The Leaving Trains
| Company type | Indie rock band |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1980 |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California , United States |
| Products | Music albums |
The Leaving Trains were an indie rock group originating from Los Angeles, California, established in 1980 by vocalist "Falling" James Moreland. Renowned for their intense and often disorderly live shows, they were frequently likened to The Replacements. Over their career, the band issued ten albums, predominantly through SST Records. Moreland gained recognition for cross-dressing and later publicly identified as a transgender woman, continuing to use the name James. The ensemble dissolved around 2001.
Career
Before forming The Leaving Trains, Falling James had been part of punk outfits the Mongrels and the Downers. He assembled the band with guitarist Manfred Hofer, bassist Tom Hofer, keyboardist Sylvia Juncosa, and drummer Hillary Laddin. After several years performing locally and experiencing lineup shifts, their first album, Well Down Blue Highway, was released in 1984 featuring Terry Graham on drums.
With the release of the 1986 Kill Tunes LP under SST Records, the Hofer brothers were succeeded by Mike Barnett and Eric Stringer. The band followed up with albums such as Fuck (1987), Transportational D. Vices (1988), and the Loser Illusion EP. In 1989, Moreland briefly married Courtney Love. In 1991, Moreland temporarily paused The Leaving Trains to create a new project called The Power of Sky.
The Leaving Trains reassembled with bassist Whitey Sims alongside newcomers Bobby Belltower and Lenny Montoya, producing The Lump in My Forehead, recorded in 1992 and released in 1993. Later that year, Chaz Ramirez and Dennis Carlin joined on bass and drums respectively. Ramirez passed away in late 1992; some of his work was posthumously featured on 1994’s The Big Jinx. After Moreland left the band, she formed a fresh lineup including Melanie Vammen (keyboards), Jimmy Green (bass), and Allen Clark (drums), releasing Smoke Follows Beauty in 1997.
Their last studio album, Emotional Legs (2001), showcased contributions from several musicians such as Clark, Green, Vammen (who switched to guitar), Carlin, Maddog Karla, Miss Koko Puff, and Andrew Buscher. That same year, The Leaving Trains performed their final live concert at The Knitting Factory in Hollywood as the backing band for Australian punk figure Rob Younger. In 2005, Steel Cage Records issued a live album titled Amplified Pillows, coinciding with a brief reunion featuring Moreland, Manfred and Tom Hofer, and 1985 drummer Hunter Crowley.
Moreland continued to write intermittently for L.A. Weekly until 2020 but ceased musical performances.
Members
- Original lineup
- James Moreland – vocals
- Manfred Hofer – guitar
- Tom Hofer – bass
- Sylvia Juncosa – keyboards
- Hillary Laddin – drums
- Subsequent members
- Jim Barnett – drums
- John Lacques – drums
- Terry "Dad Bag" Graham – drums
- Chris Wahl – drums
- Jason Kahn – drums
- Hunter Crowley – drums
- Eric Stringer – bass
- Mike Barnett – guitar
- Bobby Belltower – guitar
- Sam Merrick – guitar
- Lenny Montoya – drums
- Aaron "Mo-Ron" Donovan – guitar
- Chris Whitey Sims – vocals, bass, guitar
- Chaz Ramirez – bass
- Dennis Carlin – drums
- Melanie Vammen – guitar
- Jimmy Green – bass
- Jack Rabid – drums
- Allen Clark – drums
- John Anglim – drums
- Miss Koko Puff – bass
- Bruce Gunnell – drums
Studio albums
- Well Down Blue Highway (Bemisbrain/Enigma Records, 1984)
- Kill Tunes (SST Records, 1986)
- Fuck (SST, 1987)
- Transportational D. Vices (SST, 1988)
- Sleeping Underwater Survivors (SST, 1991)
- Loser Illusion Pt. 0 EP (SST, 1991)
- The Lump in My Forehead (SST, 1993)
- The Big Jinx (SST, 1994)
- Drowned and Dragged EP (SST, 1995)
- Smoke Follows Beauty (SST, 1997)
Compilation albums
- Keats Rides A Harley compilation (Happy Squid, 1981)
- Warfrat Tales compilation (Warfrat, 1983)
- Enigma Variations compilation (Enigma, 1985)
- Favorite Mood Swings compilation (SST, 1998)
- Emotional Legs (Steel Cage, 2001)
- Amplified Pillows (Steel Cage Records)