally released on the album Overlooked.
An early version of the song "True Star" from the album Attention Please called "Elope" can be found on the 1998 Demos disc from "The Collection".
An early version of the song "Inside Your Mind" from the album Attention Please called "Rebound" can be found on the 1998 Demos disc from "The Collection".
An early version of the song "Open Fire" from the album Attention Please called "In Spite" can be found on the 1998 Demos disc from "The Collection".
An early version of the song "Anxious" called "N Song" can be found on the 1998 Demos disc. It has also been called "Speed Racer".
An early version of the song "Overlooked" from the album Overlooked called "Grunt" can be found on the 1998 Demos disc from "The Collection".
The songs "Psycho", "Why Don't We Get Along", "She's Coming Home", "I Will Be Alright", "On The Ground", "Cannot Be Captured" and "Last Goodbye" all were written for a band called The Grovers. This band included singer Jimmy Newquist on bass, Mark Haugh on guitar, and Todd LeValley on drums. A 25 song compilation of these recordings is available as part of "The Collection".
An acoustic version of the song "Sullivan" from the album Monsoon aired on Tulsa's Z104.5 station and is included on the album "Tulsa Homegroan Vol. 1".
"Instrument of Change" from the Captured album was originally called "Picture Show", and later re-named "Now That I Believe" before finally making it to disc.
Cover Songs
The band performs "The Rainbow Connection" from The Muppet Movie on a regular basis. This is usually done as the first song in the encore. It has become an encore favorite at the Taste of Madison festival.
The band often performs a medley of Kiss songs including "Detroit Rock City", "She", "Cold Gin", "Do You Love Me?" and "100,000 Years" during encores. The medley is about thirty minutes long.
The band also performs a medley of Led Zeppelin songs. This is very rare.
The band has also performed "Immigrant Song" by Led Zeppelin.
The band has also covered Ozzy Osbourne's " Flying High Again."
The band occasionally performs "Rock and Roll" by Led Zeppelin as part of the encore.
The band has performed "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" by Van Halen as part of the encore.
The band has performed "Ticket to Ride" by The Beatles at a couple shows as part of the encore.
The band has performed "I Remember You" by Skid Row at a couple shows as part of the encore.
During the middle of "True Star" the band sometimes breaks into a portion of "Paranoid" by Black Sabbath.
During the middle of "King For A Day" the band sometimes breaks into a portion of "High" by Jimmie's Chicken Shack.
Other projects
Year Title Label
2003 Jimmy Newquist - Ashley Ave. 7th Kid Entertainment
2004 Jimmy Newquist - On Tour 7th Kid Entertainment
2004 New Science - New Science (Independent)
2005 Jimmy Newquist - Bump 7th Kid Entertainment
True Star
Caroline's Spine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It all gets so heavy
And the reason why
Is an endless journey
And sometimes it just
Seems so far away
Then I look in your eye
It seems as vast as outer space
And I find myself with
One thing left to say
That you are my only true star
Shine with all your might
Guide me through this lonely night
And I want whatever you want
And after all we've said
And we've done
Maybe, I think,
It's time you came with me
Sometimes when I wake up
I feel so heavy
And getting off the floor
Can be such a journey
Until I remember why we ran away
Then I pretend
To see your face
And I strike up interesting conversation
To steal your heart
When you find me in your doorway
You are my only true star
Shine with all your might
Guide me through
This lonely night
And I want whatever you want
And after all we've said and we've done
Maybe, I think,
It's time you came with me
Then I remember why we ran away
Then I remember why we ran away
Then I remember why we had to run
Because you are my only true star
Shine with all your might
Guide me through
This lonely night
And I want whatever you want
And after all
We've said and we've done
Maybe, I think,
It's time you came with me
The lyrics to Caroline's Spine's song "True Star" convey a sense of longing and heaviness, with the singer feeling weighed down by the vastness of the universe and the journey that lies ahead. However, he finds solace in the eyes of his loved one, whom he considers his only true star. The star serves as a guide to help him navigate the lonely nights and challenges he faces, and he wishes to be with his love and share in their journey together.
The lyrics also touch on the theme of running away, with the singer remembering why they had to run in the first place. It's unclear what they are running from, but it could be interpreted as a desire to escape the overwhelming feeling of the world and to find solace in the safety and warmth of their relationship.
Overall, the lyrics of "True Star" convey a sense of both hopelessness and hopefulness, as the singer grapples with the challenges of the world but finds strength and inspiration in the love he shares with his partner.
Line by Line Meaning
When I look at the sky,
Looking up at the sky, everything can seem overwhelming and burdensome.
It all gets so heavy
The weight of everything can seem too much to bear.
And the reason why
The reason for all the heaviness and burden is a seemingly endless journey.
Is an endless journey
The reason for the burden is an unending path.
And sometimes it just
At times, it feels unattainable.
Seems so far away
It can seem out of reach.
Then I look in your eye
But when I look into your eyes,
And I find a place
I find solace.
It seems as vast as outer space
The comfort is vast and infinite, like outer space.
And I find myself with
And I am left with
One thing left to say
Only one thing I need to express.
That you are my only true star
That you are the one who guides me and illuminates my life.
Shine with all your might
Please shine as brightly as possible.
Guide me through this lonely night
Help me find my way through this dark and lonely time.
And I want whatever you want
My desires align with yours.
And after all we've said
After all that's been discussed and shared.
And we've done
And all we've gone through.
Maybe, I think,
Perhaps,
It's time you came with me
It's time for you to accompany me.
Sometimes when I wake up
Occasionally, when I wake up,
I feel so heavy
I feel weighed down.
And getting off the floor
It's hard to get up and start the day.
Can be such a journey
It can feel like an incredible feat.
Until I remember why we ran away
Until I think about why we left everything behind.
Then I pretend
I imagine
To see your face
Your face appears in my mind.
And I strike up interesting conversation
To distract myself, I start fascinating discussions.
To steal your heart
To capture your affection.
When you find me in your doorway
When you see me waiting for you,
You are my only true star
You are the one who lights up my world.
And after all we've said and we've done
Despite everything that's been shared and experienced,
Maybe, I think,
Perhaps,
It's time you came with me
It's the right moment to leave together.
Then I remember why we ran away
Then I recall the reason why we left everything behind.
Then I remember why we ran away
Then I remind myself of the reason why we left.
Then I remember why we had to run
Then I realize the necessity of fleeing.
Because you are my only true star
Because you're the one who lights up my life and guides me.
Guide me through this lonely night
Help me find my way through this dark and lonely time.
And I want whatever you want
My desires align with yours.
And after all
Despite everything,
We've said and we've done
All we've discussed and experienced.
Maybe, I think,
Perhaps,
It's time you came with me
Now is the time for you to come with me.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind