Bands/Aritsts you knew about before they were "big"

One of the greatest satisfactions in life, at least in my opinion, is finding out about a band/artist before anyone else really knows who they are, and then having the smug satisfaction of saying that you already knew about them when they get national attention

So, with that in mind, what bands/artists did you know about before they were big?

I can only think of a couple at the moment (excluding any artists I discovered via "sampler" CDs):

Rock 'n' Roll Worship Circus - found them on the old mp3.com (anyone else remember that site?) a year or so before their major label debut, though they already had a pretty big fan following by that time.

Seabird - went to a CD release party for another local group and Seabird was the opening act. Seabird apparently had a pretty big fan following at that time as well, but I ended up liking them a lot more than the band I'd come to see.

I'm sure there may be others as well, but those are the only ones I can think of at the moment.

I saw Switchfoot about 6 months before Beautiful Letdown hit. Small crowd and no one knew who they were.

I guess the only one I can think of would be Shachah.

Though they're still not a household name, I watched these kids grow up at the church we went to. They'd do worship on sunday morning when they were real young, then later they had some actual concerts locally.

More recently they've become more popular with a couple albums under their belts.


http://www.shachah.com/fr_home.cfm

Mercy Me. I found a few of their albums while searching for some decent praise and worship stuff.

The Letter Black. I had their indie album under the name Breaking The Silence for a couple of years before T&N picked them up.

Fireflight. I had their indie album before the were signed.

Decemberadio. I had their indie album before they were signed.


Others may come to mind, but that's all I can think of for now.

what's an aritst?

I remember seeing Fighter back before they got signed. They were from my hometown. I had a 5 song ep cassette that they had put out before they got signed.

Nine Lashes, remember getting their indie CD years back while I was looking thru CD's at CDBaby.

I forgot about Nine Lashes! I also had their debut CD before they were signed!

Hmmm seeing Fighter live, that's very cool.

Mission of One!

Another one I just remembered...

I heard Everyday Sunday's song "Just A Story" on ChristianRock.net before the band was signed, but didn't pay much attention to it because the song was played so much.

A year or so later I heard "Wait" and was hooked instantly. Their debut album remains one of my favorites to this day (I'm not as fond of their newer albums, though their upcoming new album should prove to be interesting).

unworthy wrote:

Mission of One!

I doubt I'll ever be "big".....well, except for my weight!

unworthy wrote:

Mission of One!

I agree with you in this for 100% unworthy.
Maybe Mission Of One never will be so big as for example Stryper or Bride.
For me Mission of One is big because the lyrics are so bold and tell us about Jesus.
The songs are a guide to Jesus.
That's what counts.

Whoo Hoo Mof1 !!!!!

But back on topic I don't know any Christian artists who went on to become "famous" even in our small Christian ciricles.