It couldn’t have been too long after The Obsessed split following the release of 1994’s The Church Within that Scott “Wino” Weinrich got his next project going. Shine, who’d later become Spirit Caravan, united Weinrich with bassist Dave Sherman and drummer Gary Isom, and I don’t feel like I’m overstating it when I say they were one of the most potent heavy rock power trios of all time. A landmark band, both within Wino‘s already-considerable-by-then discography and within the genre as a whole, their dynamic was as volatile as their grooves were smooth. While it’s not much of a surprise they didn’t get past two full-length albums as Spirit Caravan — Shine released the Powertime demo and Shine 7″ in 1997 before changing the name — their last release being the 2002 7″ single, “So Mortal Be,” what they were able to accomplish in a relatively short span of years stands up to this day as a high water mark for others to follow.

With Shine, it’s easy to view that era as little more than the beginnings of what became Spirit Caravan, but the truth is that by the time they were putting out Powertime, the three-piece already had their sound together and knew how to ride their riffs in that way so particularly their own. All you have to do is listen to Isom‘s drums in the clip below of “No Hope Goat Farm,” taped April 12, 1997, in Washington, D.C., to understand just how on it Shine was even before the name switch. He plays back on a riser on what’s a pretty large stage — I’m not sure on the venue, but according the list that came with the Megabox, Shine played D.C. a few times that year — while Sherman and Wino groove out under the front lights. It looks like a good time all around.

“No Hope Goat Farm” would wind up as the closer in Spirit Caravan‘s unfuckwithable 1999 debut, Jug Fulla Sun, and of course after Spirit Caravan broke up, Sherman went on to front Earthride only to reunite with Isom later in Weed is Weed — Isom having done a stint in Pentagram in the meantime — while Wino embarked on the new trio The Hidden Hand. The video’s pretty rough, in case you don’t remember what camcorders were like in 1997, but from where I sit looking dated only adds to the appeal.

Enjoy and have a great Wino Wednesday:

Shine, “No Hope Goat Farm” Live in Washington, D.C., April 12, 1997

Tags: No Hope Goat Farm, Shine, Spirit Caravan, Wino, Wino Wednesday

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