Tribe was a band from Boston, Massachusetts that was active from 1988-1994.
Tribe's members included:
Janet LaValley (Vocals)
Greg LoPiccolo (Bass Guitar]
Eric Brosius (Guitar)
Terri Barous (Keyboards/Vocals)
David Penzo (Drums)
As a group, they released three full albums. One was a self-made release, the latter two were major-label releases.
1990: Here At The Home
1991: Abort
1993: Sleeper
Their first release was a self-titled EP, but the tracks on it are the same as the versions on Here At The Home.
The band's first album was pretty low-fi. There wasn't a whole lot of loud music on the record, even if there should have been. Tracks like 'Outside' build up to that point, but it still feels like something was holding them back. It's a great record, though. You can download it for free on the internet on one of the band's fansites.
Abort was Tribe's major-label debut, and they celebrated that by making a record that took most of the tracks from HATH and turned them into overproduced, pretentious, trying-too-hard noise. If HATH sounded like they were being held back, Abort was what happened when they went too far. That said, it's still a decent record. It's definitely the way the album's produced that messed it up so much. The tracks themselves are great. For a good example of what I mean, go to YouTube and see if you can find 'Vigil', a track that has appeared on HATH and Abort. Listen to both of them. Notice the differences. 'Joyride' was the lead single, and it definitely deserves more love than it has received.
Tasked with making a follow-up to Abort, Tribe took two years to make their sophomore release, Sleeper. The production of this album seems to have essentially killed the band, as it was apparently wrought with issues and creative differences. When listening to the record, it's damn clear that this is a drastic departure from Abort. The tracks are muddy, and a lot of the vocals are unclear. Janet LaValley's amazing voice is completely drowned out by droning guitar or oddly-placed keyboard sounds. The tracks themselves are great, it's just that the production was off. The album was successful enough to get the band a spot on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, where they performed Supercollider, the album's lead single.
The band broke up in 1994. Why? A number of things. The first being that Warner Bros. didn't let the band make a third album. The band also didn't seem to be making any money from their work. Greg and Eric found work at Looking Glass Studios in Cambridge, MA in early '94 or so. The band had some demos recorded in 1994, but they never went past that stage. They did a show at the Orpheum Theater in '94 and that was it.
The band's sound was... interesting. It's one of those instances where the band was clearly ahead of their time, but behind it as well during their heyday. 'Joyride', 'Supercollider], 'Vigil', and 'Abort' are songs that would not be out of place on today's radio. It's got synth and rock put together in a great way. Think of a band like X if they were in the room when Rush was recording Signals. The over-production of the Abort album and the offbeat production of Sleeper do damage the otherwise-great recordings, but underneath that, there are solid tracks that are ridiculously underrated.
What have the band members done since splitting up?
Janet LaValley started a career as a solo musician. She began performing at Boston venues for a little while after the band's breakup. She had a solo album that was, sadly, never released. A fansite exists with some tracks from it. They're very much similar to Tribe in songwriting style, which is understandable. Janet currently resides in New York, and she was seen working with a band from the area as a backup vocalist. YouTube her name and you can see for yourself.
Eric Brosius married Terri, the keyboard player for Tribe, in 93-94. Eric began working for Looking Glass Studios in '94, creating music for games like Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri and System Shock. He is also currently the lead audio guy for Harmonix Music Systems. He is also a producer, having produced albums for bands like The Vivs.
Terri Barous married Eric. As Terri Brosius, she became a consulting employee for Looking Glass Studios, and eventually joined them as a level designer and a voice actress. Her most notable roles are as Viktoria in the Thief games and as SHODAN in the CD-enhanced version of System Shock and its sequel, System Shock 2. She has one of those awesome voices that can calm you in one moment and scare the everloving hell out of you the next. Terri is currently playing keyboard in The Vivs.
Greg LoPiccolo joined Looking Glass as well. He worked on many of the same projects as Eric, and also works at Harmonix Music Systems. While at Harmonix, he has worked on games like FreQuency, Amplitude, EyeToy: Antigrav, Guitar Hero and Rock Band.
David Penzo seems to have retired from the music business entirely after leaving Tribe. He apparently has a family in the northeast, and he posts on Tribe fansites and Facebook pages every so often.
Tribe was awesome. Check them out on Youtube or http://tribeonline.info