Vigilantes of Love
Vigilantes of Love is an American rock band fronted by Bill Mallonee, with many secondary players drawn from the musician pool in and around Athens, Georgia, United States. In its later manifestations in the later 1990s and early 2000s, Mallonee usually sang, played lead and rhythm guitar and harmonica, although in earlier bands he played drums. The band takes its name from the New Order song "Love Vigilantes," although their sound tends more to folk, Americana, and country rock than new wave. Their 2001 album Summershine also showed some movement toward Britpop and R.E.M.-style college rock, which would be more fully explored in Mallonee's solo career. History The band formed in 1990 in Athens, Georgia, where Bill Mallonee attended the University of Georgia. The act developed as a mostly acoustic, side-project of The Cone Ponies, the last in a long series of line-ups beginning in the mid-1980s with Windows and Walls, and Bed of Roses. For their first two recording projects—Jugular and Drivin' the Nails—the band performed as a trio between Mallonee, Mark Hall (accordion), and Jonathan "Dog-Mess Jonny" Evans (harmonica). The Athens, Georgia, performance venues in which they were booked regularly included The Flying Buffalo, the 40-Watt Club, Rockfish